If you’re in the market for a new home, you’ve probably heard that it’s a challenging time to buy. Inventory is low and competition is high. In this blog post, we’ll discuss two strategies that can help you win in a competitive real estate market: making multiple offers and waiving contingencies.
If it’s been awhile since you’ve bought a home, you may be tempted to lowball the seller in order to save money. However, in today’s competitive market, this home buying strategy simply won’t work. Instead, consider making multiple offers. By making multiple offers, you increase your chances of having one accepted.
In the past, many homebuyers enjoyed taking their time while looking at homes. They would preview a handful of homes in person, narrow it down to their top two choices, maybe go back to those top two homes again for a second look, and even sleep on it overnight before making a final decision. Not anymore!
In today’s market, if you’re not making offers on multiple homes at the same time, you’re likely losing out. I realize most real estate agents frown on using this strategy. They’ll say, “What happens if the two different sellers accept both of their offers at the same time? They’ll be committed to buying two homes!” Well, not really.
Many buyers might find two homes that will fit their needs. There is typically one they love more than the other one, but their first choice home might receive seven offers while their second choice might only receive three offers. They are simply playing the odds of getting at least one of these homes under contract. In addition to this, it’s incredibly rare that two different sellers will make a decision at the exact same time.
Another important strategy to use in order for your offer to be taken seriously is to waive some of your contingencies. Contingencies are clauses in an offer that allow a buyer to back out of the deal under certain conditions. The most common contingencies are financing, inspections, and appraisal.
If you’re in a situation where there are multiple offers on the table, the seller is going to be looking for any reason to choose one over the other. If you’re able to waive some of these contingencies, it shows the seller that you’re a serious buyer.
It’s becoming quite common for a buyer to state in writing that although they plan to perform a full home inspection, they will agree to buy the home “as is” and not ask the seller for any repairs or compensation. This year I’ve even seen a few buyers that were desperate enough to write an offer with the promise to waive home inspections altogether.
Appraisals can be a deal killer as well, so another strategy is to wave the contingency of a home appraisal. To be clear, if the buyer is using bank financing to purchase the home, the lender will typically require an appraisal, but some homebuyers are agreeing to purchase the home regardless of the appraised value.
I realize some of the things I’ve mentioned in this article can be scary. It’s definitely a different way of thinking when buying a home, but if you’re up for the challenge, it can be a great way to win in today’s real estate market.
Having a very experienced real estate agent that can sit down with you and explain these options in detail is vital too.