Whether you visit 10 South Carolina homes before finding “the one,” or your first showing leads you straight to your dream house, once you find the home you want, it’s time to make an offer. There are several things to consider when submitting an official offer to a seller. It’s also helpful to ask an experienced buyer’s agent to review your prospective offer because this will help you catch something you might have overlooked or may lead to recommendations to adjust your price or add (or omit) a contingency.
Numerous factors may be influential when you’re preparing an offer on a new home, such as whether yours is the only offer or there are several others on the table. If that’s the case, you’ll need to figure out how to gain an edge over your competitors and make your offer stand out as the most attractive deal for the sellers. You’ll also want to do some research to help you protect your financial interests.
Ask your agent to check comp sales in the area
When you find your dream home, you might be tempted to offer full price right away. However, many sellers price their homes too high, which is why it’s always best to ask your agent to run a comparative sales analysis before you submit an offer. If several other homes (of same size/style) in the area have sold for similar prices, you know that your sellers are asking a fair price.
Has the house been sitting on the market for a while?
If the house in question has been for sale for a long time, you’ll want to know why. Is there something wrong with the house? Have the owners priced it too high? A house that’s lingering on the market may be to your advantage as a buyer, giving you some room to negotiate. Gather all the information you can and use it to help you formulate an offer.
How to win a bid war
If you’ve found the home of your dreams but there are multiple offers rolling in, you need to make your offer more attractive than the others. The following list includes several ways to make your offer stand out above the rest:
- Offer cash
- Offer more than full price (if someone else has offered full price).
- Omit contingencies.
- Attach approval letter from your lenders.
- Defer closing timeline to your sellers.
- Offer a substantial down payment.
There’s no guarantee that you will win a bid war, but these options typically help gain a seller’s attention when there are multiple offers on the table.