Afraid of a Bidding War? 3 Ways you could get your offer accepted:
Are you making an offer on a new home in a hot housing market? If you are in Colorado (and many other states around the country) then the answer is YES! You are in a hot housing market. In a hot market one possibility is that you are going to end up bidding against other buyers who are looking to buy the same home. Unfortunately, in some cases bidding wars are inevitable, and they can be a significant source of stress. Let's take a look at three ways that you can win a bidding war without having to spend more than you can afford.
Price Is Important, But It's Not Always Everything
The first consideration to keep in mind is that price is important, but it isn't the sole consideration that sellers make when deciding which offer to choose. In fact, for many home sellers, the price may be secondary to a variety of other factors.
For example, consider whether or not the sellers need to close quickly. Perhaps they are moving to a new city, or have already bought a new house and are looking to get out of their old one. If you have your mortgage financing in place and your paperwork in order, you may be able to offer a shorter close than other buyers may be able to provide and that could mean a great deal to the seller.
Make sure your Broker calls the Listing Agent
It's worth investing the time to chat with the seller's real estate agent to find out what their motivations are. Are they selling for the money, are they moving out of town, are they under a time line for a job transfer or are they selling the house to upsize? All are important factors to consider when making an offer on the home. Your offer should be tailor made for the sellers.
Another great tip: be sure to find out where the sellers plan to live once they sell their home. If they want to stay in the house, you may be able to offer a post occupancy agreement (rent back) to the seller after closing. In a market like we are currently seeing this is a really great tool to help the sellers feel more comfortable with the timeline for the sale.
Finally, keep in mind that you will need to be flexible to win a bidding war, but you should never step outside what you are comfortable with. Don't bend your offer or terms too much, you don’t want to ever feel stressed about your decisions. If you send over a great offer and your offer still isn’t accepted, don’t despair, sometimes house hunting can take a while. I have often found that my clients end up in a home they love just as much if not more than other homes they have seen.
If you are in the market to buy your next home or first home contact me today to chat about what you are looking for. There are a lot of things to think about and my job is to make this an enjoyable process that ends with you at the closing table.
Amanda Duffendack
Broker Associate, Realtor
GRI, AHWD, SRES
Equity Colorado Real Estate
M: 720-334-5998
A: 7887 E Belleview Ave Suite 175, Denver, CO 80111
