Back HomeHow To Beat A Competing Offer
February 26th, 2016 by keithandkinsey
Multiple offer scenarios are very common in a seller’s market. Many buyers are faced with trying to beat out another buyer when offering on a home (one of our recent listings had 4 offers). Aside from the obvious thing, price, there are many things you can do to make your offer look better.
- Minimize your contingencies. The more contingencies you have, the more ways you have to get out of the contract, every additional contingency is a negative in the seller’s eyes.
- Have strong financing. A buyer who is putting 20% down with conventional financing provides much more confidence to a seller than someone attempting to do a low down payment specialty program.
- Don’t ask for extras. Asking for something as minor as a home warranty affects the seller’s bottom line and could make you lose to the competition (you can always buy your own warranty later).
- Adapt to the sellers timeline. Ask the seller when they want to move and try to align with their date. Also, keep contingency timelines as short as possible.
- Put down more earnest money. It doesn’t actually cost you more because it’s credited back to you at closing, but it shows more seriousness and confidence in your offer.
Believe it or not, price isn’t the only thing a seller looks at, improved terms can win you the deal.
