HOW TO GET THE HOME YOU WANT (MAKING "CLEAN" OFFERS)
You are in the market to buy a home and you found a house that's ideal for you - it is in the right location and meets all your "needs" and "wants". The price is the only thing that is keeping you from making an offer, because you feel that it is more than you can afford.
How can you improve your odds of the owners accepting an offer that is much lower than their asking price?
In addition to a market justification for a low offer (your Buyer's Agent can provide the comparable sales) an important strategy you should use is to make your offer as "clean" as possible by not ask for special conditions or contingencies.
- Avoid making demands for minor repairs, or deferred maintenance items, such as cutting down the dead tree in the back yard; or for extra items to convey, such as the refrigerator or plasma TV.
- Do not make your offer contingent on the sale of your existing home!
- Be as flexible as possible about a proposed closing date to accommodate the seller's plans. If the Sellers seem to have urgency, offer to close as soon as your lender can approve the loan. If you believe that the Sellers may need extra time to find a place to move to, then offer plenty of time to close.
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Include a full pre-approval letter from your local lender with your offer to purchase (ask your lender to write the letter on their letterhead and include the ADDRESS of the property you intend to buy, without any dollar amounts, to avoid showing your hand to the Sellers).
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Offer a larger-than-usual earnest money deposit to persuade the sellers that you are a serious buyer and to make it harder for them to "just say no".
Each situation is different, but the "cleaner" your offer is perceived to be, the more likely the Sellers are to accept it!
Use our experience! Call us on 843-900-0155 so that we can guide you through the process!
Please contact us if you have any questions or comments.