4 Ways to Make Your Offer More Competitive

Finding a beautiful home that you can envision you and your family living in is exciting. Imagining yourself in the living room, out on the patio, and picturing the space as if it’s already your own is euphoric.

But when someone else comes along with a stronger offer and pulls the carpet from underneath you, it can feel pretty devastating.

No one wants to lose out on their home which is why we've compiled some info to increase your chances of getting your offer accepted.

Here are 4 Ways to Make Your Offer More Competitive.

Right now in DFW, inventory is very low and competition is intense. It’s crucial that to have your offer accepted you need to make sure it stands out.

You need to make sure that you have the strongest offer possible, that the contract structure is ideal and that the timing is right.

Today I want to give you five different ways that you can make your offer more competitive and boost your chances of getting your offer accepted.

1. Make your offer higher than asking price.

Our current market has a high demand and low supply of homes. This leaves sellers with the upper hand.

When sellers and their realtors are looking at offers the first item that is considered every time is the price. 

You can make your offer stand out by pricing it moderately higher than the asking price. Low ball offers are not effective in today’s market since there are so many multiple offer situations that take place.

You should never look to overpay but be conscious that your chances of having your offer excepted are diminished the lower the offer is.

2. Increase your down payment and earnest money.

When you’re looking to buy a home and make a sufficient offer, you need to make sure that the sellers know how serious you are about buying. 

Two of the best ways to show that you’re a serious buyer is to increase your down payment amount and increase your earnest money deposit. 

Earnest money means that if you decide to back out without justification you lose that money. Sellers and their real estate agents view earnest money favorably as it shows you’re a serious buyer.

And with a higher down payment, your financial lender will be more likely to accept your loan when you have more money to put down.

3. Make your closing terms strong.

When everything else is equal sellers are most likely to choose offers with very strong closing terms.

For instance, a cash offer is much more powerful than an offer with lender financing and a month-long wait time.

You can also submit pay stubs, credit reports, and tax returns to many lenders early in order to shave weeks off your approval time, and this can steer the seller towards choosing your offer.

4. Limit contingencies

Buyer contingencies are viewed as obstacles by sellers. When you remove more of these contingencies, the likelihood of you closing the deal increases.

This doesn’t mean that you should be reckless when making offers. Every contract has some standard contingencies, like an inspection, and appraisal, and financing.

But there are cases where even these standard contingencies aren’t necessary. A realtor will be able to help you figure out what is and isn’t necessary.

The basic idea is that you shouldn’t let small contingencies get in the way of losing out on the home you desire.