As housing inventories have shrunk across the country and right here in our own backyard, bidding wars have become increasingly common.
This is when multiple people make offers on a home for sale. Sometimes in these situations, even someone who gives the seller exactly what they’re asking for may lose out to someone willing to offer even more.
Today, I’m going to tell you how you can win one of these bidding wars in Canton and end up with the home of your dreams!
Winning Strategies When Dealing with a Bidding War
Cash is supreme. Sellers are more likely to accept the offer where cash is involved (as opposed to a loan) because that’s one less hurdle to jump through leading up to closing. Even if you can’t pay for the house completely with cash, you should strive to bring as much cash as possible to the table.
Get Pre-approved. Even if you don’t have a house in mind just yet, getting that pre-approval will put sellers at ease when you finally do find the home you want to purchase. That’s because a preapproval communicates to the seller that a bank has already said that it’s likely you’ll get a loan, and therefore unlikely that the deal will fall through at the last minute.
Aim for a 20 percent down payment. This will hedge your bets that you’ll still be competitive, even if there’s another buyer who comes to the table with an all-cash offer. Besides, you have limited options for mortgages if you can’t come up with 20 percent down in the first place.
Prepare your paperwork ahead of time. It’s one less thing you’ll have to hassle with during the home-buying process.
Skip the lowball offer and go right to the best offer. This is especially imperative during bidding wars because sellers aren’t going to want to haggle with you and your lowball offer if they already have other home buyers beating down their doors. So put your best offer on the table upfront. If you get the home, great. If not, you’ll know you put your best foot forward from the get go.
Pick your battles when it comes to contingencies. Obviously you’re trying to get the best deal you can for a home but you’re also wanting to secure a deal on that home you really want. So go ahead and add contingencies, just make sure to choose wisely and to keep them fairly short, lest you may scare off a seller and drive them to sign a deal with another buyer.
Accommodate the timeline that the seller wants. The more you emphasize your willingness to work with the sellers, the more likely they are going to want to work with you. So see what kind of time table they are hoping for and see if you can honor it.
Home Selling Advice You Can Use
Hopefully you found the above information insightful and useful as prospective Canton home buyers.
For more guidance on navigating the market, please don’t hesitate to contact us at The Bittinger Team.
We’re here to help you search available homes for sale as well as offer such useful resources as:
- Buyer premium perks
- Love it or Leave it Guarantee
- Use our moving truck for free
Until next time,
Noel
Visit us on our website: www.Bittinger.com
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