When it comes to buying a house, making a competitive offer is likely the most important thing you’ll do and the one thing that gives you an opportunity to set yourself apart against other buyers.  Even if you’re not the most “qualified” or desirable buyer from the seller’s perspective, your offer can have a lasting impact and potentially get you into a new home.

For making a competitive offer, we’ve put together a few tried and true tips from our experts.

1. Lean on Your Agent

First and foremost, lean on your agent as a pillar during the offering and negotiating phases of your home buying journey.  Agents are experts in what they do and if you are using a local agent, they know exactly who to talk to, what homes are listed for, and what constitutes a reasonable offer.

You’ll likely need to leverage your real estate agent’s expertise early on in the process to make sure you’re making the most competitive and fair offer you can.  Of course, there is some room for you to take creative liberty and even throw personal twists into your offer.

2. Consider Writing an Offer Letter

It may seem a little old-fashioned to actually sit down and pen or type an offer letter, but the offer letter is still very much a relevant part of today’s real estate especially if you’re dealing with a sentimental owner.  Think of an offer letter in much the same way you would think of a cover letter when applying for a job.

Your offer letter tells a little bit about yourself while highlighting some key things you’re looking for in a home, highlighting some of the things you like about the home you’re interested in purchasing, and how it will play into your family’s future.  These personal, sentimental aspects of an offer play to the strong emotions we have tied to our homes.

3. Be a Flexible Negotiator

If your real estate agent has helped you understand and put together a competitive offer, then the next steps are in the hands of the seller.  In all likelihood, your offer will be countered with an offer from the seller.  As a matter of fact, you should expect a counteroffer no matter how good you feel about your own.

For that reason, be prepared to negotiate and be flexible in doing so.  Sellers, naturally, want to get the highest price for their home without doing so with unreasonable prices.  You, on the other hand, want the best price without trying to rip off a seller.  In other words, there will be a conversation to be had between you and the seller, so be ready with counter offers and ideas of your own to make the deal go through.

4. Be Financially Prepared

One way to pretty quickly get your offer rejected is to fail to have your finances in order.  As we said earlier, you want to make an offer that is appealing and reasonable to a seller, but if you make offers without having your financing or mortgage situation resolved, you’re likely to be shown the wrong side of the door.

While there’s nothing against working out your finances while you shop, there’s something to be said about having a line of credit and being pre-qualified and ready to close at a moment’s notice.  That’s why the experts at Tidewater Mortgage Services, Inc. have been in business for over 20 years helping buyers like you make offers and close on homes as easily as possible!