Let's be real! If you have been looking to buy a home post COVID while the housing inventory has been low, you probably have felt frustrated to say the least. Even with the interest rates being higher than they have been in 10 or more years, there is still a desire and need to buy a home. The problem is that there are more buyers than homes available. 

Sellers have been able to list their homes for sale at super high prices without having to update, clean or stage their homes and the ending result was a bidding war to bid the price over the asking price. I have a fe simple solutions to getting your offer accpeted and if you follow these recommendations, you can be the winning bidder!

1. Paying cash is always an easy option so why not state the obvious first. Offering cash is not always the BEST option to the seller because their desired terms and conditions can include other factors beyond just a cash offer.
2. For those of you needing a mortgage to purchase a home, the rest of these steps are for you with the first being to DETERMINE YOUR WHY. Establishing your "why" is important in the buying process. If you are only buying because you want a nicer home than you currently live in, you may lose your motivation when met with a little opposition by a seller. If you are having a baby and need the extra bedroom BEFORE you give birth, your motivation is unchangeable. Establishing your why and your commitment early can set you apart from passive buyers.
3. After your determine your WHY, it is time to hire a REALTOR. I recommend doing this even before you connect with a mortgage professional. You can interview as many as you'd like because you will need to like and trust your agent. You will work closely to get you to your desired outcome so if you don't fully trust that your agent is committed to you or that your agent is trustworthy, then move-on to the next. Although it is not necessary, it is recommended to have seasoned, strong negotiator as your agent. Although good agents learn something new from nearly every transaction, you may not want to necessarily be the guinea pig with your agent. They will probably get you to the finish line but at what sacrifice to you? If you are hiring a newer agent, make sure they have a strong back-office support system in place with a manager or broker committed to their success. If you really like the newer agent, it is totally ok to ask to speak to their broker or manager to have that extra connection should  you feel your deal needs another set of eyes.
4. So you hired an amazing agent, hoping you select me of course ;) now it is time to get your money in order. Your agent may have recommendations in this area. You need a mortgage professional. In this market, getting a pre-qualification letter is basically telling the seller that I like going to the grocery store and presenting an IOU to the cashier. It is really only as strong as the paper it is written on. A pre-qualification letter is generated by a lender based on you telling the lender how much money you make without verification of the information you shared. A pre-approval letter will have a credit check pulled and some general income verification. This letter is stronger and could give you an edge over a buyer with simply a pre-qualification letter. If you want to come to the table FULLY ARMED, have your lender PRE-UNDERWRITE your loan. A fully underwritten loan means that before you even start shopping for a home, you apply for a mortgage. Your credit is pulled. You provide proof of income. You provide bank statements and tax returns and anything else the lender requires. The file is packaged and sent to the underwriter to verify everything and ultimately approve you for a mortgage that is only subject to you finding a home in the price rage your are approved. This is the next best thing to being a cash buyer!
5. So you are approved and you are ready to shop for homes.... NOPE!!! It is entirely possible that you might fall in love with the first home you see. What will you do? How will you respond? If you haven't planned for this, you are not likley going to win the bid. If you DO win the bid, you may have buyer's remorse or worse yet, sabbotage your own purchase when the home inspection is done. How do you prepare for this moment? You first go back to your WHY. Then, you discuss with your REALTOR what you are financially comfortable spending. Forget about the big number that your are approved for. Talk about the monthly payment that big number represents. You will look at homes 5-20% LOWER than your top number. You will talk about what you will do if a seller asks all buyers for their highest and best offer. You will talk about what you will do if the seller counters your offer. You will talk about what your "must haves" are as well as the "deal breakers and everything in between. You want to pre-agree to what type(s) of homes will get you to go to your financial limit and what type(s) of homes will get you to make an offer but not your max-limit. When you establish this early, you become a CONFIDENT buyer. You won't be afraid to make and offer and you'll have a better sense of what your offer(s) equate to in a monthly payment. When you understand that, you'll tend to NOT haggle over $1000 - $5000 increments but instead, maybe you will focus on some of the other terms and conditions that are more meaningful to you as well as the seller. 
6. Avoid "buyer letters" because they really don't help in most cases. In fact, they have the potential of jeopardizing your deal. A buyer letter is personal and the sellers are people. If your offer is black and white - factual - well written, they can only judge the offer. If you include a personal letter, they can judge YOU! 
7. Escalation clauses are useful at times but tend to get rejected when there are multiple offers. Here is why: your agent may understand it but you are hoping the seller's agent understands it enough to also get the seller to understand it. If they don't understand it, they will reject it. Here is how an Escalation Clause works: Asking price is $100,000 and you offer $100,000 for the home but you have an escalation clause built into the offer saying you will pay (for instance), $2000 MORE than the highest offer that the seller has received UP TO $120,000. If the seller's highest offer is $110,000 from another buyer, they will notify you and provide you evidence of that offer and your offer will be $112,000. In this case, some sellers will simply take the $110,000 because that buyer showed real commitment to the home by offering it straight. In other cases, the seller may counter the $110,000 offer to get them to $120,000+ because you showed your hand. Can you see the complication in this already after me sharing just one possible negotiable response?  There are so many angles and options that the seller can do if they have a smart negotiator working on their behalf. In this case, why risk losing the home over $40 - $60 or less per month by submitting this clause. Don't get me wrong. There is a time and space for an escalation clause but in most cases, it is over-used.
8. Good-Faith Deposit Serious consideration should be given to the amount of your good-faith deposit. This is the deposit you submit with the offer to show your good-faith in the deal pertaining to your seriousness and willingness to get this to closing. If your agent is one you trust, you can stretch this a bit because your agent will protect your deposit by keeping you compliant throughout the transaction. Even if you are obtaining a mortgage that does not require a down payment (such as VA or Rural Development), you will still need to offer a deposit as consideration of the offer. Any binding contract has some consideration, even if it is $1. If you plan for this, your offer can stand out. Imagine that same $100,000 offer... you offer $118,500 instead of an escalation clause up to $120,000 and you submit a good faith deposit of $8,500 while the average deposit in this price range will be between $1,000 and $5,000 with a PRE-UNDERWRITTEN mortgage that can close in 2 weeks. Your offer is already looking like a winner even against a cash buyer offering $110,000
9. Home Inspections are always the grey area in home buyer. For a couple of years now, many buyers have been buying homes without inspections to become more competative. What if you planned for this as part of the process. Remember STEP 5. When you are looking at homes 5% - 20% below your top number, you can leave a little room in the deal to address potential home inspection issues. In almost every case, the home inspection comes before the appraisal. So if you buy this $100,000 home for $118,500 but could spend up to $120,000, make that part of the negotiation. You can negotiate a price increase up to $120,000 post inspection to address repairs up to $1500 with the seller's agreement to credit that $1500 to you to cover the repairs. This is one way to squeeze in an inspection when most sellers would prefer to accept an offer with no inspection. It is not enough to say that your inspections are for your information purposes only but show a plan to resolve potential issues without reducing the seller's bottom line. Other ways to cure home inspection issues are with a home warranty. Maybe you negotiate $118,500 and then once agreed upon, ask the seller for a home warranty and in exchange, you will offer $119,000. Let them know that is will satisfy many of the potential home inspection issues. This still leaves you with another $1000 to negotiate later. 
10. Last but not least: CLEAN and ORGANIZED OFFER!! I can't emphasize this enough. When a buyer's agent presents an offer on behalf of the buyer to the listing agent, the cleaner it is, the greater the chance of an accpetance. Clean means no typos, no missing parts or initials, correct volume/page reference, all relavent attachments included, name and contact info for the buyer's closing attorney, real estate license information for the buyer's agent and their broker, all in an easy to read format. A messy offer can be an indication of how the transaction will go. You will have some sense of your agent's professionalism and attention to detail when you interview them. If their presentation to you is sloppy and they struggle to convey their value to you or what their roles and resposibilities are to you, then they may struggle to communicate FOR you. 

Hoping this helps!!! Hey, if you thought this information was valuable to you and you are planning to buy a home this year, click the link below to download my FREE Home Buyers Guide.

If you are currently represented by another real estate agent, please note, I can't work for you. Feel free to enjoy the content. If you do not have an agency agreement in place with another agent/brokerage, I am happy to be considered and look forward to meeting for a buyer consultation.