HOW TO GET YOUR REAL ESTATE OFFER ACCEPTED
Follow these simple steps TO UP YOUR CHANCES
ON GETTING THE HOME OF YOUR DREAMS.
Write a motivation letter.
If you are a first time home buyer, you are most likely looking for a home to live, be it a condo or a single family. Since you plan on living there, write a short note as to why you love the house and the neighborhood. Talk about the personality of the property, not “this was the only house we could afford”. Sell yourselves to the seller by possibly adding a photo of your family.
make a realistic offer.
If you do your research on what other comparable properties in the neighborhood have sold for, you will have a decent idea of what the house is worth. Some sellers will get insulted if you low-ball them up front. They may have no interest in entertaining ANY offer from you later on. Offer a fair price.
PROVIDE PROOF THAT YOU ARE
A READY, WILLING AND ABLE BUYER.
When you submit your offer to buy their home, include bank statements showing that you have the money for the down-payment, the part of the credit report that shows your credit score, and the cover sheet of the automated underwriting decision show that the computer loves the deal. This is a big deal for the sellers, and they want to make sure that you keep your end of the deal by really being able to buy their house.
use the listing agent.
This is very controversial. The listing agent can possibly make more commission by “double ending” the transaction so they may steer their sellers to accept your offer. It’s not very ethical on their part, but it’s pretty common. You may even ask for a rebate of some of their commission and end up with a lower net purchase price. One potential negative is if there is potential repairs needed, or issues that need to be negotiated right before the close of escrow, the agent is working for both parties so they may not have your best interest at heart. This is not a good idea for a novice buyer, or one with a rookie lender from your bank’s branch down the street.
GET PRE-APPROVED.
There is a big difference between a prequalification and a preapproval. A prequalification is just a letter that says that your mortgage application “smells” good, but nothing is guaranteed. A preapproval letter states that you have submitted your income and asset information to a lender, and they have run your credit and at a minimum, run the deal through an automated underwriting system.
This will allow you to do the following:
SHORTEn THE INSPECTION,
CONTINGENCY AND ESCROW PERIOD.
Most sellers are looking to sell their property as quickly as possible. They want offers that appear strong so they have confidence they will be able to move on. If your offer appears stronger than others, as in you will allow only 10 days for the inspections (appraisal, termite and home inspection) and you are willing to drop those contingencies quickly, the sellers will be more likely to accept you offer. Offering a 21 day escrow period (as opposed to a typical 30 or 45 escrow) shows you are confident in your ability to close, period. It makes your offer stronger!
DROP THE LOAN CONTINGENCY.
If you lender has completed a REAL pre-approval for you, your income, down payment and your credit, I suggest that you drop the loan contingency. The only issues that might hinder your ability to get a mortgage on that house, would be issues on that house. Examples of this would be the if the appraisal come in low, there may be major termite issues or the house need too much repair work to allow the lender to accept the property as collateral for the mortgage. Keep those (termite, termite and home inspection) contingencies. You are protected from those issues with specific contingencies. Be a confident buyer and you will have a better chance to get your offer accepted
Orange County First Time Homebuyers 