5 Ways Buyers Can Stand Out From the Crowd

Here are five ways you can stand out from the competition as a buyer.

Are you thinking about buying a home? It’s a competitive market, so if you want to land the house of your dreams, you’re going to need an edge. Today we want to share five ways to stand out from the crowd when buying a home:

1. Get your financing in order. "Financing" just refers to providing funds to pay for something. So, whether you are getting a loan or paying with cash, make sure you are prepared to make it easy for the Seller to accept. If you are getting a mortgage loan that means, getting the best terms possible, be prepared with a letter of pre-approval before looking at homes, and work with your lender to ensure the loan is as easy as possible to close with certainty. If you are paying with cash, be prepared to show proof of the available funds needed. Showing you are qualified to buy and ready to buy will go a long way toward getting your offer accepted.

2. Meet with a Realtor in advance. This market is moving too fast to assume that you and your Realtor are on the same page. You should plan to meet for a Buyer Consultation before you look at houses so that everyone understands what you’re looking for in a home, as well as the process for finding and getting what you want.

“In a hot seller’s market like ours, you need to make a strong, clean offer upfront. "

3. Get set up for listing alerts. Your Realtor should set up alerts that trigger whenever a home that fits your criteria hits the market. These are typically sent out via email either directly from the Multiple Listing Service or the Realtor's website, and they can also be set to trigger for both new listings and/or when there’s a price adjustment on an existing listing. That way, if a property is currently just out of your budget and the Seller reduces the price to make it more affordable, you’ll be the first to know.

4. Utilize your agent’s mobile app. Most real estate professionals now offer a mobile search app. Their app should allow you to communicate with your agent easily even when you are out of town and away from your computer. Also, most apps should allow you to receive listing alerts, that can be viewed directly from the app.

5. Make your best offer first. In a hot seller’s market like ours, you need to make a strong, clean offer upfront. If you start with a lowball offer, or even an offer that causes the Seller to want to negotiate, you are potentially leaving the door open for another buyer to come in and create a multiple offer situation and increase the odds that your offer may be rejected.

If you have any questions about today’s video, please call or email us. We’d love to help you in any way we can!