What do you do if you’re a Buyer in a Seller’s Market? Because supply is limited in a Seller’s Market, Buyers will need to be well prepared. There are a number of matters that they’ll want to make sure they plan for that include these 4 all important ways:

Obtain a Pre Approval for a mortgage BEFORE you even consider stepping out to see a home.

Although this is always recommended before starting any home search, it’s even more crucial during a Seller’s Market. Because Buyers will likely be competing with many other home Buyers, Buyers will need to find out every way in which to let a home Seller know that they’re ready, willing and financially able to buy their home. We’re not talking about a letter that the Buyer’s local bank drew up after a brief telephone conversation. This Pre Approval letter will indicate that the Buyer provided their financial documents such as bank statements and pay stubs, along with their most recent tax returns and their credit report was reviewed. Only after a thorough review of these items by a Lender can a determination of their financial ability be confirmed with the greatest of confidence. This does not guarantee that a Buyer will secure a loan, but it’s the best evidence of a Buyer’s ability early on. No Pre Approval letter, no home search.

Make sure their offer is well positioned against other Buyers.

This is completed by ensuring the Real Estate purchase contract is completed with no errors, including all pages with initials/signatures and required addendum’s, offering shorter time frames than the standard longest time frames for all contract contingencies, such as inspection and loan commitment periods and making sure to offer a larger escrow deposit that will show that a Buyer is serious about buying the home. And also, it’s a must to offer the most money according to the home’s value. Offering above list price is even a consideration, as long as it’s within range of the home’s market value. It will still have to appraise for the value of the purchase contract that is determined later after a contract is executed. Now is not the time to save a buck on a home that a Buyer really likes, because in a Seller’s Market there will certainly be another Buyer who will present their offer as recommended above and win the home. It usually happens that after a losing a few homes a Buyer will come around and follow the advice above.

Do not be nit-pickybuying a home in a Sellers Market

If an inspection reveals a number of small issues don’t try to bicker with the Seller in hopes of getting a price reduction or a repair credit. Do Buyers really want to lose a home they like over GFCI outlets that need to be installed or a leak under the Kitchen sink or a toilet that is running, or a few cracks in the decorative pool tiles. These are items that can all be fixed by a Buyer without having to rob a bank and certainly aren’t worth the risk of losing a home because a Buyer decided to ask for a repair credit for these items, just to try and be in control. Unless a Buyer is looking for a less than desirable home, being nit-picky on an offer will get you nowhere other than back out looking and waiting for a new home to come to market.

It’s best to refrain from asking for help with closing costs

You’ll often find that Buyers will ask the Seller for help in paying for the Buyer’s closing costs and other prepaid items, such as their homeowner’s insurance that is paid at closing. When a Seller agrees to pay this money it is simply coming away from what they’ll be netting from the sale of their home. If a Buyer offers $350,000 for the Seller’s home and then asks for a 3% Seller contribution, the net dollar amount to the Seller for the sale of their home is actually $339,500. (not including the Seller’s other closing costs).

A likely scenario will come from a competing Buyer that offers $350,000 but no help with closing costs when this Buyer better understands a Seller’s Market. If a Buyer NEEDS the help with closing costs then it’s best that they ADD the money that they need for closing costs to the purchase price so the Seller will net the $350,000. This way the Buyer is simply financing the help they need with the closing costs. This allows this Buyer to compete with the Buyer that doesn’t need the help with closing costs and can make their offer superior in other ways such as those described above.

You don’t have to experience the less than favorable experiences that you hear from friends and family nor those stories you’ve read across the internet. However, like anything it’s important to choose wisely. Do your homework. Know what the home selling process entails and who is best equipped to get the job done.

What are the methods for selling a home?

1. Sell it Yourself

This method may have crossed your mind. Are you equipped to sell a home? As a Real Estate Agent, I can’t understand why anyone would want to tackle the selling of their own home, particularly when they probably have never done it before. Is it that you think you’re a quick study and have a gift of learning new things at a remarkable speed? Hmmm. Perhaps. Yet how many people could we actually clump into such a gifted category? Not many.

So if you’re not a quick study how will you learn the process of selling a home along with all the nuts & bolts of a Buyer’s offer to buy your home? Are Buyers qualified to buy a home? Do you know what legal contracts to use and how to complete them? Do you know how to prepare your home for sale? Do you know what Buyers like to see in a home? Do you know how to price your home? Did you know it’s not simply based on a square foot calculation adding in all the money you paid for upgrades? It’s not, you wonder! How about marketing your home to the 90%+ Buyers who are searching online to find a home to buy? How will you reach them? Do you have a top rated online presence in your local Real Estate market? You don’t? My point might be starting to sink in now as these are just a few of the issues involved in selling a home.

Perhaps you thought you’d love to save the standard Real Estate commission and sell your home yourself. 47% of those that try it alone do it for this reason, according to the National Association of Realtors reporting. However, studies have shown that utilizing the services of a skilled, professional Real Estate Agent to sell a typical home will allow a Seller to sell their home for more money. More money, isn’t that music to any Seller’s ears?! After all, more times than not, don’t you pay for what you get?! A Real Estate Agent’s skill can often be worth their weight in gold.

The number of homeowners who have tried to sell a home on their own has dropped to less than 10% compared to decades ago where the numbers were greater. More and more realize the complexity behind getting a home sold and prefer to leave it to those well qualified to sell homes.

2. Use Your Cousin Who Just Got His License

“Can’t you help Jimmy get started in his Real Estate career. He’s really nice, I’m sure you’ll like him”. That’s probably true, if they said he’s nice, yet nice doesn’t get you top dollar, a fast sale and the fewest number of headaches. Do you really want to be a testing ground to let Jimmy embark on his new Real Estate career? Someone so green will not ensure your home sale’s success. Securing a Real Estate license does not make someone instantly skilled at selling homes. You have no idea what kind of training they may have received up to this point. How hands on was their Broker in getting them up to speed? Maybe your Aunt could give Jimmy a shot when she wants to sell her home.

3. Find a Real Estate Agent by Searching Online

Now that we’re living in the age of the internet and social media, you’ll find that we resort to finding answers to our questions and needs by accessing the internet to search for what it is we need. With that comes fierce competition. Real Estate Agents have discovered that to be found, their brand and story has to be blasted across the internet. They are competing with other local Agents within their market, along with the big box Real Estate sites like Zillow, Trulia, Realtor.com and more. This allows you, the home Seller, to be able to search online for local Real Estate experts in your area. Your city’s Real Estate Agent or REALTORⓇ search will discover who is at the top of their home selling craft getting noticed for what it is they do, sell homes. If you notice them, imagine how your home for sale will be noticed when Buyers are searching for homes to buy in your city.

More and more Real Estate Agents are sharing their expertise in the Real Estate content that they write; what better way to discover their skill sets; do they really know how to sell homes? You’ll also find reported customer experiences on just how their Agent succeeded at selling their homes. Perfect. You can learn so much towards making the right choice in the right Agent to sell your home. We buy houses in Richmond Va.

A Real Estate Agent’s online presence is also a good indication of how your home will be marketed for sale in order to reach prospective home Buyers. You want an Agent who is proficient in navigating social media letting the world know that they sell homes for a living and love doing it!

4. Accept Your Neighbor/Family Member/Friend/Co-Worker’s Advice Recommending a Real Estate Agent.

Search for Coral Springs Realtor

A great way to find help to get your home listed and sold. You’ll want to make sure that reasons are provided as to why they’re recommending a particular Real Estate Agent. It would also be a good idea to add #3 to the mix where you search online for the recommended Real Estate Agent’s name so you can discover how they market themselves over the internet. You’ll want to review their Real Estate content that should demonstrate their knowledge within their local market and see if you can locate other satisfied customers.

You could also consider an out of town friend or family member that you know who is a Real Estate Agent themselves who’d be able to find a qualified Real Estate Agent within your local market if you don’t have anyone local finding an Agent for you. I’ve helped a number of out of town friends track down an Agent in their area to help them. I have a broad network of Real Estate associates that I can reach out to find someone to help. I myself have received a great number of customer referrals this way too. It’s a great way in which someone else you know and trust and can help you with a bit of the leg work to locate a nearby, qualified Real Estate Agent.