Strategies to standing out and buying a house in a HOT market!

[Marc Estepa]

So, my family and I have been searching for a primary residence for the past 8 months in one of the hottest real estate markets in the US.  As you can imagine, its been tough as hell and we've consistently lost on every offer we submit.  As this search has progressed, we have grown more and more aggressive.  On this most recent bid, I nearly waived everything within reason.  

We've paid for numerous pre-inspections, sewer scopes, added a 22AD (Additional Deposit in case of a low appraisal), waived financing, written a letter of introduction about my family, etc.  It's starting to get expensive to simply shop.  Aside from simply submitting an all cash offer and outbidding everyone through pure money - what other strategies have you guys used to buy a home?  I'm nearly at a loss and thinking about moving on when the market slows down.  The problem is, I don't think the market is going to slow down anytime soon.