Tough time getting offers accepted or countered on multi

[Alejandro B.]

Looking to buy my first property and have had no luck on the offers were making. Have offered 20-40k over asking on properties in the 700k-800k around Boston and haven't even gotten any counters. Besides waiving the inspection, any other way to increase my success here? I must be missing something but have no feedback. Ideas?

[Charlie MacPherson]

@Alejandro B. Here are a few things you can do, but none of them are a rock solid guarantee.  Do all of the and you can still get outbid. 

1. Have a strong, verifiable pre-approval. That means that the lender has run your credit and reviewed pay stubs, W2s, tax returns and bank statements. If the seller's agent is sharp, they'll confirm all that with a lender. If you printed your own pre-approval from an HML's website, expect push back if the seller's agent is sharp enough to pick up on that.

2. Submit an offer ASAP when the property hits the market. Maybe sight unseen, maybe with waived contingencies.  However, if I were the seller's agent, I'd ask for a non-refundable deposit if the offer was sight unseen.  That's because these offers are highly likely to blow up at inspection.   Waiving the home inspection is a risky move, but if you're confident in the property's condition after you walk through, it will make your offer a LOT stronger.  That's because so many deals blow up at the inspection.

3. Avoid contingencies.  A home sale contingency, meaning that your offer is contingent on you selling another property, is a very weak offer.  The seller doesn't know whether your current property is priced right or even being marketed well.  "Partner approval" is another one.  This is usually seen as a transparent attempt to tie up a property while you make up your mind.  As a seller's agent, I'd advise the seller to decline the offer or at least to require a meaningful non-refundable deposit.

The two common contingencies are home inspection and financing.  Anything else is to be avoided if possible.

4. Consider a large earnest money deposit. $500.00 to $1,000.00 is most common. However 45,000.00 to $10,000.00 will make an impression if you can muster that much. That and your second deposit with the P&S are the amount that you have at risk if you cancel the purchase without proper justification. Proper justification would be the contingencies in your offer. Larger deposits mean you have more skin in the game and make your offer stronger.

5. Keep your financing in mind. Yes, offer high - but remember that the property has to survive appraisal. Pro-tip - if you're financing with FHA, VA or USDA, the property has to appraise at the purchase price, not the loan amount.

6. Have a sharp buyer's agent on your side.  Someone who knows the market, who can run real comps (not the cheesy automated comps - or heaven forbid, Zillow), knows how to get an offer submitted and how to negotiate deals.

Good luck!