Having trouble purchasing primary residence in this market

[Nader Hachem]

Hey all,

Im currently looking to purchase my first my primary residence by October. The market where I’m at just seems to be even more competitive than everywhere else. I’ve put multiple offers 40K over asking, waived inspection and appraisal in some cases but just keep getting ridiculously outbid. With rising interest rates, I simply can’t play a bidding war with others unless I want to spend $2500 a month on a starter home payment. 

What ways are there to get advantage over others? Are there ways to find off market deals? Worth going door to door and passing out letters?

When would rent be worth it? Seems like rent itself is also $2,000 a month and I’m worried that money will just be lost in a few years with nothing I’m return. And there’s also the opportunity that I lose appreciation if I did purchase a house 

To make it clear, I’m in metro Detroit michigan and this will be my primary residence not an investment 

thanks! 

[Lawrence Potts]

@Nader Hachem

Hey Nader,

There are a lot of things you can do try to do to "beat the competition." Make sure you're pre-qualified, shorten closing periods, etc. But if you're having a hard time beating them, why fight it? What is your agent doing that makes them a better choice than other agents if he's playing the same game as these other guys? Has he called up expired listings that fit your criteria? Is he cold calling off-market potentials? Have you guys calibrated your plan at all? Adjusted to the competition? I can say that some of my clients are getting deals because we don't even worry about the newest thing hitting the market: we'll target houses that have been on the market for +30 days or so and we can get contingencies. There are deals out there, you have to make them. You can try cold calling too! Or send out mailers. Or go door knocking. Or calling property managers. Or going to REI meetings and asking people if they have anything they'd be willing to sell if the price made sense. Or calling title and getting a list of all non-owner occupied homes in a specific neighborhood and contacting them. Or talking to real estate attorneys. Be creative and make sure your team can do the same. Hope that helps!