How to Get Your Offer Accepted on a New Property

Making an offer on a new property can be a stressful experience. You don’t know how many other buyers have made offers of their own, how flexible the seller is, or if your offer will be immediately rejected. This uncertainty is no fun, but there are a few things you can do to increase your chances of getting your offers accepted.

1. Move quickly. You know the saying “the early bird gets the worm”? This couldn’t be more true than when making an offer on a home. Set up alerts on your phone so you get notified every time a new property that falls within your parameters hits that market, that way you can quickly check it out, run the numbers, and get your offer in ASAP if it looks good.
2. Figure out why the seller is selling. If you know what the seller’s motivation is for listing their property, you can play into that. Maybe the seller is in a bind and needs cash fast; in this case, you can offer your maximum price with a quick closing. Whatever the case, if you know why they’re selling, you can tailor your offer to be more attractive to them.
3. Buy all cash if you can. If you can make an all cash offer, do it. Not only does this make the buying process far less complicated, sellers also love it because it greatly reduces the risk of the deal falling through.
4. Get pre-approved and provide a letter showing this. If you are using financing to buy the property, get pre-approved for a loan before you start making offers. This gives sellers proof that you will be able to secure the funds once the deal is made.
5. Open with your best offer. This may mean that you don’t score a stellar deal, but if you start with your best offer, you’re telling the seller you’re a) serious about buying this property, and b) willing to pay your top dollar for it. No games, no haggling, just a solid offer on the table that they can take or leave.
6. Offer more earnest money. Most people offer 1-2% in earnest money to show they’re serious about a property, but if you really want to make a statement to the seller, offer more. Just make sure you have contingencies in place in case something turns up during the inspection or something else happens where you need to back out.
7. Pay their closing costs. If you can swing it, offer to pay all or part of the seller’s closing costs. This will save them a bit of money and thus make your offer much more attractive.