4 Suggestions to Make YOUR Offer the WINNING Offer!

House shopping should be fun, stressful, but fun! You go house shopping, have your realtor run CMAs(good ones if they know what they're doing), find your perfect house, make an offer, cross your fingers, only to find out the Seller went with another offer. It can really take the wind out of your sails. Today, we discuss 4 options to "sweeten the pot" and help you win the bidding war!

1. Determine the Seller's Needs - If you know why the sellers are selling you can plan your offer around their needs, and yours. Playing question master can determine if they are: looking for only the highest offer, they want their home to be sold to a family with children, since their children grew up there, their escrow needs, or possible needs for a leaseback. 

2. Be Friendly - I know what you are thinking. This is a negotiation with, sometimes, hundreds of thousands of dollars on the line and the future of your family, why play nice? It is simple really: you catch more flies with honey than you do with vinegar. Making "demands" and saying things like "you require" are not going to make the seller flinch in any capacity. They are selling their property and you want to buy one, your interests are aligned. 

3. Offer a Quick Closing(if applicable) - Closings can take 30-45 days and there is a lot that can happen in that time. Offering the seller a quick closing, 21 days if everyone can get their ducks in a row, will make the seller feel more confident in your offer. Combining this with a leaseback option shows that you do care and you are willing to work.

4. Write a Personal Letter - These make a difference. True story, a woman I know loved a house. She was one of 4 bids on this house. She wrote a personal letter speaking about her difficulties since divorce, her struggles as a single mother, and why this house would mean so much to her and her daughter. Her bid was picked. At the end of the day, most people have hearts, and hearing a touching story or a life plan, with their soon to be former house, may make them know they are leaving where they made so many memories in good hands!

In Conclusion...

No, we cannot guarantee any of these ideas will work, but we can guarantee they will not hurt to try. The deals that are the best are the deals where everyone wins. Do not let a couple of hundred dollars, or rude attitude on a bad day, deter your goals. Take emotions out of it, with the exception of a personal letter ;) and go get your dream house!!