Buy a House West Sacramento – Make your Offer Stand Out & Get Accepted 
I’m not gonna lie…it’s a tough time to be a home buyer in West Sacramento! Supply is DOWN and demand is UP. I’m primarily a West Sacramento real estate agent specializing in listings and short sales. I’m getting multiple offers on every property I list and I see the good, the bad, and the very ugly when it comes to writing offers. Here are my tips to writing the best offer you can and how to make your offer stand out among the competition:
1. Work with an experienced West Sacramento Real Estate Agent. I can’t stress this enough. Don’t risk loosing your dream home because you want to work with your friend’s cousin who just got their real estate license. Experienced agents have spent years perfecting their craft and it benefits their clients the most. I won’t go into how to choose a real estate agent in this blog but read more about how to pick a West Sacramento real estate agent before you start writing offers.
2. Make your offer as financially strong as possible. I don’t mean offer above market value, I mean try to look as financially responsible as possible. Did you know that all cash buyers account for 30% of all sales in this market? If you are getting a loan, you are competing with all cash investors. Heck…cash offers are beating out other cash offers. So, if you don’t have all cash, try to do a 20% conventional loan. If you don’t have enough down payment for a conventional loan, FHA is a wonderful product. Don’t ask for closing cost credits with an FHA loan, that makes you look like a weak buyer. Finally VA loans mean a lot of hoops and extra expense for the seller so in this competitive market where you need to write the strongest offer to get your offer accepted, don’t use a VA loan.
3. Neatness and Completeness ONLY. When I get a pile of offers the neat and clean offers stand out and the messy offers go to the back of the line! This is really your agent’s responsibility but make sure they don’t hand write the offer. Don’t fax back and forth a bunch of times…by the time it’s submitted it will be barely legible. Your agent should type the offer. The address should be CORRECT (seriously I need to say this) and should be listed on every page of the contract. Initials and signatures should NOT be missing. The contract should NOT have electronic signatures (this causes future problems with both your lender and short sale lenders). Often the MLS will have attachments and specific directions regarding how to submit an offer. Hopefully your agent pays special attention to these items (like pre-approvals, proof of funds, or special addendums) and submits them with your neat and easy to read offer. This shows that you are your agent are conscientious and anxious to get into contract!
4. Little contract EXTRAS to get NOTICED. There are many things you can do to show the seller you mean business and should be the chosen buyer. First, don’t ask the seller to pay for a home warranty or any of your inspections. You can absolutely still get these things, just don’t ask the seller to pay for them. Shorten the length of your contingency period from the typical 17 days to say, 10 days (plenty of time if you’re agent is on top of things). If it’s a West Sacramento short sale, include a short sale addendum giving the listing agent at least 90 days to negotiate the short sale. Consider a larger deposit You can get it back if your inspections don’t check out within your contingency period so why not? These items aren’t risky, don’t cost you money, and show the seller you are more serious than the rest!
5. Tell them about YOU. It’s so important to put a face to your offer. If there is an open house, introduce yourself to the listing agent. So often the listing agent will get to talking and you’ll find out what the seller is looking for and what you can do to write a winning offer. You might find out something that no other prospective buyer knows! Finally, include a brief letter to the seller with your offer. Tell them a little about yourself and your family. Point out a few of your favorite features of their house. Make sure you thank them for considering your offer. This puts a story behind an otherwise mundane offer.
Just remember, even if you are don’t have all cash, there are ways to write a great offer, have yours stand out, and buy a great house in West Sacramento.
I’m always here to talk real estate!
Buy a House West Sacramento – Make your Offer Stand Out & Get Accepted
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