How to Make a Competitive Offer
There’s nothing worse than falling in love with a home just to have your offer fall through. Unfortunately, this is common in high-demand real estate markets. With so many eager buyers on the prowl, these popular markets typically will serve well for buyers with top, competitive offers.
If you’re stressed about making your offer stand out, we’re here to ease your nerves! The best way to make your offer competitive and bypass other listings is to work with an experienced professional at Mark Spain Real Estate. With decades of industry experience, our agents promise to deliver verified market insight to help you make informed decisions about making an offer. With our help, your dream home is just in reach! Read below for our guide on how to make a competitive offer on a home.
How to Make a Competitive Offer
Get Mortgage Pre-Approval
Most home buyers plan to finance their purchase with a mortgage loan. However, not all start their house hunts with their loan already secured. Getting mortgage pre-approval can give you the competitive edge to secure your dream home. When including your pre-approval letter with your offer, you’ll show sellers that you’re serious about buying a home and can afford to do so. Then, as sellers weigh their options, they might put your offer above all the rest as they know you’re capable of a significant financial commitment. We recommend applying for pre-approval before you start shopping for homes, as knowing your exact loan amount will help you budget your purchase.
Limit Your Contingencies
Contingencies allow you, the buyer, to walk away from your purchase if there are detrimental, unforeseen issues with the property. While it’s wise to include contingencies in your purchase agreement, like home inspection and mortgage financing clauses, you don’t want to go overboard. In a competitive market, sellers might discard an offer with excessive, demanding contingencies because they can’t trust the buyer. For them, they want to accept an offer from someone who will commit to the purchase and not walk away if certain conditions aren’t met. 
If you’re shopping in a high-demand market, try to keep your contingencies to a minimum. However, if there are certain conditions you are not willing to waive, you might consider shortening the number of days needed to fulfill the requirements. This will make you appear less demanding to the seller and might make them rethink your offer.
Give Your Best Offer
One common misconception among home buyers is that you should keep your initial offer conservative. Many think doing so will leave room for negotiations and help them get the most bang for their buck on a home. While this might be the case in more low-volume markets, it will not help you stand out in places with more competitive landscapes.
In high-demand markets, you’ll want to give your best offer from the get-go, including the best price you can pay for the home and any other incentives you can offer. For buyers with sizable budgets, we recommend offering as close to the asking price as possible, if not above it. Offering moderately more than the asking price will put you in a strong position for offer acceptance and will show your commitment toward buying the property.
Pay in Cash
Cash offers are a surefire way to stand out in a competitive real estate market. Sellers with multiple offers will immediately be drawn to a cash offer, regardless of whether it is their highest bid. 
Accepting a cash offer on a home allows sellers to have more flexible closing with no contract contingencies: the perfect recipe for a quick sale. If you can pay in cash, we couldn’t recommend it enough. Doing so will get you and your seller onto new chapters in just a few days!
Hire a Real Estate Agent
Getting intel from a real estate agent will help you present your most competitive offer. Not only will they help you form an offer based on your budget and help you decide your contract conditions, but they will also submit the offer on your behalf and handle negotiations with the seller’s agent. At Mark Spain Real Estate, our team acts in our buyers’ best interest to help them navigate competitive real estate landscapes. With our help, you can make informed decisions on your home offer and help you have a successful house hunt!
Buy a Home with Mark Spain Real Estate
Do you want to buy a home? Put your trust in the industry professionals at Mark Spain Real Estate! Our agents promise unparalleled client satisfaction as we help you make informed decisions on your home offer. Check out our Guaranteed Offer Program for the potential to receive a competitive cash offer on your home in only 21 days. Contact our agents today!
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