| If you’re a buyer who’s going into home-buying battle, here are some tactical suggestions: Move fast. You should be ready to tour properties the moment they hit the market. The need for speed means many buyers also are making offers before even setting foot inside a property. Be ready, and work with an agent like me who’s on top of finding you a property. Go through full underwriting before shopping. These days, sellers looking at multiple offers will pick the surest thing. You’ll need to go well beyond a pre-qualification letter, which is based on a simple credit check. Instead, get a pre-approval letter that is based on full approval of your tax return, bank statements and pay stubs. Make an aggressive offer. A cash offer usually means fewer contingencies, so sellers look at those bids favorably. If you don’t have cash, do what you can by writing a letter, putting down as much as you can, foregoing the inspection contingency, agreeing to make up the difference in the appraisal contingency, etc. Also round-up your offer, and consider writing an offer with an escalation clause. Consider foregoing the inspection. If you waive your right to an inspection, you should still have an inspection. Your inspector may turn up serious defects that legally enable you to pull out of the offer, such as toxic mold. But by waiving your inspection right, you’re agreeing to accept most defects. Or you could agree not to ask for any one repair that exceeds $500, or some such arrangement. |