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How to score the house in a competitive market?

Peter Thompson · August 4, 2021 Ask Pete Buyer

With the increased competition for the limited number of homes available for sale right now, a lot of prospective homeowners are getting frustrated losing offer after offer to more competitive bids. In this video, I share with you some uncommon tricks I’ve used to help my clients offer stand out and even win out over higher offers.

A friend of mine is trying to buy a house. They keep putting in offers, but never score. What can you do differently? Do you have any tips?

Work with an experienced realtor

The first thing I would suggest is to work with a realtor who knows the area really well. That’s really important because that realtor has been exposed to other sales, they have a great idea of what the comps are and they can suggest how much you should be offering on the property.

Find out how many offers there are

Another important thing to determine what you should be offering is to know how many offers there are.

Add a personal touch

Now, selling or buying a house isn’t just about the money–emotions often plays a big role, too.

So one of the things that has worked for my clients was to write a letter to the seller. This adds a nice touch, which is so, so important when dealing with sellers who love their home. Letting them know what you love about it, too, can really make the difference. I’ve seen this time and time again. The seller really appreciates it and then decides they want to work with that particular buyer, because they’ve shown them how much they care about their home. This has a huge impact in situation where the seller has a hard time letting go, or doesn’t really want to sell. Knowing that the people coming in are going to love it as much as the they did then makes all the difference.

Show your commitment

Another thing I suggest in tight situations is to make a deposit because that exhibits a level of seriousness other buyers won’t show. And again, when a seller sees this, it may just make the difference between yours and someone else’s offer.

Key takeaways

In situations with a lot of competing offers, these tips have help my clients seal the deal:

  1. Work with an experienced realtor.
  2. Adjust your bid based on the number of offers.
  3. Add a personal touch to your communication with a letter to the seller.
  4. Show how serious you are by making a deposit.

This is #AskPete. If you have any real estate questions, feel free to send them and I will get you the answers. Or stay up to date on the latest tips for real estate buyers and sellers by clicking the YouTube button below:

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