Once upon a time, owning that home was a dream. But you have found the one within your price range for you now. The next step is to make an offer–but it must be a winning offer to beat all the other buyers who are interested in your dream home. Your offer will be in the form of a purchase agreement or purchase letter. This is a legal document detailing the price you’re going to pay, how you’re going to get the money, and other important transaction aspects. But you must have the winning bid first, so here are a few tips to make a winning offer when you buy a Dallas Texas house.
1. Show Your Commitment
Perhaps the most important aspect of making a winning offer is to show that you are a serious buyer. And by offering a written offer rather than a verbal one, one of the best ways to do this. Written offers are taken more seriously, allowing you to emphasize the points that make you a strong buyer.
Another way to demonstrate your commitment as a buyer is to get a mortgage pre-approved. You are much more likely to succeed in making a winning offer when you buy a Dallas Texas house when you make an offer with your pre-approval letter in hand. Having a letter of pre-approval will put you in front of all the other bidders who don’t have one that still has to go through the approval process.
2. Make Sure the Offer is Competitive
The first thing a seller wants to know, of course, is how much you want to pay–and you want to pay as little as possible, understandably. The trick is to strike a balance within your range with a competitive offer. If your first offer is too low, it may be rejected immediately, and you may not be able to make a counteroffer.
Formulating a competitive bid involves several variables: comparative analysis of the market, how long the house was on the market, other offers, number and extent of repairs needed, and more. A competitive offer need not necessarily match the requested price–it just needs to be competitive, well. This is one area where you should really rely on your real estate agent’s knowledge.
3. Offer More Down
It’s as simple as offering a higher down payment to boost your chances of making a winning offer when buying a Dallas Texas house. This will put you well ahead of the other buyers if you can afford it, because sellers always prefer more cash in hand. Typically, down payments are down between 3% and 20%. But a higher down payment will put you in the position of a serious buyer when the market is competitive, and the deal will be considered less risky.
4. Limit Contingencies
Another possibility when buying a Dallas Texas house to make a winning offer is to provide more incentive for the seller to accept your offer. And by limiting contingencies to sweeten the deal, you can often do that. For example, you could do away with the contingency of funding to set your offer above the others. However, be aware that this is more risky for you as the purchaser because if the financing falls through, you will lose your deposit. Just analyze your financial situation carefully in order to know what you can afford and how much risk you can take. The real estate professionals at House Logic put it here: “Think of keeping your eye on the big picture. If you and the seller bicker over a $ 500 repair, bear in mind that this is a drop in the bucket relative to the bid’s size.”
5. Read the Fine Print
It also means reading the fine print in the sales contract to make a winning offer. That contract includes key property information such as address, tax ID, utility types, and so on. But it also specifies which fixtures and personal property are left with the house by the seller, things like appliances. Typically, before an offer is made, the seller will provide a list of these items to the buyer. Then, in your negotiations, you can use this, but you must also ensure that the contract matches the pre – submitted list.
6. Work with a Good Agent
When you make a formal purchase offer, when the seller accepts your terms, it typically becomes legally binding. Nevertheless, it is common to change or modify the terms before closing, often with everything hanging on favorable inspection results. So, making a winning offer and navigating successfully all that follows usually requires a good agent’s services. The trick is to find the best tactics for the specific bidding situation.
