Are you on the hunt for your dream home, but your offers keep getting passed up? This market can be SO tough to get an offer accepted! It’s exhausting and can be so deflating when you just want to find your HOME.

Well in this blog, I’m going to give you 3 big tips to get your offer accepted in a bidding war, so that you can FINALLY call the next house your home :)

Tip #1: Communication & knowing your audience

I know that this may seem super obvious, but communication is truly key and has helped me win in some instances! I’m talking about communication between you and your agent, and your agent and the other side. Communicating and being very clear on your ultimate budget, what levers you are willing to compromise on, while choosing an agent that has excellent communication skills with the other side, will help your agent know what to bid and the strategy behind it. In terms of knowing your audience, I mean what their seller is looking to get out of this deal.

Which takes me to Tip #2, or what I will refer to as...the trump cards.

TIP #2: Trump cards

There are 3 big trump cards right now:

1. CASH: Cash is king b/c the deal can usually close quickly without the need for an appraisal since there is no lender involved.

2. WAIVING INSPECTIONS: Again, the deal can move more quickly and the seller does not have to worry about defects that they didn’t know about or spending the time and money to make repairs (For the record, I would NEVER recommend waiving inspections! This is a critical part in the process!!).

3. COVERING THE APPRAISAL GAP: Sellers are guaranteed some, if not all, of the purchase price even if the appraisal comes back lower than anticipated. This means that if the house appraises for less than your offer, you agree that you will cover the difference with cash (above & beyond your down payment).

Now I realize you may not be able to, or even want to use any of these trump cards. I don’t know if I personally would, either! I am also sharing this because this is what you could be up against, which is why the communication piece that I mentioned is SO important, and so is my final tip…

Last but not least…

TIP #3: BEST & HIGHEST OFFER

Come in with the highest and best offer. Right now, it is not uncommon to get 5-10 offers on a single property. Plus, sellers are moving quickly onto their next home as well. So there is not always time to counter back and forth. In fact, I seldom see it happen right now. That is why it’s important to show all of your cards, and put your best foot forward. Think about how much you love this house. If you lost out on it because of $2,000 you’d probably be kicking yourself. But what about $5,000? $10,000? $20,000? What is your “peace zone” number? Meaning, what is the ultimate number that still makes you feel at peace spending. And write that offer.

Now that you’ve heard my top 3 tips to winning in a bidding war, you may be interested (& excited!) to know what happens after your offer is accepted.

In my next blog, I’m going to walk you through the steps from offer acceptance to closing on your new home. Keep an eye out for it!

If you have any questions about bidding wars, or need help in battling them, don’t hesitate to reach out!