Cervone Deegan + Associates knows that competition in the real estate marketplace is still steep this season. There are only a certain number of homes on the market that a lot of buyers are all competing for. According to a recent release from realtor.com, several buyers have shared some common strategies that are making their offers stand out aside from just offering a higher dollar figure. Here is a closer look:

 

 

If you have competing offers that are offering a similar dollar amount and standard terms but one is putting more earnest money down, chances are that they will be the most attractive offer in the seller’s eyes. The more money a buyer puts down, the more “skin in the game” so to speak they have. At a certain point in a sales transaction, buyers become more bound to the deal and cannot back out without penalty or loss of their earnest money. This makes a buyer’s offer more solid to select as the winning deal.

 

 

Just like most buyers face the problem of securing a suitable home, sellers are experiencing the same once they lock in a buyer and begin looking for themselves. Buyers can help ease the stress of a transaction by offering a leaseback for perhaps 60-90 days at no charge to allow them some time to locate and lock down their next home. This can be ideal as it reduces the pressure for them to have to find temporary housing should they not be able to get their next home in time.

 

 

This is a strategic contract addendum that you can use when a bidding war is likely. It essentially says it will increase the buyer’s amount by a certain amount over the highest bidder should there be another one. It can be tough as it sends a message to a seller that they are willing to pay more. However, if they are in a competitive bidding scenario then they won’t lose out if their first amount was lower than the maximum they would be willing to pay to secure the home.