The Tips Nobody Tells You About Buying A House in This Market
It’s DEFINITELY a Seller’s Market. You might be asking yourself how long can a seller's market last?! It is not fun to be a buyer in a seller’s market. Honestly, it’s really tough. You’re essentially making one of the biggest purchases of your life, and you do not have the upper hand in negotiations, but sometimes that’s just the way it is. It’s not the end of the world so let’s learn how to buy a house in a seller's market.
**If you’re selling your home, remember what they say: the market you sell in is the market you buy in. I’ve been talking to some homeowners who are thinking of selling and upgrading their home. They so badly want to take advantage of this market, but they are terrified to become a buyer because there is so little housing inventory. At least they know that they’ll do great on one end of the deal and also that interest rates are still relatively low, so there’s that! My advice would be: don’t miss out on the awesome seller’s market because you’re scared to be a buyer.**
With these tips you will be able to better navigate buying in this market. Now, let’s get your offer accepted!
There are a lot of ways to convince a seller to accept your offer, like putting down a bigger deposit, removing or shortening contingencies, and getting your preapproval from a reputable lender. Yeah all that stuff is super important, but I am going to give you the expert tips on how to survive the seller’s market. We are talking about the real homebuying strategies here!
1. Move quickly – Be first! Be ready to go see the house once it comes on the market. If it pops up on the MLS on Thursday, don’t cancel your nail appointment on Saturday to go see it because you’ll be too late. You might as well just keep your nail appointment! Be ready to tell your boss that you’re taking an early lunch and running out to see a house. You need a realtor who is ready to put their sneakers on and meet you at the property immediately.
2. Eliminate the competition – We do this by finding the diamond in the rough. When you’re looking at photos of houses online, don’t be too picky. In a seller’s market, selling agents are get lazy and stop including video tours or spending money on professional photos. Those homes might not seem as appealing to you as the ones who got the fancy photos with the sunset colors enhanced in the background, but go to that one…ya know why? Less buyers are! Buyers are flooding to the house with the drone photos and let them. You might like the house with the photos taken from the ground just as much. Let’s face it - you can’t fly so you’re never again going to see your home from that angle anyway! Plus, there will be less offers to compete with.
Heck, I even recommend going to look at a few properties that aren’t the cream of the crop or that have gone stale. For example, if there is a house that no one has bought because the kitchen backsplash is neon yellow, you will get a better deal if you buy that house and change the backsplash than if you find your perfect kitchen, which is probably everybody else’s perfect kitchen. Then you’ll end up in a bidding war where the price gets bumped up $30,000. You know how nice of a tile backsplash you could get for 30k? See where I’m going with this?
3. Put your best foot forward – For right now, in most cases, gone are the days of lowballing, meeting in the middle, and ultimately getting a deal on the property. Don’t hide your best offer. If the seller has 8 other offers and yours is low, they wont even call you back. Don’t play hard to get. You will regret it. Remain humble and know who has the upper hand at this point in negotiations because it’s not you, it’s just not. Which brings me to my next point…
4. Write a letter - While you’re being honest, write a letter to the seller introducing yourself and telling them why you love this house and why it’s perfect for you and your family. For a lot of sellers, at some point, the deal becomes personal. They love their home. That’s why they bought it. They have cared for it and improved it over time. Their home has started to reflect their personal style. They may not care and they may not even read the letter, but you don’t lose anything by writing it.
5. Master Your Mindset – Like everything else in life, when buying a home, mindset is important. Don’t give up, and don’t get discouraged. You might put in more than one offer before you get one accepted. That’s just the reality of a seller’s market, but stay on top of your mindset. Do whatever you do that helps. You can meditate, pray, workout, drink wine, but not too much wine.
I know buying a home in this market seems impossible, but hang in there because eventually the call that your offer has been accepted will come! In the meantime, if you need a pep talk, I’m here for you!