The Las Vegas and Henderson real estate markets are on fire. Inventory is low and prices are high. Buyers looking to buy are finding homes have multiple offers and are getting outbid. To give buyers a fighting chance in this market. I’ve come up with tips to use when writing an offer.
Here are my 6 tips to getting your offers accepted in a seller’s market.
1 – Write a clean offer
A clean offer should have as few buyer contingencies or seller concessions as possible. In a seller’s market you don’t want your offer to be contingent on the sale of another property or ask the seller to pay your closing cost. This can make your offer look weak or look over complicated to a seller with a lot of options.
2 – Don’t ask for personal property
The seller says they want to keep their brand-new washer and dryer? Buy your own set. Want them to throw in the cool mirror? Skip it. Your offer could be competing and very similar in price to other offers the seller has. Asking for excluded items could weaken your offer. Stay focused and remember your goal is to buy a house not appliances or furniture.
3 – Put down a strong earnest money deposit (EMD)
An earnest money deposit is proof to the seller that you are a good faith buyer. It goes towards your down payment and closing costs. EMDs on average are about 1 to 3% of the purchase price of the home. Putting a higher EMD shows the seller you’re a serious buyer with genuine intentions. However, if you do put more of an EMD down, make sure you follow through with the purchase. If you sign a contract and don’t end up buying the home the seller may be able to keep the EMD as compensation for wasted time.
4 – Waive loan contingencies
A loan contingency gives the buyer an opportunity to cancel without penalty if they can’t qualify for a loan within a certain timeframe. Waiving the loan contingency shows the seller you are a qualified buyer that will have no issues getting financed from a lender. Before you decide to do this, get the okay from your lender and make sure they give you a full loan approval.
5 – Offer above asking price
We are not in a market for making low offers hoping someone will bite. You’ll have to go in making your offer strong enough to beat out multiple bids. This means going above the asking price. Most of the times you can get away with going slightly over. Even a thousand dollars above asking can make the difference in getting your offer accepted. This also won’t end up costing you too much in the long run when factoring in your monthly payment amount.
6 – Pay with cash
I know most people don’t have the ability but if you can pay with cash do so. Seller’s prefer cash offers because they are clean and it eliminates dealing with banks, appraisers and lenders. It proves the buyer is serious and has the financial means for a quick closing. Cash offers give some control back to the buyer even in the hot seller’s market.
If you’re a buyer that’s had no luck getting offers accepted use these tips in the future and I’m sure you’ll get results. For more tips about the real estate and property management markets make sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel and don’t forget to like and share. Also reach out for help with your Las Vegas property management and real estate needs.
