Just because it’s a seller’s market, doesn’t mean buyers should get walked all over!
I see in the news that “75% of recent home buyers have regrets about their new home,” and I know that most of those pandemic-era regrets could have been avoided with a realtor & lender team that takes a more level-headed approach to home buying than the media hype shows you.
If you’re looking to buy a house, you’ll want to find a realtor that will fiercely protect you as a buyer in this market.
Know this: you CAN buy a home… and get a good deal too! I know, because it’s happening with my clients every day.
Here are 5 ways I protect my buyers in a seller’s market:
- Pre-approval. Instead of looking at your max, we look at what’s comfortable for you. We set the search at that amount (or lower) to give you room to offer more and still be well within your comfort zone.
- Contingencies. Protections are built into the standard California residential purchase contract for a reason. I never advise you to waive inspection or loan contingencies, no matter how competitive the market is. There’s more to your “inspection period” than just a physical home inspection, from title reports to permits to just taking a moment to breathe once you open escrow! You want to build in that contingency period and waiving it puts you at a big risk.
- Lending. Before you make an offer, I ask you to review the offer amount and monthly payment with your lender. That way you know up front what you are getting yourself into, before we open escrow. A good lender will be able to structure a loan so you get the best monthly payment — and that doesn’t always mean hunting online for the lowest interest rates! It’s super important to have a strong lender / realtor team in your corner, making your offer more competitive.
- Comparable sales. Guess what? The asking price is just a suggestion! Before you make an offer we “run the comps” (research recent comparable sales to get an estimated range for where the property will appraise). In a seller’s market the property will sell for fair market value, even if that happens to be “over asking.” So don’t worry about the dreaded “offering over asking” — if the comps support that price, and it works with your budget, and you’ve talked to your lender first, we can go for it. Sometimes, believe it or not, the fair market value happens to be at (or below) asking price… even in this market!
- Negotiation. We never go into a deal expecting to bring the price down, but if any surprises come up during escrow we are ready to negotiate a seller credit. Even in this seller’s market we’ve been able to negotiate credits of up to $50,000 for repairs. That’s why having a good negotiator on your team matters, and someone who is committed to representing YOU, not just making the sale.
Believe it or not, my job as a realtor is not to sell houses. It’s to strategize your goals with you, provide you with advice and resources, and fight for you to get the best outcome you possibly can!
You can always schedule a free real estate goals call with me at www.lyonideas.com/call if you want to chat more about how to buy in this competitive market. You can do it!
Read more on this topic!
https://www.zillowgroup.com/news/avoid-6-first-time-homebuyer-mistakes
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/04/realestate/home-buying-regret.html
http://zillow.mediaroom.com/2022-02-08-75-of-recent-home-buyers-have-regrets-about-their-new-home
Watch the 5 ways I’m protecting buyers as a video thread: https://twitter.com/lyonideas/status/1511133991180861440