5 Tips to Enhance Your Offer Without Paying More for Your Dream Home

You can enhance your offer without paying more for your dream home. 

It sounds too good to be true, right? 

With our tips, you can put in an enticing, competitive offer and improve your odds without going over budget!

Why are these tips important?

If you are shopping around for a house during a seller’s market you’ve likely noticed demand for homes is high and the supply of homes for sale is low. These tips may help you get an edge on the competition, particularly if you’re a first-time buyer. 

In the fierce competition between buyers, mistakes can be costly, both in terms of losing to a competitor or in paying too much for a home. You can improve your chances by working with your real estate agent to develop a strong negotiation plan. As you can imagine, having a good real estate agent is important. Make sure they’re knowledgeable, understand the present local housing market, and can provide you with a comprehensive analysis of the property’s listing price.

If you want the seller to hand you the keys to your dream home, these tips can help you develop a plan and offer they just can’t refuse!

• Choose a Lender with a Strong Reputation

You need to select a mortgage lender with a strong reputation. The mortgage lender should have an established reputation in the local community based on how quickly they process applications and meet closing dates. 

Mortgage lenders who have served the local community for more than 20 years are a good choice. If you didn’t know it already, we here at Northwest Mortgage have been around since 1999, which is over 20 years of providing excellent service to our community. 

Why is the reputation of the lender important? If a seller is considering your offer and another buyer’s offer, they are more likely to go with the offer backed by a credible mortgage lender, like Northwest Mortgage. 

• Get a Pre-approval Letter Instead of a Pre-qualification Letter

By getting your loan completely approved by the mortgage lender, you increase your chance of getting your dream home. For that, you’ll want to obtain a pre-approval letter rather than a pre-qualification letter.

A pre-approval letter informs a buyer that the mortgage lender has looked at your financial credentials in detail. You can ask the mortgage lender if it’s possible to move your pre-approval letter towards the underwriting process. For the seller, this is an indication that your mortgage lender will approve your financing, which helps relieve monetary risks.

• Share Extra Financial Details

It’s always a good idea to be on the seller’s good side. While everyone is different, sometimes it helps to provide proof of funds, showing your money deposit and down payment for the house. Although this isn’t a requirement, doing it shows the seller your willingness to share extra information. In return, this increases the seller’s confidence in you, telling them that your interest in the house and your financial information is genuine and concrete. The best way to share information like this is to go through your agent or lender.

• Deposit More Money into Your Escrow Account

Depositing more money in your escrow account than other homebuyers sends a signal to the seller that you are 100% committed to following through with the purchase. Since a deposit is usually applied to the down payment or closing costs, you aren’t paying the buyer more money for your dream home.

• Provide Sellers with Flexible Closing Dates

Most sellers want to sell their home quickly and without delay. However, a seller might find themselves in a unique situation where they’ll be trying to line up a different purchase. In this instance, sellers may select a buyer who isn’t pressed for time and can provide them with a timeline for closing the sale and taking ownership of the home. 

Other things you can do to appease the seller and entice them to choose you for selling their home is streamlining the home inspection duration. You can shorten and pre-schedule the home inspection and tell the seller the dates on when you plan to submit your offer on the house. 

For more great tips on buying your dream home, check out our blog. If you are searching for a reliable and reputable mortgage lender, you’ll find that in us — Northwest Mortgage.