Top 6 Ways to Get Your Offer Accepted

When you find the perfect / home, you want to move on it as quickly as possible. Just like curb appeal, your offer is your only chance to make a first impression on the seller. You need to make sure your offer is as serious as you are if you really want the home. The following are the top six ways to get your offer accepted by a / seller:

#1 - Keep it clean. Asking for extras like making the seller pay for closing costs, lender fees, a home warranty or other things may turn the seller off of your offer. They may move on to another / buyer who is asking for a lot less, making for an easier transaction for them.

#2 - Tailor your offer to the seller's needs. Ask your agent to talk to the seller's agent to find out what is important to the seller (ie, they need a particular price, they want to close in a certain period of time, etc). Then, your / agent can help you craft your offer in terms of meeting the seller's requirements, making your offer look much more attractive.

#3 - Increase your earnest deposit. Typically, your earnest deposit (money put into an account to show good faith) is 1% of the purchase price. Consider offering more than that to show you are both serious and financially stable enough to afford the / house in question.

#4 - Bigger down payment. Instead of putting the minimum amount down on your / home loan, put more down. For example, a typical FHA loan requires 3.5% as down payment. Put 5% down instead. Like the earnest deposit, this will show that you are both serious and financially sound.

#5 - Add an "escalation clause" to your offer. This is when you offer to pay a certain amount over what the next highest bidder offers up to a specific amount. For example, you decide that the most you are willing to pay on your / home is $300,000. Instead of offering $300,000 flat out, you add a clause in your offer that says you are willing to pay $500 over the next highest offer up to $299,999. If the highest bid the seller receives is $275,000, the escalation clause then makes your offer to be $275,500. Your real estate agent should talk to their broker to find out what legal language to use to write up the escalation clause. Always make sure to get a copy of the next highest bid from the seller before you enter into a sales contract to verify that what they said was the next highest offer is truly what the next highest offer was.

#6 - Buy the home "as is". This doesn't mean that you can't get an inspection on the / home before buying it or that you are legally bound to purchase it even after an inspection raises questions on possible expensive repairs. In fact, I still highly recommend getting an inspection. Making an offer on the home "as is" means that you won't hold the seller responsible for, let's say, replacing carpets, re-roofing or anything else that can delay a sale and cost the seller more money.

Crafting the perfect offer and getting it accepted is just another step in / homeownership that is unavoidable. Keep these top six ways to get your offer accepted will help you realize your piece of the American dream. Let me know how I can help.

Originally posted on my Northern Virginia homes blog here: http://northernvirginiahomes.net/2012/03/22/top-6-ways-to-get-your-offer-accepted/.