BY SYBILLE C. DENNINGER

Hello :-) Maybe you were watching the 11 pm news last Tuesday and saw the segment about the current low inventory of For Sale properties. There are a lot of eager, qualified buyers out there, competing for limited amounts of houses. What that means is that well priced homes in good condition can have multiple offers within just a few days of going on the market. It's a so-called sellers' market but there are steps you can take to have a fair chance at getting your dream home even when a bidding war ensues.

So what are the weapons of choice???

BE WELL INFORMED! To compete in a bidding war, you need to do your homework in preparation for the home purchase. You have to know about property values in your neighborhood of choice. And you need to be sure about what you want, what is important to you as far as price, size, location and specifics of a new home.

DON'T WAGE THE WAR ALONE! Hire a buyer's agent (hint hint) who gets you into a For Sale property for a showing as quickly as possible, and who can guide you through the intricacies of making offers.

BE THE FIRST TO KNOW! Sign up on our website to receive alerts whenever a new property in your specified area and price range hits the market. You will have the same quick access to what's new in MLS that we have. Of course there is no cost and no obligation for becoming a member on our website.

GET A PRE-APPROVAL LETTER! Select a lender and loan product, complete everything the lender requires and have a pre-approval letter in hand before you make an offer. We can refer you to knowledgeable loan officers.

BE CAREFUL! Offering the most money might seem like the best way to win a bidding war, but beware of these pitfalls: You may be tempted to overbid in the heat of the moment but know that a major component of obtaining a mortgage is the appraisal. If you are offering more than the appraised value, you need to pay for the difference because the lender will not give you a mortgage for more than a certain percentage of what the property gets appraised for. 

BE FLEXIBLE! Sellers don't always choose the highest offer. They often prefer offers that are most likely to go through and that meet their conditions, as well as offers with few contingencies and without conditions which could cause closing delays. A fair, straight forward offer without demands for the seller may trump a higher monetary offer with a gazillion pain-in-the-neck specifications.

 

I leave you with a few photos of a beautiful, newly constructed home on 16 Andrews Court in Gloucester, MA, priced at $439,900.00. Feel free to call us if you would like to take a look :-)

MLS # 71804927

 

STAY TUNED FOR FEATURE FRIDAY TOMORROW!!!! YOU WILL MEET PASCAL MADDEN OF MOBILE LUBE :)