Tag: real estate buying

Who knew that even people who don’t like Las Vegas or gambling in general would be faced with the prospect of making some really heavy bets just to buy a home? Nevertheless, that is the world we’re living in, so shuffle those cards and spin the wheel.

Based on last week’s escalating statistics and lack of inventory, if you’re planning on making an offer on a home in Manatee County, you’ll likely be involved in a bidding war. Redfin Corporation, a real estate brokerage, reported that 70% of the offers written by their agents in January were facing bidding wars. This is the highest since they started tracking bidding wars in April of 2020.

Nothing seems to be discouraging buyers, including rising mortgage rates, and every day it looks like there are more desperate buyers that are coming up with more creative ways to make their offer stand out. However, before buyers get into the realm of the exotic offer, they should start with the basic traditional offer.

Real estate agents are still the gold standard in making offers and effectively communicating the offer to a seller’s agent. A good agent will suggest attractive options without getting into crazy stuff. Likewise, a good agent will advise that you have to move fast in this market. Frequently, agents hear of something coming on the market through the Realtor grapevine and, when that happens, believe it and don’t hesitate.

Don’t even think about offering under asking, and be prepared to go over asking. Also, consider building in an escalation clause to automatically increase your offer if another offer comes in over yours. This, again, is kind of like gambling, so be careful. You could also offer more earnest money at contract above what would be normal to show you’re a serious buyer.

If you’re really into taking a risk, remove the contingencies like home inspections and loan approval contingencies. This naturally means you need to be sure you can get a loan, that the property will appraise, and if it doesn’t, you have the cash to still go forward. Likewise, be confident the home doesn’t have any major structural problems. Finally, cash is always the most attractive offer assuming it’s the right number. Just because you make an all-cash offer, it doesn’t mean you can lowball the offer.

You can, of course, do any number of things to enhance your offer and make it stand out. Here are some of the things other buyers are trying around the country.

After cash, giving sellers time to move and find another home is important in making your offer stand out. But buyers who are out for blood are trying things like offering Netflix subscriptions; airline tickets to out-of-the-country destinations; purchasing something you know the seller wants but would never buy, like maybe a fur coat or tickets for a cruise; babysitting and cleaning services for six months. How about six months’ worth of boat dockage for sellers who need to relocate their boats after moving, or a gift certificate for boat maintenance where you know they do business. The choices are endless, but they won’t trump cash and won’t make a difference if the offer is too low.

Taking a risk in life is part of planning your future, but I doubt American homebuyers have ever been in a situation where taking a risk could involve hundreds of thousands of dollars. Learn to love gambling, because if you’re in the house-buying market, you may need to learn the house rules.

Remember the movie, “What Women Want” with Mel Gibson about 20 years ago? He suddenly acquired the ability to read women’s minds, not men’s minds, just women. There are real estate professionals out there that would love to have that ability when they first meet a potential buyer, only they want to be able to read all buyer’s minds.

If you have two people, you have two different opinions and real estate buying is no exception. Buying a house with another person is right up there with other major life events. One person wants a fully renovated home in move-in condition, the other wants a fixer-upper so they can put their own stamp on it. One person wants charm, the other wants function, one person wants waterfront, the other can’t stand sand. One person wants a garage, the other thinks it’s a junk collector, you get the picture.

The key to house hunting is not to dig in too much. You may think you want a pool or a basement or skylights and find out later that the maintenance involved for certain items is more expensive than anticipated.

So, who in a relationship gets the final word on whether you buy a three-bedroom single-family home or a two-bedroom condo? When I first got into real estate, we would say that whichever person in a couple sat in the front seat of the car with the agent was the decision-maker. An interesting little observation but probably doesn’t tell the whole story.

As it turns out, a survey of 33,000 home shoppers shows some of the differences between men and women in their wants and needs in a property. For instance, women tend to determine floor plan and layout, young mothers want to be able to keep an eye on the children from the kitchen and require upstairs bedrooms close to children. Men, on the other hand, are focused on location, a long-held opinion that this may be the most important thing when house-hunting.

In addition, women tend to want pantry space and closet space. They want multiple bathrooms with both a tub and a shower and, of course, large laundry rooms where they can set up ironing boards and drying racks. They also would love an office for household accounts and a master bedroom formatted as a get-away spot. Men want outdoor space, room for fitness equipment, three-car garages, a media room, green technology and high-end kitchen appliances. The bottom line is the survey showed that 92 percent of all home purchases are led by a woman.

Finally, couples need to have serious and substantial conversations before they get into the agent’s car, whichever seat they sit in. And before they call an agent, they need at least an outline of what they want in a property and, of course, an area. That’s not to say they can’t be flexible with that list, but it’s an important starting point.

Probably buyers would love to be able to read their agent’s minds as well. Chances are what they would see is, “Please just tell me what you want!” written on their forehead. Knowing what you want beforehand will help not only you but your agent as well from losing your collective minds.