As you may have already heard, today’s market is a Sellers Market and a very strong Sellers Market at that. This is due to the Law of Supply and Demand. There is currently such high demand for homes (due to the very low-interest rates bringing on more buyers to the market)  and the very low supply of homes available. It is crucial to make sure that as a buyer you have an amazing team behind you in your home buying journey. You want to make sure that your agent is showing you the homes that fit your needs and that you are interested in, as soon as you are able to coordinate with the seller of that home. That you are being financed by a great reputable lender that is known by the local real estate community. You also want to assure that you are placing strong and clean offers that are going to be, at the very least, considered in the top offers that a specific home may get. 

How to choose your agent: 

You should be able to easily find accessible information for the agents you may want to interview. Usually, you can search Google, Realtor, or Zillow. Call them and see if they are a match for you and your needs. See how long they have been a Realtor if they are part-time or full time and if they can recommend lenders that you can work together with.  

How to choose your lender:

Once you have selected your realtor of choice they should be able to also recommend you lenders that are their go-to’s. The reason why you want to use recommended lenders is that it will allow your offer, when compared to another offer, that is possibly identical to another offer but they are using an out of area lender your offer will beat the other offer out. It will beat the other offer because your lender is reputable in that they are known to not just qualify anyone. Their pre-qualification letter isn’t just a letter handed out but they place their name on the line. Even though larger banks at times may have more attractive numbers shown in the beginning of pre-qualifying they may not have dug as deep. Many times, I have personally been in an escrow with an out of area lender that prolonged an escrow to close late and/or had to cancel because the buyer was actually not able to receive loan approval. 

Writing a strong and clean offer: 

What does it mean to write a strong offer? In today’s market because it is such a sellers market, it is not the time to try to negotiate a price down as soon as a home is listed. At this time, sellers are receiving 99% of the time offers that are the very least List Price. Majority of the time, receiving offers that are above list price and even buyers offering an amount to the seller over what the appraisal amount in the case of an appraisal coming in lower. What this means is that for all financed offers your lender will send an appraiser to appraise the home and assure that the value is there for the loan that you are applying for. They are there to also check health and safety items…. but let’s get back to this “above appraisal” concept. Due to the high demand in homes. There are typically multiple offers placed on a home. Some buyers have been searching for a very long time and are just wanting their offer accepted. They are now placing offers that are 10, 20, 30 thousand or above list price. It is then of no question that the appraisal will have a very difficult time in meeting the value of what was offered. To do an example: 

The home you love is listed at $275,000. It has been on the market for 4 hours. Your Realtor has sent it to you and you are interested in it. You see it and it checks off a majority of your “Must Haves”. You want to go in strong . You place a $310,000 offer and offer the seller $15,000 above what the appraisal comes in (this is in addition to your closing costs and downpayment). Make sure your lender goes over what your down payment and closing costs are at the time of getting pre-qualified. Your realtor should also assure the seller that if you are going to do inspections that they will be done in a shorter time frame than that of the traditional 17 days allowed. That you will also make sure that the lender orders the appraisal as soon as they are able to. 

What does it mean to offer a clean offer? 

A clean offer means that in short, you are willing to take care of repairs yourself and not ask for anything other than appraisal called conditions or health and safety items to be done by the seller before the home is yours. Your Realtor should be able to easily let you know what they recommend to be reflected on an offer based on the condition and age of the home. 

Selling a Home in Today’s Market: 

Just like you would search for an agent to represent you in the purchase of a home you will also want to interview a few agents that you may have used when you bought the home, found on google, realtor, zillow and or is recommended to you by a friend or family. 

See how long they have been doing real estate and if they are full time or part time. Do they have a team that will assure a seamless transaction from listing personnel, marketing and transactions assistance. HIVE Realtors assure you have professional pictures, field personnel; that assure the home is ready to show when it goes on the market, once offers come in your agent will review offers and present to you the top offers with net sheets to choose the best one. This is measured by the type of offer, financing that the buyer is using, the lender that the buyer is using, items requested, terms to the offer and details that HIVE Realtors are familiar with. 

Once you have the selected offer your agent will recommend Title and Escrow Officers. They will open escrow up for you and assure that the required disclosures have been completed by you and sent to the buyers agent for the buyer review.  That we know when inspections are occurring and when the appraisal has been ordered and scheduled for. That time lines are clear to all and that we are able to close timely and smoothly. You will also be updated regularly and consistently and will always have your Realtor one call, text, or email away.