This is really a strange market. It’s a tough market for buyers right now. I’ll be the first to tell you, if you’re trying to buy a home, it’s tough. And I understand that. There are so few homes on the market right now that when a good home comes on it’s like ants on a anthill. There’s just so many people vying for the same home. You have got to make your contract look better than anyone else’s.

There’s some things that you can do. You can offer to pay title policy. You can talk to your lender and make sure you have gotten all of your documents to them, then you can almost get rid of financing contingency. Then all you need is a house to go with your loan because you’ve given your lender everything he needs or she needs to process your loan. Then, not asking for a home warranty, paying for that yourself. Just all the things that could be taken out of the contract, you might think about doing that.

And it’s all about the price. When you’ve got 10, 15… One of my offers that we put in, they had 68 offers on one home, and that’s just crazy. It takes going over asking price. It’s a tough market for buyers right now, and we all recognize that. But until we get more inventory and more homes to sell, we’re going to continue to see this market. It’s important that you, as a buyer, go in knowing that this is the situation, that this is what you’re walking into. So, that one, you’re not disappointed. And two, you’re not so frustrated because it is frustrating.

We’re having to write sometimes four or five, six offers for our buyers before they get one. And I do recognize how frustrating that is for them. Especially if you have to be in a house by a certain date, that makes it even tougher. If you do have some flexibility and you can give the seller some time, then it’s great, if you can add a residential lease on there and allow the seller to stay in the home for a period of time until you need to be in it.

A lot of things you can do to make yourself more attractive as a buyer. But just understand that it’s going to take a little bit of wiggling around now to get a home. Where in the past it’s been put a contract on it, it’s done, it’s great. But that’s not what’s happening right now. If you walk in prepared, then you’re not quite as frustrated and disappointed as you might be walking in thinking, that’s how it’s going to go down, “I’m going to see a house. I’m going to write a contract. I’m going to get it.” Might not be that way right now. So, hang in there. If you need some help, or need someone that knows how to write a really good contract, give me a call.