While home buyers never want to be in a position where there are multiple offers on the home they want to purchase, it happens more often than you think. Apart from the obvious – increasing the offer price – here are a few things a buyer can do to set his offer apart from the others.
Set your offer apart from the others with these tips
Sizable earnest deposit
The earnest money is an amount of money that the buyer puts in escrow until the closing to show that he is serious about the property and operating in good faith. The funds are credited towards the total cash required from the buyer at close of escrow. Offering a large earnest deposit signals to the seller that the buyer is serious.
Non-refundable earnest deposit
If the buyer is confident about his financing, he may want to offer that the earnest money (or a portion of it) becomes non-refundable after the completion of the inspection period. By doing this, the buyer is saying that should he breach the contract and fail to close escrow, the seller will keep the earnest deposit.
An offer like this should certainly signal to the seller that the buyer is not only serious, but that there will not likely be any last minute loan hiccups that will derail the sale.
Inspection period
The standard due diligence time period provided in the Arizona purchase contract is 10 days. A buyer could strengthen his offer by shortening the inspection period to less than 10 days.
Closing date
The buyer should find out what is the seller’s optimal closing scenario in terms of timing. The seller may be looking for a quick close, or an extended close. Perhaps the seller wants to close in a normal period of time but stay in the property and lease it back for a period of time. If the buyer can accommodate the seller’s preferred timing scenario, he may get the upper hand.
While money talks, price isn’t the only thing that sellers focus on when negotiating the sale of their home. In a multiple offer situation, a buyer can sweeten his offer with a larger, non-refundable earnest deposit, by shortening his inspection period and by catering to the seller’s preferred timing for the close of escrow.
Make sure you have the right agent negotiating in your corner. Contact your DC Ranch real estate specialists if you are looking to buy a home in the DC Ranch area.
Don Matheson
Realtor | Founder
The Matheson Team – RE/MAX Fine Properties
21000 N. Pima Rd., #100, Scottsdale, AZ 85255
480-360-0281
don@scottsdalerealestate.com
