What we did to get our offer accepted in a hostile competitive San Diego Realestate market may seem daunting for a San Diego first time homebuyer, but have no fear. If we could do it, almost anyone can. We put in literally 40 plus offers on homes only to be beat out by bids tens of thousands of dollars higher than what we offered. Investors and cash buyers ate us alive. It was discouraging to the point of tears but eventually we found a way to get our offer accepted in a hostile competitive San Diego Realestate market.
It wasn’t until we accidentally stumbled upon one secret that got us to the top of the big pile and locked in with the contract of the dream home we eventually purchased.
What we did to get our offer accepted in a hostile competitive San Diego Realestate market may seem daunting for a San Diego first time homebuyer, but have no fear.
It is a very complex process that requires a lot of preparation. But when executed properly and the timing is right, you can get your offer accepted in the most competitive market. Remember as a San Diego first time homebuyer you have a complex long process that is unfamiliar to the seller’s agent, and you are going to get competition from high dollar depositors or all-cash offers from investors that view you as a bug on the windshield. I remember distinctly looking at a home when in walks a wealthy person that had no qualms about speaking in a loud voice of how his all cash offer and very high bid offer needs to be accepted verbally now and all the others offers need not to be considered while looking at me sideways across the room. We were totally unprepared for such a competitive environment; thankfully though you will be well prepared.
1. First you have to be preapproved for a loan, not just prequalified. The difference is huge between the two. We made sure that we were approved to the extent that we had a letter from our bank saying that we have been pre approved up to a certain dollar amount and they are guaranteed to be able to fulfill that loan. When the seller sees a stack of offers that are prequalified and see yours is pre-approved, let me tell you, it will get their attention. At this stage of the game only someone that is very familiar with the San Diego first time homebuyer down payment assistance program can give you the letter that will work in your favor. If you have listened to my advice in choosing the loan officer that I recommended, you will not have to worry about having sterling credit paperwork written in an outstanding way to present to the seller to show that you are a strong prospect for purchasing their home.
2. Second, the amount that you offer on the house must be higher than any other offer on the table; this is not the time to be conservative, submit your highest and best offer. It is customary and in your best interest to be able to have the seller cover the closing costs for the deal. However if you mention this in the initial offer it is a good chance your offer will be not even have a chance.The strategy to use is to increase your bid price high enough so that later you can ask the seller to cover the closing costs which you already included in the inflated price of your loan. Essentially you ask for a credit for closing costs after your high bid is accepted.
3. The third thing to do is to write a letter describing yourself and why the seller should sell to you. Remember to the seller, all you are is a stack of papers on their desk with absolutely nothing but a dollar amount and some details in the contract to differentiate one offer from the next. They know their neighbors and want to leave the house to someone who will fit in with the neighborhood, take care of the home, or insert whatever wishful thinking they may associate with an ideal buyer. After a number of the offers come in around the same price the seller is desperate to see something special, some differentiating factor that makes them want to take your offer over everyone else. We mentioned in our offer that we are active in volunteer work and very happy to continue doing that after we move into the home. To some sellers that is exactly what they want to hear, and from my experience many deals have been closed not because of the price necessarily, but because of the cover letter describing the good qualities, volunteering, community service, what you do for a living, profession, anything that would show that you’re a good person that will take care of the property and that will give the seller a good story to tell about the person who purchased their home. Writing a custom letter about yourself to include with the offer was a big key to get our offer accepted in a hostile competitive San Diego Realestate market.
4. The fourth thing you want to do is to make sure you have a realtor that understands exactly what it means to be a San Diego first time home buyer. Back in step number ? I explained exactly the type of realtor to chose and even offered to recommend one to you that knows the process and has the skill and imagination need especially at this phase of the purchasing process to get your offer to the top of the heap and accepted no matter how many offers are submitted. If you follow my advice you’re in good hands and can expect a good chance of getting your offer accepted because you will use a realtor that is familiar with the San Diego first time homebuyer down payment assistance program and can organize your offer in such a way that shines and grabs the sellers attention and motivates them to accept your offer.
5. Here’s the tip that will surprise you. And I owe it 100% to my dear wife who was tenacious in finding us home. In order to benefit from this tip though, which we feel is essential, you want to make sure you are prepared to live on just a few hours sleep. You want to make sure that you are on Redfin.com, Trulia.com, Zillow.com, just about any website that has new listings showing up ASAP. In such market as a sellers market, many of the new and best homes come on line between the hours of 10 PM and 2 AM. No one will tell you this. We found out through hundreds of hours studying the live market. You absolutely want to be the first offer turned in or at least in the top three, meaning that when the house appears on the market, within eight hours your offer has to be in. To think that you want to be able to set up an appointment with your realtor to see the home, tour it, think about it, and then submit the offer is the easiest way to lose the home of your dreams. It will never work. Listen folks, the real world of a competitive real estate market never works that way. The only way we were able to get our offer accepted is that we were the first or second offer on the table, prepared with a cover letter, and our pre-approval letter from our bank and our highest and best offer. The objective is to make the seller see you as a buyer that is financially strong, definitely wants property, and will do what it takes to get it. We always include a retraction clause that gives us enough time to comfortably tour the property giving us enough detail to feel comfortable going forward with the offer.
6. The 6th thing you need to do and it’s pretty much the responsibility of a mortgage broker, which if you chose the one I recommended will automatically happen for you. The loan officer must call the listing agent and let them know how strong financially you are. You must understand that you are giving just 3% down. And all the other offers are giving at least 20% down and up and probably strong cash offers. There is no way the seller will even consider your offer in comparison to the other ones unless the seller’s agent has a talk with your mortgage person and is convinced that you are not only strong financially but are also offering a bid as high or higher than what the seller is offering for the house. All these tips combined put you in the best position to get our offer accepted in a hostile competitive San Diego Realestate market.
This info will be in my new book. San Diego First Time Home Buyer Secrets. Pre-order here.
