Today I wanted to talk to you about some strategies that you as a buyer can use to win in a multiple offer situation.

1. Minimize your contingency amounts in the offer. Most of the time you’re going to have mortgage and inspection contingencies, and if you can minimize those amounts then your offer will stand out.

2. If you’re comfortable enough to buy the home as-is, then that’s a great idea, but only if you’re comfortable. It will still allow you to do an inspection and back out from the contract if there is something wrong with the house, but many sellers will favor that type of offer over others.

3. Put together a letter to include with your offer to the seller that tells the seller why you love that home and why you want to buy that home. Most sellers spent a lot of time in that home and put a lot of heart into the home, and they want to pass the home onto someone who will take care of it as well.

4. Find out what the best terms are for the seller for closing on the home. This means what time frame and how long they want to live at the home before closing. If you can’t find that information, the best idea is to put in at the closing date, “per seller choice.”

5. Use an escalation clause. If you’re not sure how much you want to offer as a maximum bid, you can include that clause that says you’ll pay a certain amount more than the second-highest offer up to a maximum amount. It includes the condition that they have to disclose that offer if you are the winning bidder.

Sometimes you’ll be surprised that the best price is not always the determining factor.

For sellers, in this situation you will typically get the best price for your house. Sellers want to keep the urgency in multiple offer situations. They should keep a 12- to 24-hour deadline when asking bidders for their highest and best price.

You will see that when the buyers submit their best offers, they will offer a price that is above comparables. That’s usually an indication that the home will not appraise. So a good idea as a seller is if you accept the highest offer, you include the condition to the buyer that if the home does not appraise, they are willing to pay the difference and you don’t have to reduce the price.

If you have any questions about this or any other real estate topic or you’re looking to buy or sell your home, give me a call. I’d be happy to help.