While statistics in Orange County, CA have shown that there have been more active listings on the market now than compared to this time last year, it doesn't necessarily mean that there's more great buys out there. Some of these listings are by homeowners who are "testing" the market and hoping to get their price, even if it's 10% above recently sold comparables in the area.
Whether we're in a slow market, hot market, or unstable market, the real estate "deals" out there do not sit on the market for very long. Of course whether something is a "deal" is really all relative. Nevertheless, good agents and savvy buyers KNOW when they encounter a deal.
The only problem is that, in most cases, you're probably not the only buyer thinking that.
With that said, buyers need to position themselves in the most positive light possible, not just in having a very competitive offer price, but having their financing figured out and documented, and a story that is compelling.
A story??!! Yep, a story.
For an especially hot property on the market, you have to stand out. You can stand out by having the highest price. If that's your strategy, then do it. But if you have a hunch that you won't be the highest offer of the bunch, you need something else. Solid financing is one way to go -- a hefty down payment goes a long way. But not every buyer has that going on for them. That's where the story comes into play. Whenever I'm on the listing side, my sellers always seem to pay more attention to a buyer whose reason for buying, moving, and offering on THIS particular property makes them perfect for it, even if the offer price is slightly less than another one. Part of this has to do with knowing how committed a buyer is -- the last thing a seller wants is to fall out of escrow once they select an offer.
This is where having the right real estate agent makes all the difference. As a buyer, your agent should be able to present you in a way that will not just get your foot in the door, but get you to the front of the line somehow, even if you have to cut someone. That doesn't mean you're guaranteed to get fully through the front door since there are forces outside of your agent's control that dictate that, but you'll never get even remotely close if your agent doesn't fight for you.
Now as a seller, your listing agent should be able to help you sort through all the offers and weed out the weaker offers. And by weak, that can even translate to having a good buyer but with a lousy agent. Your listing agent should be able to provide the scenarios that may occur with each buyer based on the information that is presented at the time of offering.
So what can buyers do to make themselves stand out? Well, it's having the basics covered...flawlessly. That means having a competitive offer price presented on a Residential Purchase Agreement (RPA) that is error-free and signed/initialed completely -- nothing missing. That means having your financing documented clearly, along with proof of funds that is up-to-date and easy to read (submitting 20 pages of bank statements is not efficient and will be a burden for the seller to review). That means having your agent present you in the most positive light possible, or in whichever way that is suitable for the circumstances.
And all this should be done...FAST. Which is why I love using DocuSign -- a special service that your agent can subscribe to that allows for electronic signatures online. It's paperless, it's "green", and it's super efficient. I've been able to crank out fully-loaded, compelling offers within an hour or so after showing a property. Listing agents and sellers are often impressed with the urgency...and that's one way to make my buyers stand out.
So for all the buyers out there who are scratching their heads and wondering why they aren't getting any offers accepted, make sure to work with your agent to devise a good strategy for making you stand out. And then act fast, because even if you have the best offer to provide, if it's not completed quickly enough by you as the buyer, then you may have already lost the property.
If you have any questions or would like to discuss further about how to make your offer stand out, feel free to contact me.
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