How to Write Strong Home Offers

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Writing strong offers on homes is a good skill whether you're competing in a tough market or not. I oftentimes see many weak offers in the surrounding Alaska marketplace.

However, there are a few ways to avoid a weak offer, no matter how hot or cold a market is. In fact, we use some of these methods as our secret training for buyer’s agents.

1. Do your homework. Your agent should be coordinating with the seller’s agent in order to find out what the seller wants in an offer. Some sellers want the highest dollar amount, but others prefer a shorter closing period. Every seller looks for something different, and you have to find out what that is.

2. Write a clean, simple offer without any contingencies. The more things you’re asking a seller to do, the less favorable your offer will be to them.

3. Put down as much earnest money as possible. The more you put down, the more serious you look as a buyer. Sellers like to see buyers that are fully committed to purchasing, and you could also strengthen your offer with a large down payment on top of this.

4. Getting pre-approved is practically mandatory now. Sellers will likely not even entertain your offer if you’re not pre-approved. Would you consider selling a home to someone that can’t prove that they can buy it? If you can get pre-approved, you will be able to elevate yourself to the level of a cash buyer.

If you’d like more tips for buying or selling in our local market, please don’t hesitate to contact me. I look forward to continuing this conversation!