Plus youre under pressure to outbid several other buyers or risk losing the house.
While these circumstances might sound extraordinary, theyre not.
I was in this exact position last fall.
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Here are seven key takeaways from my experience buying in asellers market.
This is where ithelps to know your budgetup front.
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No seller wants to risk accepting an offer that might fall through.
You never know how much their opinion of you might factor into any final decisions.
If that sounds fast, it is.
But by the time we submitted our offer, the seller already had three others.
This is where it helps to have agreat real estate agenton your side.
You want to get your offer in front of the seller first, and make it strong.
Purchase price is the obvious factor and in a competitive market, houses often go for over asking price.
However, a strong offer has several factors and it depends on whats most important to the seller.
Then check that your offer addresses their needs.
Contingencies are the contractual stipulations buyers and sellers must meet before the deal can close.
Unsurprisingly, sellers dont like to have too many of them to deal with.
Dont always assume that the seller will take the highest price.
All that said, there are certain contingencies you should never forgo, and ahome inspectionis one of them.
No matter how much you love a house, dont be afraid of exercising your right to an inspection.
In other words, theres no reason to be cheap.
If you might, go slightly above the sellers requested deposit amount.
Offer Above Asking Price
Wait.
Why would anyone make an offer thats above asking price?
Upping your offer may not break the bank as much as youre fearing.
That leaves you with a mortgage of roughly $301,000.
Often this is more of a change in mindset than anything else.
From there, things moved quickly.
Although inventory is low, new houses come on the market all the time.
Larissa Runkle is a contributor to The Penny Hoarder.
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