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6 Steps to Getting the Best Deal When Buying Property

Scoop of the Week

6 Steps to Getting the Best Deal When Buying Property

ben

With over 10 years experience in Real Estate, Ben Arce looks to provide you with expert tips and opinions that cover just about every aspect of real estate.  Whether you’re thinking of buying or looking to expand your real estate portfolio, Ben has you covered.  A Millersville University grad, Ben has went on to assist scores of buyers and sellers in and around the Philadelphia Market.  Now he is looking to lend his expert advise to you!

 

#1: BE QUICK ON THE UPTAKE

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It is critical to respond to counteroffers as soon as possible and to avoid making a counteroffer with any term that is not truly a deal breaker. Delays in responding leave space open for another buyer to step in and create a bidding war, or even more likely, for the seller to perceive that other serious buyers might be out there. A seller’s mere perception of a hint of a whiff of the scent of a potential bidding war is a homebuyer’s number one nemesis, ratcheting up the possible sales price in the seller’s head on an exponential basis.

 

#2: CUT IN THE MIDDLE (WO)MAN

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When you want to ask or tell the seller something, always always always go through your real estate agent, who will communicate your request or concern to the seller’s agent. I know it seems
inefficient, but it is truly a rookie move to contact the seller directly. It’s just not done, mostly because the terminology is tough to master and legally sensitive. Also, some seemingly innocent and minor changes to your agreement with the seller might create problems with your lender; your real estate agent is better equipped than you to see these red flags. You hired your agent, so use him/her! It will prevent the catastrophic misunderstandings (read: drama) that can result when you or the seller says something even slightly different than what you each actually mean!

 

#3: GET THE DIRT ON PENDINGS

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When the sold comps aren’t that similar or sold a long time ago, or there is a very similar pending comp, you can go nuts wondering what price the buyer of that pending comp agreed to pay for the place. Sometimes the listing agents of pending comps can be sweet-talked into giving up the dirt. Your real estate agent can call them up, explain the situation, and ask obliquely for contract price hints, like “Did it sell for over (or under) asking? About how far over (or under)? What was the list price to sales price ratio? And how much competition was there? Did you have multiple offers?” And you can also make some educated guesses; the longer it was on the market, the less likely it sold for the asking price. The opposite is true, too. If it went off the market really quickly, it probably sold at or over the asking price.

 

#4: CHECK THE COMPS

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The more money you offer, the more likely the seller will accept. Your real estate agent only gets paid if the seller accepts, so you can see why some agents tend to include or emphasize the
highest priced comparables, even if they aren’t the most similar comps for your property. Ask your agent for a copy of your Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) and ask for the full MLS listing details of the several most similar comparables. That way, you can decide for yourself how similar they really are!

 

#5: MAKE YOUR REAL ESTATE AGENT WORK FOR IT

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If you are competing with other wanna-be buyers for a property, your real estate agent’s prep work and presentation of your offer can be critical to your success. Hopefully you interviewed several real estate professionals and hired one you can trust and know will go the extra mile for you. Always communicate with your agent to ensure you both are on the same page in terms of expectations and deal breakers.

 

#6: CRUNCH THE NUMBERS

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Before you finalize your decision about how much to offer, have your mortgage broker run a monthly payment on your offer price and estimate your property taxes and insurance. Often, buyers inch up in price during the house hunt and in the course of formulating their offer, so it’s important to have a final check on the exact monthly and annual obligations you will incur if your offer is accepted.

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