In years past, you would have enjoyed having greater control over what happened when you bought a house. Before 2020, buyers could easily breeze through several home tours and have their pick of which house they wanted. Now, you may have to push a little harder in a seller’s market, but you still have a strong chance of getting your dream home. Since things have changed, it is worth adding a few new strategies to meet the demands of the current market.
Seek a Loan Pre-Approval
Getting a home loan pre-approved has always provided the advantage of helping you be more certain of which homes fall within your budget. Now, getting your loan pre-approved can also mean getting your offer pushed to the top of the list. Sellers typically go for offers that they know will go through since they may also be on a timeline. Showing that you have the ability to get your home purchase funded gives sellers more security about accepting your offer.
Get Family Loans Into Your Account
Parents helping their adult kids buy their first home is an age-old tradition that helps families to look after each other’s financial security. While it is wonderful that your parents might be offering to help out, a sale can often stall out due to a sudden change in plans. Sellers might not want to wait while you debate a loan with your parents or wait several days for it to hit your account. Settling on an amount now and having it already in your account makes it easier to move forward with your home purchase once the offer is accepted.
Narrow Down Your Prospective List of Homes
There is an amazing amount of beautiful homes for sale in Lakeland, but you will need to keep a realistic expectation of how many you can view. Sellers today are more apprehensive about scheduling back-to-back tours, which can limit how many homes you can see. Try to schedule tours for only the houses that you would seriously consider. Skipping the window shopping helps you to remember the features that you loved about each house that you tour so that it is easier to make your final decision.
Get Ready to Bid
Money is just about always the deciding factor for sellers when they choose someone to buy their home. Make sure to leave a little room in your budget to make a counteroffer. Or, you might just decide to bid over the asking price if you absolutely love a house. Showing the seller that you are in love with their home could help sway their decision in your direction.
Being a successful buyer in a seller’s market requires making an extra effort to have your offer stand out. However, many of the things you need to do now are steps that will benefit you in the long run. From having a loan pre-approval to skipping over houses that don’t fit your needs, you can soon be signing the closing papers for your new living space within a few short weeks.