The real estate market is currently experiencing low inventory. That means there are not enough homes on the market to meet buyer demand. As a result, the majority of buyers are getting stuck in numerous multiple offer situations before going under contract on a home. Below are a few things you can do to make your offer more attractive to a seller:

1. The Escalation Clause: If you add an escalatory addendum to your offer, you are effectively trying to outbid unseen offers. For example, assume you submit an offer at $340,000, but you included an escalatory clause up to $350,000. If any competing offer comes in up to $350,000, that means you are willing to outbid them in an established increment. This can help ensure you don’t lose the property when you are willing to pay more. However, it also ensures you don’t overpay by outbidding yourself.
2. Higher Down Payment: The more money you put on the table, the more the seller knows you actually have the money to buy this property. A higher down payment shows you are less of a risk for the seller. I personally have had sellers pick an offer just because the buyers put 20% down versus 3%, even though the offer was lower. Sellers are more confident there will not be financing issues with a higher down payment. It also demonstrates to the seller that the buyer can afford the home, and is not stretching his or her budget.
3. Higher Binder: Similar to the last one, sellers like to know you are willing to put money on the line to make this deal work – the more, the better. There are ways to protect your binder, but on average a higher binder demonstrates to the seller that you are capable of buying this property and you are willing to risk money to secure it.
4. Buying the Home “As-Is”: Purchasing a property “as-is” is stating you are buying the property in its current condition and you will not ask for repairs after the inspection. The contract is typically written on the Florida Realtors “As-Is” Contract. This helps the seller know what their bottom line is and demonstrates that you are not going to demand a large amount of repairs after the contract.
5. Waive Appraisal Contingency: The appraisal contingency states that you do not have to pay more for the property than the bank/appraiser calculate the home’s value to be. For example, when an appraiser comes to the property, if he states the property is worth $340,000 and you agreed to pay $350,000 for it, you do not have to buy the property at $350,000. By waiving the appraisal contingency, you are stating you will buy the property at the contract price – no matter what the appraisal says. You will be paying the difference out of pocket in cash as it cannot be financed by the bank. I do not recommend this as you are agreeing to overpay for a property that the bank has deemed is not worth the price.

These are just a few key ways to win multiple offer situations, but there are many more. It is time to start getting creative to win those properties! Good luck and hope you all win some homes.

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