Kathleen Finnegan

4 ways to get an offer accepted

Buying a house is a little like asking someone to marry you. if you want your house offer to be greeted with a yes – and a quick one – here are four rules to follow.

1. Be nice: While money is important, buyers should also be likable and avoid making negative comments about the house or discussing their renovation plans in front of the seller, keeping in mind that sellers have an emotional connection to the property. Don’t tell someone how bad, ugly, stupid, et cetera, their house is and then try to buy it. That doesn’t work.

2. Be amiable: Buyers also should avoid making unreasonable demands, such as super-quick closing dates, and they should avoid low-ball offers that could be perceived as an insult or offers that are too high and difficult for them to afford.

3. Be calm: Visiting the listing too often and for long periods of time also will annoy sellers.

4. Be rational: Buyers should avoid waiving the home inspection or appraisal contingency simply to get their offer approved, as they will regret such a move later on if a leaky roof or mold is discovered or they learn that they overpaid for the house.

Ideally, your offer will be one that makes everyone, the seller and you, happy and reassured that everything between now and the closing will go smoothly. If you feel like you need to win this house at all costs and things go badly after your offer is accepted, not only will you lose – it will definitely cost you.

Thanks for reading!

 

This entry was posted on Thursday, August 7th, 2014 at 1:36 pm and is filed under Tips & Tricks. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.