When you are purchasing an Orlando home, it can often be difficult and stressful to write a winning offer. Multiply that stress level by 10, when the dream home you are madly in love with has multiple offers on it from other buyers! The good news is that there are some things we do with our buyers to help them win the contract on their dream central Florida home.
First of all, before you write an offer, you need to know if there are already multiple offers on the property. Knowing this up-front will help you determine how aggressive you would need to be in writing your offer. If there are multiple offers here are some things we recommend:
1. The first thing we recommend is using an "escalatory clause" in their offer. An escalatory clause will allow you to put a certain purchase price on your offer, but it also states that you agree to a certain dollar amount over the highest bidder and only up to a certain price point. The upper price point has to be the number that you would be comfortable going up to -- one you would not feel bothered with if you lost the home or if it sold for more than that price. For example, let's assume that you are writing an offer for a home listed at $200,000. On your offer, you put a purchase price of $200,000; however, you also have an escalatory clause that states you are willing to pay $1,000 more than the highest bidder up to $210,000. If the highest offer comes in at $205,000, rather than you losing the deal to another buyer, you win it with a purchase price of $206,000! Since most REALTORS don't use the escalatory clause, we have found that if we come in with an aggressive price and use the escalatory clause, our buyers typically win the contract!
2. We also recommend putting down a large escrow to show the sellers that you are a serious buyer. Of course, it depends on the price of the house, but a $10,000 escrow will say a lot more to a seller than a $1,000 escrow. If you look like a serious buyer to the sellers, they will be more willing to negotiate with you to put the deal together.
3. We would also recommend writing a clean offer with some items that would make it stand out from the rest:
- A short inspection period
- A shorter financial contingency if your lender is able to do so
- No home warranty
- No sales contingency (you have to sell your home first before you buy it)
- No seller concessions
4. The last thing we recommend our buyers to do to win the contract is to write a "boost letter" to the sellers. In the letter, the buyers can share how much they love the house and how it would be perfect for their family. In many cases, it is important to the sellers that they find a family that will be able to make memories in their home just as they did. This is probably one of the most crucial things you can do to win the contract!
Lastly and probably the most important, make sure you partner with the right REALTOR. Over the ten years of being in business, we have seen many buyers lose out on getting a home because they were poorly represented by their real estate agent. So, when you are buying a home, always make sure that you take the time to find the right REALTOR, with the experience and expertise to not only help you find a home but who will also help you win when there are multiple offers on the table.
