When getting into a bidding war for a property you have set your eye on, there are some crucial points involved to stay ahead of the game! You benefit if you are chain free coming from a rented property and have a mortgage agreed in principle which fair enough not everybody will be in a good position like that but you could plan ahead. We decided to sell our flat 2 years ago pay off our debts, let our credit rating “heal” again and rent for the time being, I know a-lot of people will say that renting is throwing your money out of the window but it was the best decision for us and now that we are finally home owners again jam pleased we didn’t have to sell and buy at the same time!
Bidding wars have always been a very real and a very common occurrence when it comes to property searches. To compete in a bidding war, buyers need to prepare financially for the home purchase. They have to familiarize themselves with property values in their target neighborhoods. And they must know what they want. While offering the most money might seem like the best way to win a bidding war, sellers don’t always choose the highest offer. Instead, sellers often prefer offers that are most likely to go through and that meet their conditions. So here are some tips to increase your chances of making the winning offer in a bidding war for the house of your dreams:
Have your mortgage proposal agreed in principle. If you have all your paperwork sorted you are already ahead of the game when it comes to starting to bid on a property.
Cash in your bank and paperwork to proof it. If you are in the lucky position to be able to make a cash offer then make sure you offer a higher rate of a deposit in a
Make a quick offer and try to be flexible! If you have manage to view the property in the early stages of it being listed give it a day (you don’t want to sound too desperate) and then call in your offer and tell the estate agent that you can be as flexible as the vendors would like you to be regarding moving and quick settlements.
Know when to walk away! Yes that’s a hard one and we have been through that. We found what we thought was our dream house even with the compromising we decide to bid three times but then had to give in defeat because in the end it was just not meant to be and we would have ended up with an overpriced house! Know your limits, do your research and don’t overextend yourself because it will just take you that much longer to see a return on your investment. Buying a home should not be a competition. It’s not about “winning the bidding war” but about finding a great place to build memories – and equity.
How to deal with Estate Agents!
Unfortunately I wish I could tell you that it’s all cushy and whatever I did or try worked but far from it! Just remember: Estate agents are NOT your friends! They work for the seller and are paid by the seller to get the best deal FOR the seller. I was ready to kill ours close to the end of our completion date because she had the cheek to tell me that my solicitor HAS to call the vendors solicitor to chase up after all we where ready and sitting on the signed contract for 3 weeks by the time the vendors have sorted out their issue.
Thats one of the downsides of buying your own property you can never choose your estate agent because you choose the house and the estate agent comes with it! I don’t doubt for a minute that there are estate agents out there who are fair sadly there only 1 in a thousand! You just have to stick with it and know there will be an end in sign and then you don’t have to see or talk to them on the phone ever again! I am actually friends with 2 estate agents but they both haven’t sold me a house so I can’t comment on their skills!
I can also recommend you to never get your finance from the selling agent’s financial services company they just out for commission and might even charge you for their services!
Here are some top tips of Bloggers who have already been there and done the whole House buying thing:
Lauren from Belle du Brighton says: Keep pestering for updates, ring weekly (or more!) if you have to! Nobody ever wants to tell you anything but things take forever if you don’t chase!
Emma who blogs over at Day 48 told me: I work for a mortgage lender and actually design mortgages so I know this stuff inside out. My biggest piece of advice would be to get a FAIR deal from the sellers, not necessarily the CHEAPEST deal. There is nothing that can sour a sale more than pushing for that extra couple of grand off the price and a free dishwasher. It holds things off and could even make the sellers so jittery that they pull out. Emotions run high during a house sale. If you do get your bit of cash off you might find you get Ito the house and they’ve taken everything from the light switches to the plug sockets. It might seem clever to haggle down to the last penny but it is never worth it if you push the sellers so far that they back out and you lose all your hard work.
Halina who can be found at Vicheo Fleur said: I would always say to take the time to learn the sales process yourself. Estate agents deal with so many sales, and yours is never going to be priority number one. However, if you know what’s expected when, and what timeframes apply to what, you can make sure you’re pushing them or solicitors to meet those expectations. If you’re doing that then your file will be on top the majority of the time. Even if you can’t influence speed of transactions too much, at least you’ll know what’s going on and be confident and happy during the process! We’re currently going through house sale/purchase and it’s been so much easier this time round now that I know the ins & outs.
Erica from 92 three 30 told me: Do lots of research. Yes look at Right Move, Google Maps/Street View, Zoopla (for house price achieved figures), etc. Also, talk to locals and don’t be afraid to knock up the neighbours on houses you like the look of – you won’t want to move in if you don’t like them! Do go to see plenty of houses and make sure you don’t limit yourself to ones that tick every box – you will probably need to compromise somewhere, so just have a few key requirements and be prepared to take a view on the rest.