4 Tips To Make Your Strongest Offer on a Home

Are you thinking about buying a home soon?

If so, you should know today’s market is competitive in many areas because the number of homes for sale is still low – and that’s leading to multiple-offer scenarios. And moving into the peak homebuying season this spring, this is only expected to ramp up more.

Remember these four tips to make your best offer.

1. Partner with a Real Estate Agent

Rely on a real estate agent who can support your goals. As PODS notes:

“Making an offer on a home without an agent is certainly possible, but having a pro by your side gives you a massive advantage in figuring out what to offer on a house.”

Agents are local market experts. They know what’s worked for other buyers in your area and what sellers may be looking for. That advice can be game changing when you’re deciding what offer to bring to the table.

2. Understand Your Budget

Knowing your numbers is even more important right now. The best way to understand your budget is to work with a lender so you can get pre-approved for a home loan. Doing so helps you be more financially confident and shows sellers you’re serious. That gives you a competitive edge. As Investopedia says:

“. . . sellers have an advantage because of intense buyer demand and a limited number of homes for sale; they may be less likely to consider offers without pre-approval letters.”

3. Make a Strong, but Fair Offer

It’s only natural to want the best deal you can get on a home, especially when affordability is tight. However, submitting an offer that’s too low does have some risks. You don’t want to make an offer that’ll be tossed out as soon as it’s received just to see if it sticks. As Realtor.com explains:

“. . . an offer price that’s significantly lower than the listing price, is often rejected by sellers who feel insulted . . . Most listing agents try to get their sellers to at least enter negotiations with buyers, to counteroffer with a number a little closer to the list price. However, if a seller is offended by a buyer or isn’t taking the buyer seriously, there’s not much you, or the real estate agent, can do.”

The expertise your agent brings to this part of the process will help you stay competitive and find a price that’s fair to you and the seller.

4. Trust Your Agent During Negotiations

After you submit your offer, the seller may decide to counter it. When negotiating, it’s smart to understand what matters to the seller. Once you do, being as flexible as you can on things like moving dates or the condition of the house can make your offer more attractive.

Your real estate agent is your partner in navigating these details. Trust them to lead you through negotiations and help you figure out the best plan. As an article from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) explains:

“There are many factors up for discussion in any real estate transaction—from price to repairs to possession date. A real estate professional who’s representing you will look at the transaction from your perspective, helping you negotiate a purchase agreement that meets your needs . . .” 

Bottom Line

In today's competitive market, be sure to work with a local real estate agent to find you a home you love and craft a strong offer that stands out.

Read more at KeepingCurrentMatters.com

Related Links

• First-Time Home Buyer Checklist: Have You Done Everything?

• Finding Your Perfect Home in a Fixer Upper

• Weekly mortgage demand jumps again as interest rates fall just below 7%

If there is a home that you would like more information about, if you are considering selling a property, or if you have questions about the housing market in your neighborhood, please reach out. We’re here to help.

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Carteret County Real Estate Market Report from February 2024

As the spring selling season kicks off, the question on everyone's mind is whether the luck of the Irish translates to the Carteret County real estate market.

Some buyers and sellers may appear lucky, but don't let appearances fool you. They had a strategy in place with their Realtor® to ensure the odds were in their favor.
Well-informed and educated sellers know interest rates have ticked up again; however, they also know that many buyers are experiencing spring fever and are sick of sitting on the fence watching home prices increase. So, savvy sellers got their property on the market and knew how to stand out. In fact, new listings increased slightly month-over-month, and 22 percent year-over-year. But these sellers also knew they had more to compete with as active listings at month's end rose to 440 homes, a 17 percent gain year-over-year.

Serious buyers are discerning and know inventory is growing. Pending sales show that buyers are taking their time to choose the right home for their needs. As a result, sellers who are winning in this market spend time making sure their homes are in show-ready condition. Clutter has been removed, HVAC systems have been serviced, and windows have been washed. In short, if sellers executed their plan correctly, they experienced multiple offers and maximized their profit.

Buyers, on the other hand, have a different strategy. While some were swept into multiple offers on their dream home, others understood they may find gold at the end of the rainbow if they broadened their search parameters. These buyers understand that more inventory is coming to the market and that they will have options. They are also aware that they can negotiate on price and terms up-front, as well as negotiate at inspection ... and negotiate is what they are doing. Difficult inspections have been on the rise over the last few months. If buyers feel they are paying top dollar due to increasing mortgage rates, they want their new home to be in move-in-ready condition and are making sure the seller handles deferred maintenance before closing.

Conscious buyers have another new strategy in their playbook. Home insurance availability has become a serious issue across the country for homeowners. As such, buyers are considering home insurance concerns before submitting an offer. They are reaching out to their insurance providers to verify they can obtain coverage in their desired area of town. They are then obtaining a CLUE (Comprehensive Loss Underwriting Exchange) Report, which details past claims and uncovers potential hurdles before submitting an offer to help facilitate a smooth transaction.

The spring season is heating up, and the best way to find your treasure is through thoughtful strategy. Prepared sellers can curb a second round of negotiations with buyers at inspection, while strategic buyers know what they want before shopping and the options available to them.

If there is a home that you would like more information about, if you are considering selling a property, or if you have questions about the housing market in your neighborhood, please reach out. I’m here to help.

First-Time Home Buyer Checklist: Have You Done Everything?

A first-time homebuyer checklist can take a major weight off of your shoulders when you’re ready to buy your first home.

It’s a big step—and one where it’s wise to know for sure you’ve got all your ducks in a row first.

First-time homebuyer checklist

To help you figure that out, here’s an all-in-one first-time homebuyer checklist with everything you should make sure you have covered before you set off on your hunt—or, if not, consider this a prime opportunity to get started.

Step No. 1: Find a real estate agent

Most rookie home buyers begin their house search online by browsing listings, which may be a mistake for a couple of reasons.

First, you might be looking at homes that are outside your price range—and you don’t want to fall in love with a home that you can’t afford. More important: You’re embarking on this quest on your own when you should be letting a seasoned professional guide you through every step of the homebuying process. Bonus: It’s no cost to you as a buyer to use an agent, so you’re getting free advice by using a real estate agent—no strings attached.

Here’s more on how to find a real estate agent in your area. Make sure to scrutinize agent reviews—paying close attention to years of experience, number of homes sold, and what neighborhoods the agent specializes in.

Step No. 2: Talk to a mortgage lender

Although some experts recommend buyers do this before finding a real estate agent, there’s a significant benefit to talking to an agent first: “You need to shop for a lender locally, and real estate agents know which local lenders are trustworthy and which aren’t,” Realtor.com says.

Therefore, ask your agent for two to three lender recommendations. Talking to multiple lenders will enable you to fully assess your financing options with no obligation to pick until you’ve found one that’s right.

The goal is to get pre-approved for a home loan. To do that, you’ll need to provide the lender with a significant amount of paperwork, including bank statements, pay stubs, W-2 forms, 1099 forms, and tax returns. If the lender decides to offer you pre-approval, you’ll receive an estimate of what size loan you would qualify for and approximately what interest rate you’d get.

Pre-approval is typically good for 90 to 120 days; however, “it’s easy to renew it if the borrower’s financial picture doesn’t change,” says Richard Redmond, broker associate at ACM Investor Services, a private lender in Larkspur, CA, and author of “Mortgages: The Insider’s Guide.”

A good mortgage lender will also be able to help you determine which type of loan is right for you.

Step No. 3: Improve your credit, if needed

When you meet with a mortgage lender, the lender will pull your credit score. Although a perfect credit score is 850, all scores 760 and above are considered to be in the best credit score range—meaning you would qualify for the most competitive interest rates. (For comparison, a good credit score is from 700 to 759, a fair score is from 650 to 699, and a score of 300 to 649 is considered poor.) Your credit score is calculated based on a number of factors, including your debt payment history, debt-to-credit utilization, and length of credit history.

If you find that your credit score is subpar, you may be able to take steps to boost your score. Just keep in mind that you won’t improve a credit score overnight. Indeed, you may need to postpone your house search for a few months in order to mend your credit.

Step No. 4: Determine where you want to live

To focus your house hunt, you’ll need to decide where you want to settle down. If you don’t have your heart set on a particular neighborhood, think about what areas are best suited for your commuting needs, school requirements, proximity to family and friends, and overall lifestyle.

Need help digging up information? At realtor.com/local, you can enter a town, neighborhood, or ZIP code to find out more about the area, like the median home price and quality of public schools.

Step No. 5: Don’t damage your credit

When you’re in the process of buying a home, you need to walk the straight and narrow with your finances. Why? Because your loan doesn’t get fully approved until it goes through underwriting—which could take place just a few days before closing. To keep your credit score stable, you’ll want to avoid taking on new debt (e.g., getting an auto loan), opening new credit cards, neglecting student loan payments, or falling behind on credit card payments.

Read more at Realtor.com

Related Links

• The Benefits of Downsizing When You Retire

• Finding Your Perfect Home in a Fixer Upper

• Weekly mortgage demand jumps again as interest rates fall just below 7%

If there is a home that you would like more information about, if you are considering selling a property, or if you have questions about the housing market in your neighborhood, please reach out. We’re here to help.

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Weekly mortgage demand jumps again as interest rates fall just below 7%

Mortgage rates swung slightly lower last week, fueling a significant jump in mortgage demand for the second straight week.

Total application volume rose 7.1%, compared with the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s seasonally adjusted index.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($766,550 or less) decreased to 6.84% from 7.02%, with points falling to 0.65 from 0.67 (including the origination fee) for loans with a 20% down payment.

“Mortgage rates dropped below 7% last week for most loan types because of incoming economic data showing a weaker service sector and a less robust job market, with an increase in the unemployment rate and downward revisions to job growth in prior months,” said Mike Fratantoni, senior vice president and chief economist at the MBA.

As a result, applications to refinance a home loan, which are most sensitive to weekly rate moves, rose 12% for the week and were 5% higher than the same week one year ago.

“While these percentage increases are large, the level of refinance activity remains quite low, and we expect that most of this activity reflects borrowers who took out a loan at or near the peak of rates in the past two years,” added Fratantoni.

Applications for a mortgage to purchase a home rose 5% for the week but were still 11% lower than a year ago. Homebuyers are up against more than just high interest rates. They are looking at sky-high home prices and a still lean supply of houses for sale. While more inventory is coming onto the market with the spring season, it is not enough to meet the demand, especially for smaller, starter homes.

Mortgage rates rose slightly at the start of this week, after a government report on consumer prices came in higher than expected Tuesday. However, the increase was smaller than previous reactions to similar economic data.

“It suggests the market is starting to see more convincing signs that inflation and the economy stand a better chance deliver rate-friendly news in the near future as opposed to news that would cause a big resurgence,” said Matthew Graham, chief operating officer at Mortgage News Daily.

Read more at CNBC.com

Related Links

• The Benefits of Downsizing When You Retire

• Finding Your Perfect Home in a Fixer Upper

• 6 Ways to Create a Beautiful Spring Garden

If there is a home that you would like more information about, if you are considering selling a property, or if you have questions about the housing market in your neighborhood, please reach out. We’re here to help.

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Finding Your Perfect Home in a Fixer Upper

If you’re trying to buy a home and are having a hard time finding one you can afford, it may be time to consider a fixer-upper.

That’s a house that needs a little elbow grease or some updates, but has good bones. Fixer-uppers can be a really great option if you’re looking to break into the housing market or want to stretch your budget further. According to NerdWallet:

“Buying a fixer-upper can provide a path to homeownership for first-time home buyers or a way for repeat buyers to afford a larger home or a better neighborhood. With the relatively low inventory of homes for sale these days, a move-in ready home can be hard to find, especially if you’re on a budget.”

Basically, since the number of homes for sale is still so low, if you’re only willing to tour homes that have all your dream features, you may be cutting down your options too much and making it harder on yourself than necessary. It may be time to cast a wider net.

Sometimes the perfect home is the one you perfect after buying it.

Here’s some information that can help you pinpoint what you truly need so you can be strategic in your home search. First, make a list of all the features you want in a home. From there, work to break those features into categories like this:

• Must-Haves – If a house doesn’t have these features, it won’t work for you and your lifestyle.

• Nice-To-Haves – These are features you’d love to have but can live without. Nice-to-haves aren’t dealbreakers, but if you find a home that hits all the must-haves and some of these, it’s a contender.

• Dream State – This is where you can really think big. Again, these aren’t features you’ll need, but if you find a home in your budget that has all the must-haves, most of the nice-to-haves, and any of these, it’s a clear winner.

Once you’ve sorted your list in a way that works for you, share it with your real estate agent. They’ll help you find homes that deliver on your top needs right now and have the potential to be your dream home with a little bit of sweat equity. Lean on their expertise as you think through what’s possible, what features are easy to change or add, and how to make it happen. According to Progressive:

“Many real estate agents specialize in finding fixer-uppers and have a network of inspectors, contractors, electricians, and the like.”

Your agent can also offer advice on which upgrades and renovations will set you up to get the greatest return on your investment if you ever decide to sell down the line.

Bottom Line

If you haven’t found a home you love that’s in your budget, it may be worth thinking through all your options, including fixer-uppers. Sometimes the perfect home for you is the one you perfect after buying it. To see what’s available in your area, connect with a local real estate agent.

Read more at KeepingCurrentMatters.com

Related Links

• The Benefits of Downsizing When You Retire

• Home equity remained near historic highs to end 2023

• 6 Ways to Create a Beautiful Spring Garden

If there is a home that you would like more information about, if you are considering selling a property, or if you have questions about the housing market in your neighborhood, please reach out. We’re here to help.

Search Homes in Colorado

Search Homes in North Carolina

Search Homes in Oklahoma

Search Homes in Oregon

Search homes in Minnesota