[0:00]In this video, I want to talk about how you can improve your chances of getting your offer accepted in a competitive market like we've been in in the last couple of years. And even if it's not a competitive market, I'm going to tell you the things that you should be doing and considering in order to give you the best chance to get the home you want. So stick around to the end of the video. I'm going to give you my top secrets that you can use, and I'm sure you will be successful in your next offer. Hello, my name is Alex. I'm a real estate agent here in San Antonio, Texas. My partner and I specialize in helping people just like you, whether you're a first time home buyer, trying to buy your fifth home, looking to sell your home. We would love to help you. So if you're looking to make a move in the San Antonio area, please reach out to us. Our contact information is in the description below. Also, if you find value in this video, please like and subscribe. That would help us out a ton. The first thing that you should consider when trying to get your offer accepted is a strong pre-approval. Now, notice I didn't say pre-qualification. I said pre-approval. Now, what's the difference between a pre-qualification and a pre-approval? A pre-qualification is basically you calling your lender or a lender and just telling them your financial situation. Now, a pre-approval is the lender actually going in and verifying all the information you told them. So they're going to look at your pay stubs, your W2s, bank accounts, all that good stuff. And that's why a pre-approval letter is 100 times better than a pre-qualification. And if you really want to stand out, get an underwritten pre-approval. Now, an underwritten pre-approval means that an underwriter has already looked at your file and has basically given you the green light and said that you are approved for a home loan. And that's going to make the seller feel a lot more comfortable with your offer because they know that your loan is pretty much set to go. There's very little chance that it's going to fall through. The second thing you should consider is your agent's reputation. Now, a good agent is going to make sure that they have a good reputation amongst other agents. It's super important to work with an agent that has a good reputation because if an agent has a bad reputation. Other agents are not going to want to work with them, and that's going to make your chances of getting your offer accepted a lot slimmer. Now, on the other hand, if you have an agent with a great reputation, an agent that people want to work with. They're going to be more inclined to select your offer over somebody else's because they know that that agent is easy to work with and that they're going to get the deal done. The third thing to consider is going to be your earnest money. What is earnest money? Earnest money is basically money you put down to show the seller that you are serious about buying their home. Now, this money goes towards your down payment or closing costs. So it's not an extra fee. It's not something you're never going to see again unless you back out of the contract without a valid reason. So usually the earnest money is 1% of the purchase price. But if you're in a competitive market and you really want to stand out, offering 2 to 3% is going to make your offer a lot more attractive. So for example, if you're buying a $300,000 home and you offer 1% earnest money, that's $3,000. If you offer 2 to 3% earnest money, that's $6,000 or $9,000, and that's going to make your offer a lot more appealing. The fourth thing you want to consider is your option period. What is the option period? The option period is the time the buyer has to do their inspections. Usually, it's 7 to 10 days, but in a competitive market, you want to make that option period as short as possible. So offering three to five days is going to make your offer a lot more attractive. Another thing you can do to make your offer stand out is to offer a larger option fee. What is an option fee? An option fee is the money you pay the seller for the unrestricted right to terminate the contract. This money also goes towards your down payment or closing costs. Usually, the option fee is about $100 to $200. But if you're in a competitive market and you really want to stand out, offering 300 to $500 is going to make your offer a lot more attractive. The fifth thing to consider when making your offer is going to be a quick close. Now, not every seller wants a quick close. Some sellers want a longer close so they can have time to find their next home. But if you can close in 14 to 21 days, that's going to make your offer a lot more attractive. Now, if you got an underwritten pre-approval letter, your chances of closing in 14 to 21 days are a lot higher. And that's going to make the seller feel a lot more comfortable because they know that you're going to get to the closing table. The sixth thing to consider is going to be an as-is addendum. Now, what is an as-is addendum? An as-is addendum is basically you telling the seller that you're going to buy their home in its current condition. So you're not going to ask for any repairs. This is going to make your offer a lot more attractive because the seller knows that they're not going to have to do anything to their home. They're not going to have to spend any money out of pocket to get their home sold. Now, this doesn't mean you can't do your inspections. You absolutely should do your inspections. But if you find something wrong with the home, you're either going to have to buy it as is or terminate the contract. The seventh thing to consider is going to be waving your appraisal contingency. Now, what is an appraisal contingency? An appraisal contingency is basically you telling the seller that if the home does not appraise for the purchase price. That you will cover the difference out of pocket. So for example, if you offer $310,000 for a home. And it only appraises for $300,000, you are telling the seller that you will cover that $10,000 difference out of pocket. Now, waving your appraisal contingency is a very risky move, so you should only do this if you are absolutely comfortable with the house, with the area, and with the price. I usually don't recommend this for my clients, but if you're in a super competitive market, sometimes you have to do this. The eighth thing to consider is a leaseback. Now, what is a leaseback? A leaseback is basically you telling the seller that you will allow them to stay in the home after closing for a certain amount of time. Usually, it's about two to four weeks, sometimes it's two to four months, depending on the situation. And you can either let them stay there for free, or you can charge them a daily rate. This is going to make your offer super attractive because it's going to allow the seller to not have to move twice. They can just stay in their home until their new home is ready, or until they find a new home. The ninth thing to consider is writing a letter to the seller. Now, this one is probably one of the most underrated things you can do to get your offer accepted. When you write a letter to the seller, you're trying to appeal to their emotional side. You're trying to tell them why you love their home, why you want to live there, what you're going to do with the home. You're trying to connect with them on a deeper level. And this can be huge because a lot of sellers have emotional ties to their home. They've probably lived there for years, they've raised their family there, they've made memories there. And they want to know that their home is going to a good family. So if you can connect with them on that level. You're going to have a much higher chance of getting your offer accepted. And the tenth thing, and this is probably the most important, is going to be working with a good agent. Now, if you're working with an agent that's not communicating with the seller's agent, if they're not calling them, if they're not trying to build rapport with them. Your offer is probably not going to get accepted. You want an agent that is going to pick up the phone and call the seller's agent. You want an agent that's going to ask them what's important to the seller. Is it a quick close? Is it a leaseback? Is it a certain price? You want an agent that's going to find out what's important to the seller and then try to tailor your offer to that. Because if you just submit an offer and you don't communicate with the seller's agent. Your offer is probably going to get lost in the shuffle. So you want an agent that's going to be proactive. An agent that's going to try to build rapport with the seller's agent, and an agent that's going to find out what's important to the seller. And this is going to be the most important thing you can do to get your offer accepted. So if you're looking to make a move in the San Antonio area, please reach out to us. Our contact information is in the description below. If you found value in this video, please like and subscribe. And we will see you on the next one.