4 Buyer Tips for Navigating Our Current Market

These four tips will aid you in better navigating the current real estate market as a homebuyer:

1. Consider submitting a larger earnest money deposit with your offer. There might not be an industry standard for this, but the earnest money is a good faith deposit that accompanies your offer and will speak volumes about your enthusiasm and seriousness about buying the property. By putting in a few thousand dollars extra, then, you’ll let the seller know that you’re a strong and serious buyer. 

2. Show the sellers that you are qualified to purchase their home. Probably most important of all, you need to show that you’ve taken the steps to meet with a lender and not only get pre-qualified, but pre-approved as well. A pre-approval, again, solidly demonstrates that you’re a serious and able buyer.  

3. Give the sellers time to move and find out what terms are important to them. With good communication, your agent can help you with this. Whether the seller wants to have an expedient close and move-out or they need extra time, it’ll look good if you can accommodate the timetable that works best for them. 

4. Write your best offer! In this moment’s market, it won’t serve you well to write a lowball offer in the hopes that you’ll negotiate higher. Instead of counting on the seller’s willingness to negotiate and counter back, put your best foot forward when making your offer to the extent that you’re comfortable. In other words, decide how high you’re willing to go, so that if the home sold for more than that, you’d be comfortable walking away. Most sellers won’t have the appetite to go back and forth if another buyer sets themselves apart by making their best offer from the outset. 

If you’re looking to purchase a home in the Greater Madison area, I’d be happy to help. I’m an Accredited Buyer’s Representative, which means I have additional education to best help buyers navigate the market of the moment. Let’s make your dream of homeownership come true! Please give me a call at 608-345-6594 or email me at JDHolt@KW.com. I look forward to hearing from you soon!