In most of the country’s real estate markets, inventory is still low and buyer competition is fierce. And, with few houses and many buyers, you’ll need to make your offer stand out from the crowd to be accepted and receive the house you desire. Multiple bids and bidding wars are still pretty typical, so you’ll need to find additional strategies to get your offer noticed besides providing a lot more money than the other buyers. Continue reading to learn about three things you can do to make your offer stand out in the Philadelphia real estate market.

1. Limit the Contingencies

Limiting the amount of stipulations in your offer is an excellent approach to get your offer noticed in the Philadelphia real estate market (and in any market, really). As a general rule, the fewer demands (or conditions) you make as a buyer, the more likely your offer will be noticed and accepted. Your offer will be more appealing to sellers if it contains fewer stipulations. Contingencies come in many forms, from the sale contingency to financing contingency to appraisal contingency. And some of them you can probably do without and still remain pretty safe as a buyer. According to industry experts, “waiving the financing contingency is normally not a good idea unless you’re willing to pay cash (or lose your earnest deposit) if something goes wrong in the mortgage approval process.” You might be able to improve the strength of your offer by removing the assessment condition. If you do this, you’re basically committing to pay the difference if the house doesn’t appraise for your offer price. It could be a clever strategy to make your offer stand out if you genuinely want the house and have some financial flexibility.” Be aware, though, that there are some risks involved in limiting contingencies. So be sure to contact a Bensalem agent at (215) 385-3055 to find out the best way to proceed here.

2. Offer More Earnest Money

Another thing you can do to get your offer noticed in the Philadelphia real estate market is to offer a larger earnest money deposit. Earnest money is “money that you submit to the seller with your offer to prove that you’re serious about buying the home.” The money goes to the vendor if you don’t meet your contract responsibilities.” Furthermore, a greater earnest money deposit shows a seller that you are a serious buyer with money to put down. That’s why it’s an excellent technique to draw attention to your offer. Keep in mind that the earnest money will be applied to the down payment and closing charges in the end. In the end, offering additional earnest money doesn’t cost you anything, but it strengthens your offer. Here’s an example from my own personal experience… “[W]hen my wife and I bought our first house, it was being sold as part of an estate sale and was a fantastic deal, resulting in numerous offers. We couldn’t compete with some of them because they were all-cash offers. As a result, we believed that immediately placing a substantial sum of money on the table would assist our offer stand out. While a $2,000 earnest deposit would have been reasonable, we decided to send a $10,000 check together with our preapproval letter and full-listing offer to demonstrate our seriousness. We also acquired the house.”

3. Prove That You’re the Best Buyer for the Home

This third way to get your offer noticed is overlooked by many buyers, but it can work. And that is to show the seller that you are the best buyer for their home, which means making your offer personal. Many of the sellers have lived in the Allentown house for a long time and consider it to be their home – a place where they’ve spent their lives, raised their families, and possibly grown elderly. As a result, these sellers have strong emotional links to the property and sentimental attachments. They don’t consider the transaction to be solely commercial. “They want to know that their home is in good hands,” they say. Show the seller that you’re in good hands and will take good care of their home to make your offer stand out. “Including a personal note with your offer about how the home would be a perfect place for your children to grow up, how much you love some of the design elements they incorporated into the kitchen, or anything else detailing why this would be the perfect home for you could go a long way could go a long way.”

And Hire a Good Philadelphia Agent to Get Your Offer Noticed

Regardless of how good these methods are in getting your offer recognized, you still need one more element to be successful. And that is to enlist the help of a Philly Homes And Lots agent in your area. Your local agent will be familiar with the market and will know exactly what strategies to employ in order for your offer to stand out and be accepted. Contact us at (215) 385-3055 when it’s time to get your offer noticed in the Philadelphia real estate market.