The main purpose of our Real Estate Blog is to share relevant information with the reader that hopefully will help them in their search for a great bargain. Why else would you be spending your valuable time reading this unless you felt you could learn something that would help you down the road. I will do my best to share some of the more important things that I feel will put you in the right position to get the right property. In my opinion, it is not enough to research all the best buys, have your agent do all the comparable sales, and arrive at the price you want to offer, only to find out a week later that your offer was rejected. Not only was your offer rejected, the property was sold to a buyer that made an offer two days after you did and for less money than what you offered. How can that happen? It happens daily in this market mainly because the offers that look the best to the seller are the ones that get accepted. The best offers are usually the highest sales price but not always. If the property is bank owned and you are asking the bank to do any type of repairs, this is can be a deal killer. If you ask for an escrow period longer than 30 days or ask the seller to pay for appraisals or home warranties, the seller most likely will not take you serious. The key words in purchasing bank owned properties are “as is”. These sellers are already losing a lot of money on these homes and want the least amount of liability possible. Here is a list of 8 things that I have found to be important that will help you get the property you want.

1. Find out if there are other offers on this property before you have your agent write your offer. If there are multiple offers, the seller is required to disclose this information.
2. If there are multiple offers, and you feel this property is a great buy, then make your highest and best offer first. This does not mean you should get into a bidding war. Set a limit that you are willing to spend on a property and stick to it.
3. Many of the best bargains sell for more than the asking price. Don’t think that if you pay more than asking price, you are paying too much. Find out the true value which in many cases has nothing to do with the asking price.
4. If the property you want is in need of major repair, get a professional to give you an estimate before you make an offer. Your real estate agent should be able to arrange this or point you in the right direction.
5. If the property has mold or water damage, get an expert to evaluate the actual condition. In many cases, mold or mildew can be cleaned up easily.
6. Be patient; don’t fall in love with a particular property and wind up overpaying. There are a lot of “fish in the sea”.
7. Don’t get greedy; put yourself in the seller’s shoes and make your offer a win-win for all concerned. Remember, the best overall offer will be the one that gets accepted.