Living in Northern Virginia, when the rates drop, competition rises significantly for buyers looking to purchase the same home. Price is not the only prize the seller is looking to earn. Sellers will check out the terms of each potential buyer. For the sake of this topic, price will be the focus.
Terms include price, settlement date, Title company, Lenderinfo, Home Inspection, Appraisal, and financing.
Price, of course, trumps all when it comes to buying a home and strategy is a necessity when positioning your dollars. Entrusting your real estate agent, analyze all comparable homes in the immediate neighborhood that are similar in square footage and number of bedrooms/bathrooms. The homes to compare the purchase property to will come from the MLS and have a timeframe from most recently sold to 90 days prior. Analyzing from data too far back could result in skewed data as the market could have been a very different animal. Looking at updates/ upgrades in the homes is crucial as that is what constitutes the grounds for observation of the subject home. Pools and technology should be considered neutral and not a “special” item. If a home seems overpriced comparably, consider this when deciding on a dollar amount for your purchase. If the MLS data is showing multiple homes went above asking price recently when sold, it will most likely be the case for the home that is currently for purchase.
Make sure your real estate agent is uncovering any information from the seller’s agent that could be helpful in making an offer. When competing against other buyers, highest and best offers can sometimes beat an offer with an escalation clause included. It is cliche to say, but if the first home does not work out, something better always comes along.
