How to Pick the Strongest Buyer

27 Sep How to Pick the Strongest Buyer

In a sellers’ market, you have the luxury of picking the best buyer. Leveraging your home’s appeal when inventory is slim allows you to look at offers carefully as they come in and accept the offer that best suits your needs. 

In this blog post, we offer tips to help you pick the best offer for a smooth sale, improved convenience, and increased profits.

The Best Price

Price will always stand out when looking for the strongest buyer. However, while this can help bring an offer closer to the top of your list, be sure to go through every other detail to rule out any unreasonable contingencies. Your real estate attorney will agree, certain contingencies can make that high offer seem a lot less appealing.

Consider Timelines and Flexibility

While price is always important in Illinois real estate, so too are the timelines. What offer has the most reasonable timelines to suit your schedule? Whether you want a quick closing to get your money and move on, or need time to find your next home, looking at the closing date is always important. A buyer who just sold their own home and is now trying to find a home before their closing date will be less flexible, while someone who is renting their home might be able to give or take a month or two making their offer more appealing.

Also, if you are more leisurely about the closing date, remember that the longer the closing date the more time there is for deal-breaking issues to arise. You’ll also continue to carry the cost of your current mortgage and taxes, so if maximizing your net sales proceeds is the reason you are selling, this won’t work in your favor.

Prospect Financing

There are a few things to consider when it comes to financing including:

• FHA loans: These loans have more lenient financial requirements but stricter appraisal requirements such as whether your home adheres to the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) requirements. If it doesn’t, repairs must be made which slows the deal down. Although the buyer has to cover the costs, it still translates into delays and inconveniences for you.
• Deposits: Sizable earnest money deposits make it harder for a buyer to walk away once the offer is accepted. It acts as added security for the deal going  through.
• Cash offers: As the saying goes, “cash is king.” However, just be certain you verify proof of funds.
• Pre-Approved financing: Pre-Approved financing means the buyer has already had their personal finances approved by a mortgage lender. As a result, you may accept their offer with confidence based on the maximum amount the lender provided.

If you find all offers are at par, these financing factors can help tip the scale. Look for those offering a higher deposit in hand with either a pre-approval or cash.

Contingencies

As mentioned above, contingencies even when in hand with a higher price can sour a deal. For example, if you have two similar offers and one buyer is willing to waive their inspection or financing contingency, this makes the process a lot easier for you. 

There can be all kinds of contingencies, so having a good real estate agent and attorney on your side are the best ways to help you when picking the best buyer.  

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