Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Not another bidding war.....! Ugh...!

  The worst situation as a first time buyer needs to be in is a bidding war. The time it takes to find the house of your dreams is already adventurous enough, however, to make an offer with the hopes of the seller agreeing to it at first, is truly a blessing, but to have more offers come in after you or even before you, it can be daunting and very stressful.
    Unfortunately, this is becoming the new normal for real estate as sellers are becoming more savvy, in making sure they can get more in profits, by allowing bidding wars to occur, and receive the highest and best price possible. This strategy can easily be done by allowing the house to go up for sale below market value thereby allowing buyers to come in and start the process of bidding for the house they would like to buy at right a bottom price. The key is to not to go too below the market value, yet not so high where it blends in with the rest of the market either. Some buyers think this is totally unethical and behaving inappropriately and therefore sounds off wherever they go! It is unfortunate yes to an point,but this is how the real estate environment has become therefore we have to just learn the new ways of business with this kind of sell or purchase. The best advice I try to give the first time buyers is to not look for the low clearance priced houses if you can help it, because those are the ones that have the bidding wars. If they still persists then I warn them that the negotiation is no longer with the seller in this situation, but to other buyers who are bidding. Once they realize that they seem to listen to me more when I request that they no matter what will be able to walk away from the sale, and not pay for an house that his now overly priced, and with negative equity because of it.
   I also tell my buyers do not fall in love with a house before you actually own it. If you do, then you will more then likely be willing to pay more that what it's worth....yes I am a licensed real estate agent telling you this BUT, the commission is the commission....YOUR house is your house that will become your asset of sweet dreams, or an deficit of  nasty nightmares...you choose.  Also as an agent I educate my buyers by finding out what the house is worth. This will be able to help them, although sometimes you can run into a few outliers ( ones that stand out from the rest) because they exceed thea expectations of the houses found in that particular neighborhood.
 Finally you have to ignore all other bidders and stick to your guns with what you have in your hand; know when to hold and of course, when to fold. It works in almost every type of business decision you will ever make. So what there are 5 bidders, you are one bidder making one decision, allow that decision to be what you can live with and enjoy you dream house!