[Tips For Buying A Knoxville Home] Winning In A Seller’s Market

When you buy a Knoxville home in a seller’s market, you’ll be faced with competition. There’s simply too many buyers and not enough houses.

Whether you’ve been struggling in the seller’s market for awhile or you’re about to start looking, you need to be prepared with some of the obstacles that buying in a seller’s market presents. If you’re not prepared, you could find yourself missing out on home after home.

In this post, we’ll offer some tips for buying a home in a seller’s market, we’ll show you how to win in a seller’s market.

What Do Sellers Want?

Every Knoxville seller is different. But, there are some things that all sellers want. When you know what sellers want, that’s half the battle, the other half is giving them what they want

Here are three things that all sellers want:

• The best price possible (hint, hint: their list price)
• Smooth transaction
• Closing in a reasonable time frame

Sellers aren’t looking for anything crazy. When you buy in a seller’s market, you should be prepared to pay full price for a home. If you’re not realistic about the competition and problems you’ll face in a seller’s market, you’ll be sorely mistaken after you lose out on a few homes.

Win By Giving Sellers What They Want

There’s no denying that sellers have a lot of the negotiating power in a seller’s market. As a buyer, you need to be prepared to help give them some of that in order to beat out of the competition. Just be sure before you hit the market, you know your boundaries.

Just be sure before you hit the market, you know your boundaries. Have a firm idea of how far you’re willing to go in price, that way you don’t get swept up in negotiations.

Step 1: Offer The Right Price

The single most important tip for buying a Knoxville home in a seller’s market is to offer the right price. Sellers want the best price possible when they sell their home. When there are not enough homes and too many buyers, sellers will inevitably get what they want in most cases, if their home is not ridiculously overpriced.

When new homes hit the market, they will inevitably get a lot of attention, particularly if they’re not overpriced. When you find a home that you like, be sure to give a fair offer from the start. When most homes are getting full priced offers or more, don’t fool yourself by thinking that you’re going to get a steal. Your offer will stand a chance in a seller’s market if you offer a fair price.

If you are looking to try and get a better deal, try and look at homes that have been on the market for awhile. Those sellers will be frustrated with waiting for those homes to sell, so they may be more willing to negotiate.

Step 2: Make It Easy To Say Yes

The ability to close quickly and easily is important to most sellers. Sellers do not want a difficult transaction where the deal falls apart mid-transaction. When you make a clean offer, clear of difficult contingencies, you’ll make it much easier for the seller to say yes.

Here are a few ways to make it easier for the seller to say yes:

• Show a recent pre-approval letter (not a pre-qualification)
• Do your home inspection quickly
• Increase your earnest money
• Only use necessary contingencies (i.e. financing and inspection)
• Don’t ask for too much (i.e. seller paid closing costs, home warranty, etc)

By making an appealing offer, you will get a seller’s attention. It will show that you’re serious about a house and that you want to make the effort to make the transaction work. Things like increasing your earnest money and presenting a pre-approval letter will show a seller you’re committed to making a transaction work.

Some sellers will value a smooth transaction more than others. In some cases, a seller may even accept a slightly lower offer in hopes of getting a smoother transaction.

Step 3: Be Flexible On The Timeline

Finally, being flexible on your closing timeline can go a long way with a seller. Some sellers will want to close as soon as possible, while others may want a bit more time if they need to find a house.

Depending on your living situation, you may or may not be able to be flexible with your close date. You shouldn’t put yourself in a compromising situation, but if you’re able to work with the seller, a little bit can go a long way.

Sometimes, the flexibility with a close date can be the tipping point that points the seller’s favor your way.

On A Final Note…

A seller’s market is a whole different animal than a buyer’s market. This doesn’t mean that it will be impossible for you to find a home or that you’ll be stuck paying too much money for a home, it just means that you will use a different set of techniques. Be sure to hire yourself a realtor who can notify you of when homes hit the market and someone who can help prepare you for the process.

Are you interested in buying a Knoxville home for sale? If so, please do not hesitate to let us know. Rick can be contacted at 865-696-9002 or via email at [email protected]. Kati can be contacted at 865-696-1888 or via email at [email protected]. Also, be sure to check out our Knoxville home search page to see what homes are for sale in the area.