Knoxville Buyers: Secrets To Avoiding A Bidding War

Buying a Knoxville home in a seller’s market can be tough. With very few houses on the market, buyers can be left fighting tooth and nail over good homes.

Finding a home can be tough enough, but with the added competition, it can be even more stressful.

If you’re like most buyers, you may want to avoid a bidding war altogether. In this post, we’ll cover some secrets to avoiding a bidding war.

Make Your First Offer Your Best Offer

Oftentimes, bidding wars will start when you don’t make your best offer right out of the gate. If you’re the first buyer to make an offer and you waste time with a low offer, you allow other buyers to have the opportunity to make an offer in the meantime. Thus, the start of a bidding war.

When you’re serious about buying a home in a seller’s market, go ahead and make your best offer out of the gate. This will show that you’re serious about the home and that you’re not messing around, which can be important to a seller.

Do you research about a property to make sure the offer your making is fair market value. Then, go ahead and make an appealing offer. A seller won’t wait around for other offers when they receive a great offer from the start.

Submit With A Pre-Approval Letter

When you make an offer in a competitive market, it’s important to submit a pre-approval letter. This shows that a that you’re able to secure financing and shows that you’ve gone through the effort of getting pre-approved rather than pre-qualified.

It can also be helpful to show a recent pre-approval letter. Before you submit an offer, have your loan officer update your pre-approval letter. This will show that you’ve recently been pre-approved.

Look At New Houses Quickly

One of the most important ways to avoid getting caught up in a bidding war is to be quick to look at new homes as they hit the market. If you can look at new houses as soon as they hit the market or are aware of them before they hit the market, you’ll be able to make a move on houses before other buyers can get to them.

When you’re looking at homes in a competitive market, it’s important to make house hunting a priority. You’re more likely to avoid a bidding war when you can get to a home before other buyers can.

Be Ready To Make An Offer

Once you’ve finally found the perfect home, you need to be ready to make an offer. There’s not a lot of time to dilly-dally in a seller’s market. If there hasn’t already been an offer been put down on a home, you’ll want to be able to move quickly.

You’ll also want to make sure you have access to the following:

• Earnest Money
• Copy of Your Pre-Approval
• Proof of Funds (if applicable)

Be Flexible

Finally, it’s important to be flexible. When you’re buying a home in a seller’s market, the seller for the most part can call the shots. If you’re not willing to work with them, they can wait for another buyer who will.

When it comes to contract negotiations, it can be helpful to be as flexible as you can be. If you can be flexible on the close date, allow the seller more time to move out. Or, if you can live without the washer and dryer, take it out of the contract.

The more flexible you are with the seller, the better. It shows a seller that you’re willing to be flexible in order to make the deal work.

Are you thinking about buying a home this year? Please let Knoxville Home Team know if there is any way that we can assist you in your Knoxville home search. Rick can be reached at 865-696-9002 or via email at [email protected]. Kati can be reached at [email protected].

Also, be sure to check out our Knoxville Home Search Page to see what homes are for sale in the area.