It has been a seller’s market in Long Island for a while now! Inventory remains low, and it is not uncommon for multiple offers to be made on a property. As a buyer you need to be savvy and the two most important people to you should be your Realtor and Mortgage Loan Officer. These two partners will ensure that you cover all your bases and leverage your best buying power. Without a good Realtor and Mortgage Loan Officer it can be nearly impossible to buy the first home a buyer wants to buy.

Outside of looking for a nice home, buyers don’t have much experience in real estate. Most of them don’t have any idea how the market is besides whatever they see in the news headlines.

Buyer’s hate to be told the market is a seller’s market. In a seller’s market, a home buyer is unlikely to be successful using the same techniques practiced in a buyer’s market. If they are prepared and have good partners however, they can succeed in purchasing a great home and get the best possible value.

Buying a Home in a Seller’s Market
You have to be prepared. You have to come armed with tools, and be ready to pull the trigger on an offer. Multiple offers happen all day every day in a sellers’ market. That’s because by its very nature a seller’s market is defined in part by low inventory and lots of home buyers. Beautiful homes that are well priced attract multiple offers. You will rarely be the only buyer in a Seller’s market.

Price:
Price is not always the most important factor. But do not offer less than list price. Realize you may need to offer more than the amount the seller is asking, but of course defer to your Realtor for final advising on this.

Earnest Money Deposit:
A larger earnest money deposit might wow a seller. Ask your Realtor for advice on the deposit; then consider doubling or tripling that amount. You’re going to pay it anyway at closing.

Don’t Request Favors:
This is not the time to ask the seller to give you the refrigerator or washer and dryer, or part with fixtures, or paint the front door.

Delay Buyer Possession:
If it is customary for the seller to move at closing, give the seller a few extra days to move. Another buyer probably won’t think of this maneuver, and the seller will look more kindly upon an offer that lets them move at leisure.

Submit Preapproval and Proof of Funds Documentation:
Get a REAL pre-approval from a Mortgage Loan officer like South Fork Funding. Most mortgage companies plug your basic stats into a pre-approval letter generator and send you on your way. Later on when you come to the closing table the terms are completely different than what you anticipated, because they didn’t perform a real pre-approval on you.

After your Realtor, your Mortgage Loan Officer is going to be the 2nd most important person on your team. South Fork Funding is well versed in all aspects of the Long Island Real Estate and home financing market. They have been in business for over 20 years, charge NO FEES, and offer full trasparency during the process. Unlike the big banks who only have internal programs, South Fork Funding is a broker and has access to shop your particular situation to many different banks to get you the lowest rate. Brokers nearly always beat the big banks, and have lots of programs to put you into whether you are a typical FHA candidate, looking for a VA loan, have an issue with the property like no C.O., and even in cases where you might have bad credit or not much for a downpayment. This one mortgage company can make a tremendous difference in your buying power. Call them today and tell them you saw them on New York Mortgage and Real Estate Network.

Ask Your Agent to Call the Listing Agent for Tips:
Listing agents are often very busy. If your agent can save the listing agent some time by preparing the offer correctly, the listing agent might be inclined to recommend your offer over an offer from another agent who did not complete the offer the way the seller expects.

Think of it this way. Say a listing agent has two offers. One is exactly the offer the seller would like to sign. The other offer is not, and the other offer would need a counteroffer from the seller to compensate. Should the listing agent prepare a counter offer or should the buyer’s agent revise the offer?

In this situation, it is better for the buyer’s agent to revise the offer. It is faster. During the time it would take the listing agent to prepare a counter, send the counter offer for a signature, and then deliver the counteroffer to the buyer’s agent, another full price could arrive. If you want to be the first offer, the best offer and the only offer the seller will accept, your offer needs to match the seller’s expectations.

If you wait for the seller to sign a counteroffer, your offer could fall by the wayside. Your buyer’s agent can find out what the seller wants by calling the listing agent or by reading the verbiage and instructions in MLS. Ask to see the agent’s MLS information sheet. The agent’s MLS printout is probably different than the information a home buyer receives.

Jump on that Seller’s Market Showing:
Don’t be that buyer who wants to wait until the weekend to view a home in a seller’s market. By the weekend, that home could be sold. Try to be one of the first showings. Sellers usually don’t enjoy having buyers come through their homes at all hours of the day, so most would like to see their home sold quickly. If you write a good offer, a fast offer and a clean offer, your chances of acceptance are far better than those of a buyer who is unprepared. It may astonish you to know how many buyers are often unprepared.