This week's post, for those looking to buy a home...

Munson's Real Estate tip of the week is for friends who are looking to buy a home: “What will make the Seller choose your offer over others?”

Think about the home sale from the Sellers’ perspective. What is their motivation? If they have listed their home for sale, they most likely have another home (or destination) in mind - and a timeframe that they are looking to satisfy. They also have developed an opinion of what their home is worth - that is reflected in their asking price.

The best offer will be from the Buyer who will be the easiest (least challenging) to work with. So as a bonus this week, let me give two tips (not just one) which will make your offer really stand out.

Tip 1: Satisfy the financing contingency before you make your offer. Do your homework. Know what competing homes sell for, and assure you have the means to make your first offer your best one. Either you saved enough for a substantial (20% or more) down payment, or you have pre-qualified your borrowing capacity with a helpful lender. And yes, I can help with this step.

Tip 2: Know what constitutes a “deal breaker” for you personally. Then determine what particular inspections or contingencies you will need to assure that you will feel confident about your home purchase. Unless it is a "Buyer's" market, don't nit pick. Money tip – you can work with your preferred home inspector(s) to limit the time and cost of each inspection if you understand what you are looking to the inspector to find.

So why will the Seller choose your offer over others they may be considering? (Particularly in a hotter, “Seller’s” market?) Your ability to obtain financing, along with realistic inspections and contingencies, show you to be a Buyer who is “ready, willing and able” to buy the Seller’s home.

Again, these are just two little-practiced ideas out of literally hundreds that my wife and I learned over decades of buying, leasing, selling and building a variety of homes – and yes, some are lessons learned “the hard way”. Let me bring all these ideas to help you be a faithful steward of your resources, so your home purchase will exceed your expectations.

Remember, the Seller chose the home before you did. If you understand why your first offer is your best one, and if you have evaluated competing homes so you have a “Plan B” in mind, you are more likely to “close the deal”.