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Bo Kuffmann

Want to buy a house WITHOUT a bidding war? Here is the simple secret!

by Bo Kauffmann on August 23, 2009

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Hello everyone:

Lots and Lots of buyers (and that means MANY),  are sick and tired of "Bidding Wars".  About half of the buyers I interview, tell me outright :"I dont want to have to compete for a house".


The secret to getting a house WITHOUT a bidding war is really simple:  PATIENCE.  Working with a patient agent and having some patience yourself is usually rewarded at some point.  Here is how:


Many agents like to list a house at 10 to 20K below it's value.  I know: it seems wrong, crooked, shifty…..you can put any number of labels on it, and I wont argue with you.  But its a reality in todays market.  The reason for deliberately underpricing a house is simple:  It generates "Multiple Offers"  (Bidding War), and in such, the best offers come to the forefront.  Look at it this way: If YOU are the only person to make an offer on a house, I as your REALTOR® will advise you to ask for a Home Inspection, put as little money down as possible, and get a 3-day financing clause.


Now take that same house, and we are competing against, say, 5 other offers.  Guess what happens:  The people that CAN write unconditional offers will do so, just to win the bidding process.  Gone is the Home Inspection, the financing clause, and out come the 20,000-dollar deposit cheques.  Who wins?  The home-owner, of course.


So how does patience help?  Every once in a while, a home-seller, or his agent, decide for whatever reason, to slightly overprice a house.  Buyers recognize this when it happens (if they are working with a knowledgable agent), and tend to refrain from putting in an offer right away.  So the house may end up on the market for a few weeks, and then go thru a price-reduction.  
But that initial pool of buyers have moved on, and sometimes the home-seller will find it tough to get them to come back.  So this is where the patient buyer, with his patient REALTOR® come in.


So far this year, my buyers have managed to buy a house for UNDER asking price on 10 occasions.  Thats roughtly 50% of my buyers have managed to avoid a bidding war…..pretty good odds, I would say.


Patience pays off.


So if you're looking for a house or condo, and either dont want to, or simply can not get involved in a bidding war, CALL ME.  Together we will find you a nice house or condo.

Check out my Website


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