Homebuyers...May The Fourth Be With You.

By Corcoran Perry & Co
Posted Tuesday, May 3, 2016

It's tough out there for homebuyers in the Denver Metro area right now.

Low inventory, high demand, rising home prices...it's like meeting Darth Vader in a dark alley without a light saber. Multiple offers, bidding wars, trying to compete against cash buyers...What Would Yoda Do?!

In honor of May 4th, which has come to be known as May The Fourth Be With You Day, we put together this list of 4 strategies that will help you stay ahead of the Dark Side when you are searching for a Denver area home.

1. Be flexible when writing your offer.

Your Live Urban agent will reach out to the Listing Agent of the home that you are going to write an offer on. They will be asking them questions like:

- What are the ideal dates and deadlines for your Seller?

- Are there any appliances or other attached property that they would prefer not to include in the contract as conveying property?

- Do you have any offers in on the property as of now?

- Is it OK if my Buyers write a letter to the Sellers about how much they love the home?

- What kind of purchase terms are most attractive to your Sellers?

If you can tailor your offer to meet the Seller's needs, your offer is likely to make it to the top of the pile, even if it isn't the highest purchase price offer received. Convenience regarding the timing of a move is often just as important as a few thousand dollars.

2. Remove as many contingencies as possible.

If you have to sell a home in order to buy in the Denver Metro area, it's a really good idea to go ahead and sell it while you are searching for a home. If you can close and rent back from your buyers for a few weeks, or move into a temporary living situation while you look, that cash in the bank is going to make a Seller feelconsiderably more comfortableabout your ability to buy. Offers with contingencies, even if they are already Under Contract, often get pushed to the bottom of the pile because Sellers don't want to risk your sale falling apart and risking their deal.

3. Work with a reliable lender.

Live Urban's preferred lenders help our agents and their clients win multiple offer situations because they are constantly available to support a purchase offer.

Not only with they provide a pre-approval letter, they will personally call the Listing Agent as soon as the offer is submitted in order to answer any questions that the Seller or their Agent might have about the Buyers' financial situation or ability to purchase. This phone call often makes the difference in a competitive offer situation. This is something important to consider when choosing your lender...are you able to get in touch with them at any time, even on the weekends, when you are likely to need their support?

4. Choose the right agent.

Your Buyer's Agent is your guide through the Housing Wars - and Live Urban agents don't like to lose. Our full-time agents not only keep a constant eye out for new listings that might work for their clients using our ASAP Home Search System, which updates directly from the MLS every 15 minutes, they also look for Coming Soon and Pocket Listings that they can try to score for their Buyers.

Having insider knowledge on new developments, homes that are being renovated, deals that need to happen fast and off-market is vital to winning in Denver's current Seller's Market.