Multiple Offers On Homes in Maplewood, NJ and Surrounding Towns

Multiple Offers and Your Maplewood, NJ Home by Allison Ziefert, Realtor

Let’s talk about multiple offers. They’re par for the course these days in the Maplewood, NJ real estate market and in the markets of surrounding towns such as Millburn, Short Hills and S. Orange, NJ

– With inventory down significantly over last year in many towns and buyers recognizing the great combination of low interest rates and relatively low housing prices this spring has been something of a perfect storm. Just about every house that comes on the market seems to be snapped up within days.

When there are multiple offers on a home they often sell over the asking price, so your offer amount is obviously a big factor. Yet, there are other tools in your arsenal that can make you a successful bidder:

– Give the seller a large good faith deposit upfront. It shows that you are serious and makes you stand out from the pack.

– Write a personal letter about your family and why you are committed to the purchase and submit this with your offer. This seems trivial but this can be effective. Be careful about revealing too many personal details about yourself.

– Do you have to sell before you buy? Sellers are looking for buyer who does not have a home that they need to sell in order to make a purchase.

– Can you accommodate the seller’s desired closing date? This is often very important to the seller.

– How quickly can you do your home inspections and are you willing to waive any inspections? Sellers want to see this contingency satisfied quickly.

– How quickly can your lender give you a mortgage commitment? The sooner the better from the seller’s perspective.

– How much cash can you put into your financing package? With homes selling in multiple bid situations appraisals can often be an issue. When things don’t appraise for the purchase price and there is no margin for a buyer to put in more cash when they can’t get financing deals can fall through. This has been commonplace this spring. Sellers are looking for buyers who are putting the most cash down in order to avoid a shortfall should the house not appraise for the contract price.

– Having an agent who has good working relationships with other local realtors can also be an advantage. Agents like to work with other agents who they know will get the deal done so to speak.

If you are a seller, you should discuss your agents approach to handling multiple offers. Different brokerages have different policies on how such situations are dealt with.

If you have been considering making a move please give me a call to schedule a confidential consultation. I would be pleased to help you, or someone you know, to navigate the new sellers’ market.