Are you hoping to buy a home?
At Red Fox, we see buyers miss out on their dream homes weekly.
Here are three things to do so that’s not you.
1. Get your financial ducks in a row
No seller (or selling agent) wants to deal with a buyer whose finance isn’t organised.
Knowing that a buyer is actively working with a broker is music to our ears. Even better is if your broker is available to chat with us on the weekend.
You don’t need a full pre-approval – we understand that it’s not suitable or necessary for all clients. However, what will strengthen your position is having met with your broker to confirm that they are satisfied with your current situation and borrowing capacity.
Have your circumstances changed since you last spoke to your broker? Get in touch to give them an update before you start hitting home opens.
2. Don’t overcomplicate your offer
The three most common conditions buyers add to offers (that most sellers are happy to accept) are subject to finance, building, and termite inspections. Anything above that risks being uncompetitive.
If there is something about a property you want to check, try and do this before or at the home open instead of adding them as conditions on your offer.
Take your builder mate through. Email the selling agent before the weekend. Call the Shire if it’s appropriate (particularly with a development property).
Sellers want the easiest route to the result. So the more conditions you add to your offer, the more likely you’ll miss out.
3. Don’t stuff around
I’ve lost count of the times that buyers have lost out on homes because they were still “weighing up their options”, didn’t believe me when I said we already had offers, or were still waiting to hear back from their bank “sometime in the next couple of days”.
I have some simple advice I give to sellers; it’s “Deal with the doers”. By that, I mean the buyers that are keen, organised and have submitted a formal offer.
Why would a seller wait to see if another buyer might make an offer when they’ve already got a firm offer (or offers) on the table?
If you find something you love, be ready to go, or be prepared to miss out.
In summary…
Buying a house is stressful. By being organised with your finance, doing your due diligence, and acting quickly when you see something that ticks the boxes, you’ll increase your chances of success.
Good luck!
