Making Your Offer Stand Out | DT Properties in Littleton, CO

So, how do you make your offers stand out in this competitive market that we're in? As as we sit here today, there are roughly nine days of inventory available, and that is just crazy low levels. While it is expected to go up a little bit, you still have to do things to help your offer stand out. 

Thankfully, there are a few different things we recommend to help your offer stand out. So while every situation is unique, these should put you on the right track for shining above other people’s offers when you get into that competitive situation. 

Pass/ Fail Inspection 

One of the most popular selling points right now is offering your inspection as pass/fail. So rather than using an inspection to find things you’d require the seller to fix before closing you write it in the offer that you're gonna get your inspection, and you're only gonna use it as a pass-fail. This is basically saying you get the inspection and you're either comfortable with it or you're not.

It’s good for you because if you're not comfortable, you back out of the deal, you get your earnest money back and you go find a new house. And it’s good for the sellers because they know you’re going to decide quickly so they can move on without the extra time investment trying to meet your closing requirements. 

Appraisal Gap

You can also go with an appraisal gap. Now, a lot of people talk about appraisal gaps, but I'm not sure many people know what they mean. Basically, it's offering the seller assurance that if the appraisal comes back less than the negotiated contract price, you, as the buyer would bring up to X amount of dollars to make up the difference. This can be enticing for buyers, of course, because they know you’re committed to purchasing their home specifically. 

Earnest Money

It's important to show a seller your mean business. While here in Colorado,  we suggest earnest money is typically between one and 2% of the asking price. Sometimes you as the buyer might want to put down a little bit more the show the seller that you have your skin in the game. 

What is earnest money? A lot of people hear that for the first time and ask me, what does that mean? Earnest money basically is your deposit. So within a couple of days of a mutually executed contract, you're gonna deliver an earnest money check, oftentimes personal check or cashiers check, or maybe a wire transfer to the title company, or maybe it's the real estate office, but it's your skin in the game. That's the most amount of money that you can lose in most cases as the buyer if you back out of the deal without a good enough reason.

Thankfully, here in Colorado, there are many ways to get your loan money back, especially if you have a great agent writing your contracts. We’d consider adding things like deadlines, conditional sales requirements, and appraisal deadlines, but we’re going to put up barriers between you and the time you lose that earnest money. Things are very buyer-friendly here in Colorado.

Understand Your Seller

Finding out what's important to the seller is also important. If the home is vacant, oftentimes the seller probably wants to close sooner than later. If somebody's living there and they don't really have a place to go yet, they’re going to need time to move so an extended close, or an opportunity to rent-back until they find a new home.  

So whether they need that extended close or a faster turnaround is going to affect the way they rank offers they receive. You need a great real estate professional to show you exactly what to do and help you craft the perfect offer to put you in the best negotiating position possible. 

All of this is why it’s vital to have a real estate professional that’s knowledgeable about the process and available to guide you to making the best decisions and putting in the best offer for the seller, instead of just a form offer that some potential buyers submit.

Remember, every single situation is different. Every single offer is gonna look completely different because no two situations are the same. That’s how DT Properties can help you make your offer stand out.