Hi Cynthia, I was wondering how things are going for you. Any accepted offer yet?

Hi Cynthia, You've got some great offers to consider on this forum. Sellers are looking for two things in a transaction. They want to net the most money and they want to do it with the least amount of risk. Homes in the Chino Hills area are a hot commodity. If you can not compete on price here are a few tips.

You can increase the net to the seller by paying some closing costs normally paid by the seller. Examples include the following: Home Warranty...cost is between $275 and $600 per property.; Hazard Report... Cost is about $100; Termite Report and Repairs...cost is $0 to several thousand dollars. Title insurance...cost is between $250 and several thousand dollars. Seller's escrow fees...calculated at a rate of $2 per thousand plus $200. If you have the cash available, consider offering to pay your broker's commission or both commissions as part of your costs.

It's not an everyday strategy and certainly most buyers will balk at this strategy. It can be an effective strategy if you have good cash reserves and are interested in keeping your payment in a particular range.

I worked with a buyer several years ago and we successfully deployed this strategy. My buyer purchaesed the home for about $90,000 less than the "highest and best offer" because the seller netted more money. This buyer paid all the seller's closing costs including a 5% commission which was split between brokers.

Before you attempt this be cetain your agent has exceptional communication skills and understands basic real estate math.

Don't give up. This is a challenging market for buyers, sellers and agents alike.

The bottom line is very important to a seller. A strong offer with a 20% down is equally attractive to a seller if they are netting more than the cash offer. Your offer has to be made in such a way that the seller will feel comfortable it will close.

How can I out bid a cash offer? We made over 15 offers in which we have offered 20% down or even more and yet we keep losing them to these cash''

Cash offers are tough to beat no doubt. 20% down is not what is making or breaking the deal. How strong is the offer has more of an impact. How strong of a buyer are you on paper, credit, employment history ect. My advice be patience keep making your best offer and don't over bid, this is a tough market keep making offers you get a property.

Cynthia,
Are you offering above the listing price.
Even if you put 20% down and do not compete with other potential buyers, you will not get your offer accepted.
The 20% down is more for your best interest. It does show that you are a strong buyer and it keeps your mortgage payments much lower.

Before visiting a listing, does your agent call the listing agents and see if they have offers above of what you are comfortable of submitting? If not, they should. It saves some heartache.

Stay strong and good luck,

Jes Sierra, B.Sc.
Realtor®

It's hard to beat a cash offer. No appraisal, no waiting for lender approval, no contingencies, and a quick close it's pretty much a done deal. I think you will always get beat out by a cash deal unless you offer far more than what the cash offer was for.

Hi Cynthia,
Do you have a list of the houses you submitted offers on?
If so, have your agent check out the closed sales on the MLS and compare
your offers with the closing amount.
I have done and the results are that my clients offers were not high enough.

Hope this helps with your decision,

Jes Sierra, B. Sc.
Realto®

Are you losing out only because of the cash offers, or perhaps because your offers weren't high (aggressive) enough?

Puttng down more than 20% should make you a very viable buyer.......offering more than anyone else makes you even more viable!!

Good luck!

One way is to remove the appraisal contingency. This would mean that you would pay cash for the difference if the appraisal comes in low.

Another thing that the banks and sellers like to see is a short inspection contingency (7 days).

Don't ask for closing costs, home warranties, or repairs. The cleaner your offer, the better chance you will have in getting your offer accepted.

Good luck and hang in there!