How to Beat Out Your Competition in the D.C. Market

The Washington D.C. area is firmly in a seller’s market, and here’s how homebuyers can get ahead by making their offers on a home more attractive.
 

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We’re definitely in a seller’s market in the Washington D.C. area right now, making writing a competitive offer more important than ever when buying a home.

Price is obviously very important in an offer, but you can only go so high and still have the price make sense. There are a few other ways to make your offer compelling outside of price alone.

1. Settlement date: Make sure the settlement date corresponds with what works best for the seller. If the house is vacant, a 30-day deadline is very important. If the home seller is looking for a home, you should consider giving them 60 days plus post-settlement occupancy. You need to be open to the needs of the seller in those situations.
2. Contingencies: The standard contingencies are an appraisal contingency, a financing contingency, and a home inspection contingency. I’m currently seeing offers with no contingencies at all, but as a homebuyer, it’s important to write an offer you’re comfortable with. It’s also important to have a conversation with your real estate agent to understand the implication of this. Once you do, it’s important to write an offer that will be a winning offer, whether that means waiving your home inspection contingency but doing a pre-inspection before the offer deadline so you know of any adverse conditions with the property and you’re comfortable moving forward without that inspection in place. You can also speak with your lender before making an offer to make sure you’re fully approved.
3. Creative things to make your offer stand out: This could include paying the seller’s transfer taxes or things like that to give them a higher net without impacting the price of the home.


You can only go so high on offer price and have it make sense.

These are all successful techniques that I’m currently implementing to help buyers get into the home they want. If you have any questions or you’re looking to sell a home in the Washington D.C. market, give me a call or send me an email. I’d be happy to help.