How to Get Your Offer on a San Diego Property Accepted

So you decided it was time to buy a new home in San Diego. Whether this is your first home or a move up or scale down property, purchasing a San Diego home can be exciting and, if handled correctly, fun! Are you tired of getting beat out by other San Diego homebuyers? Here are some strategies for how to get your offer accepted and write a winning San Diego Residential Purchase Agreement.

Step one – Figure out where you want to live in San Diego. San Diego has many different cities and picking a location is very important as a San Diego homebuyer.

Step two – Hire a San Diego real estate advisor, like Kim Ward and her Horizon Real Estate team, who know how to write the best San Diego Residential Purchase Agreement.

Step three – View multiple San Diego properties in the location you want to live. Buying the first property you view is almost never the best route. There are often many properties to choose from and the only way to have a good idea of your options is to view plenty of properties.

Step four – Once you find the right property, you’re ready to make an offer on the San Diego home. There’s only one problem: Your location of choice is in an intensely competitive seller’s market.

Buying San Diego real estate can be tough enough as it is; it’s even harder when you’ve made offers on multiple San Diego homes only to discover that there are five or more offers on the same San Diego property and yours is not the highest and/or best offer.

Tips on how to have your San Diego real estate advisor write a strong offer that will give you an edge over other San Diego homebuyers.

1. Get on the San Diego Seller’s Good Side

For some people, selling a San Diego home is purely about the money. But for many, especially San Diego sellers who have lived in their San Diego home for many years, it’s an emotional process. Even if you’re the highest bidder, you might still lose out because the San Diego seller just didn’t like you as much as another buyer.

Don’t forget that buying a San Diego house is a human experience. Try to connect with the San Diego seller and make a good impression. Once your San Diego Real Estate Advisor sets up an appointment to view the San Diego property, make sure to keep it and show up on time. If something comes up and you can’t make it, ask your agent to cancel that appointment. It shows that you’re responsible and thoughtful.

When you and your San Diego Real Estate Advisor visit the San Diego property, be respectful. Keep negative comments to yourself. You can share your concerns with your San Diego Real Estate Advisor after you leave. A disparaging remark about the wallpaper might destroy the chances of your offer being accepted. Typically, on a showing of the San Diego property, the sellers will not be present. But if they are, make sure to thank them. If you really like the property, maybe even make some small talk with them. Get them to try and remember who you are as a San Diego buyer so that when it comes time for the listing agent to present your offer, the seller will remember your name.

2. Improve Your Chances with a Lower Loan Amount

The more money you put down, the less worried the San Diego seller will be about you being able to qualify for a mortgage loan. Paying entirely in cash will give you a huge advantage over other San Diego homebuyers but, naturally, not everyone can afford that. Fortunately, there are other ways to show you’re serious about buying besides having the entire purchase price in cash.

Offer to make a large earnest money deposit. If you can afford to put more down, then go for it. The earnest money deposit acts as a kind of insurance for the San Diego seller because, if they accept your offer and if you back out for a reason other than what’s in your contract, you could lose your deposit. This will only happen if you remove all your contingencies. Prior to that, the San Diego seller cannot keep your deposit. If the deal goes through, the earnest money deposit will go toward your down payment. Typically an earnest money deposit is one to three percent, but if you can pay more, it might help you win the bid.

Similarly, making a down payment larger than the typical 20 percent will go a long way toward assuring the San Diego seller that you’re committed. It is also important to have a pre-approval from the lender for your San Diego Real Estate Advisor to submit with the offer.

3. Don’t Ask Too Much of the Seller

Make the terms of the contract as favorable to the San Diego seller as possible. That means giving up provisions like asking the San Diego seller to cover closing costs. After you have your offer accepted, you can go back and ask for repairs.

Contingencies are designed to protect you and your earnest money deposit in case something goes wrong, for example, not being able to get a mortgage in time. Although financial and inspection contingencies are common in most contracts, waiving them assures the San Diego seller that you’ll be able to come through with the money even if your lender doesn’t and you won’t ask them to make home repairs. Only waive contingencies if you’re comfortable with the idea of losing your deposit if you decide not to buy and are comfortable completing any needed repairs to the property after you’ve purchased it.

4. Keep Your Contingency Periods Short

If you decide you want to keep contingencies in your offer, try to keep the periods of time you have to get your loan, an inspection, and an appraisal as short as possible. For example, if it’s the normal custom to ask for 17 days to complete all inspections on a San Diego home in the neighborhood you’re looking in, consider only asking for 10 days.

Here’s how you can speed up the loan, inspection, and appraisal periods on your San Diego real estate:

1. Do most of your loan due diligence up front. Ask the lender to help you get your desktop underwriting (DU) approval, which basically tells the lender that offering you a loan is low risk.
2. Schedule a general San Diego home inspection the day your offer is accepted. That way if the San Diego home inspector points out something that needs further inspection by a specialist (such as the foundation, roof, or chimney), you still have time to bring in that additional inspector.
3. Ask your lender to order the appraisal the day your offer is accepted.

Making a successful offer in a San Diego seller’s market can be tricky and frustrating, but with persistence, know-how, and a little luck, you’ll soon be in your new San Diego home. To get through this process with ease, be sure to hire an experienced real estate agent, like me, Kim Ward, who can help you get your San Diego offer accepted.