If you are a savvy buyer, you take all the necessary steps to prepare for buying a home. Now that you are prepared, it’s time to begin the house hunt.
This is supposed to be the fun part, right?
Do you know what you will do if you discover there aren’t many options? If you find few or no options for sale within your price range, it’s easy to get frustrated. While that’s true, don’t give up just yet. Use some of the tips here to help you find your perfect home, even with a low housing inventory.
Offer a Higher Price
This is the basic principle of supply and demand. Prices go up when inventory is low, and demand is high. Consider offering your final and best offer upfront. While offering a higher price when buying a home can be tricky, it may be worth it in this situation. Just make sure you can afford what you offer, which is going to increase the mortgage payment.
You also need to be able to make up the difference in cash if the house happens to appraise under what you offer. Usually, lenders will not approve mortgages higher than the appraised value.
Act Fast but Stay Patient
Getting the home you want in a competitive market usually involves a lot of “hurry up and wait.” Make sure you are ready, at any point, to make an offer on something newly listed. While you may need to be ready to pounce on a house when it first comes available, sometimes the deal just isn’t right for you. You may also find that your offer is not accepted. Stay patient, and the right home will come along.
Stay Flexible on Closing Dates
Besides acting quick with an offer, you may have to close quickly, too. For example, the seller may need to close quickly because of a divorce or job relocation. Your offer may also have more weight if you can get to the closing faster.
You may wonder how to speed this entire process up. One way to do this is by shortening your inspection time frame. Ten days is plenty for a home and termite inspection if you have an inspector ready to go.
Also, if you are preapproved, you can close as quickly as a non-cash buyer. That’s because the mortgage lender will have everything ready to go to help you get your mortgage and move things along.
Making the Most of Low Housing Inventory
If you are in an area where housing inventory is low, it’s a good idea to make sure you are ready to act if an opportunity arises. While it can be frustrating at times, you can easily get the home you want for an affordable price with the right real estate agent.
Being informed is half the battle, so make sure that you stay updated on what is going on in the local market to ensure you can act when needed to purchase a house.
