How To Prepare for a Winning Offer for a Lakeland Fl Home For Sale

1. Get pre-approved

Sellers and agents will take pre-approved buyers more seriously, since a pre-approval letter is almost as good as cash for the seller. So make sure that before you search for a Lakeland Fl home for sale, consult your lender or financial advisor on how you can get pre-qualified or pre-approved for a loan.

2. Understand the local market

Lakeland Fl home prices are dictated by the current market conditions.. Ask your Lakeland Fl agent for a Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) to give you an idea of current home prices based on comparable homes that have recently sold. Some homes may also be underpriced in order to attract more offers from buyer. This means that you need to make a bid a little over the initial asking price.

3. Understand the seller’s interests and needs and adjust accordingly.

Before writing an offer for that Lakeland Fl home for sale, ask the seller questions. It may spell the difference between your offer being accepted or rejected. Some terms in the contract may mean a big deal to the seller and just a small inconvenience for you. Being flexible with items such as moving out dates may land you a better chance at closing the deal.

4. Include a significant amount of earnest money deposit in your offer.

When writing your offer, include your earnest money deposit which is payable to an escrow company and to be delivered by your Lakeland Fl agent no more than 3 business days after the offer is accepted. Even if your offer is lower than the initial asking price, you should offer a higher deposit as much as possible. A larger deposit will give you more leverage in negotiations.

5. Give the seller enough time to respond.

As a rule of thumb, the seller must reply not later than 5:00PM on the third day from receipt of the offer, unless the buyer specifies a different time or date. You can ask for a faster response if you are confident that your offer is strong.