In REO Sale, How to Get Your Offer Accepted

When it comes to make an offer, here are some tricks that will possibly help to get your offer accepted:

1. Keep your eyes on watching the areas you're looking to buy your dream house. Let your agent setup an automatic screening and you check your email every day, or every several hours to see if there are new listing coming up.

2. Knowing your maximum affordable price before you even making offers. When it comes to a very popular/decent property, you need to make your max offer, if necessary. Sellers/Banks don't have time to play the negotiation/counter-offer games, neither do you. You want to get your offer accepted so you can open the escrow asap. If the price is out of your affordable price range, so be it. You can't afford that house. Keep looking and making offer on other houses.

3. Check out the new listings/new properties as soon as they are listed on the market.  Call your agent and get yourself a good idea if this is THE house you're buying. If the answer is yes, make an offer within 24 hours after it's listed. (Don't wait until the 2nd day or later, your chance to get that house will be decreasing. Remember, other people want that house too. You are in high competition against other buyers and most of the times you'll be involving in a multiple offer situation.)

4. You need to put at least 20% down. This really is becoming a requirement for today's tight home loan market. (You won't stand a chance if you plan to put less than 20%). If you can afford to pay more cash, just do it.  The more $$ you put as the down payment, the better chance your offer will be accepted. Cash offer is way better!

5. If you know the game well, find an excellent agent with great skill, experience, and connections, such as the famour VA_LANDLORD. Two exact offers from two different agents may end up with very different results. 

6. Your immediate goal is to GET YOUR OFFER ACCEPTED. You can leave the lengthy price negotiation and repair request AFTER you got your offer accepted.  Don't be picky on the the closing credit or requesting a long escrow  period. Sellers/Banks don't like troubles or uncertainty. The negotiation process is your short term goal. Your long term and final goal is to close the escrow on time.

7. Get yourself pre-approved by lenders.  A commitment letter from lenders is even better than pre-approval letter.  All this has to be done BEFORE you even make offers. (Your EXCELLENT credit score should be the basic requirement.)

8. If you have enough savings, choose "NO loan contingency" when you're making an offer. This will show sellers that you have no problem getting your loan. It will greatly increase your opportunity to get your offer accepted.

9. Write a nice cover letter explaining you're financially ready and how much you like that house. Submit your offer to the listing agent along with this cover letter.

10. Let the listing agent/seller know that you are able to close escrow in less than 30 days. You don't need 45 days or 30 days to close the deal.

11. Keep trying , keep looking and keep making offers. Your effort will soon pay off once you get your offer accepted.  Once your offer accepted, your dream house is just that much close to be yours.

Good luck!