Every homebuyer’s biggest concern is winning a bidding war when they finally find their dream home. And every home in today’s market is part of a bidding war. How in the world will your offer be the best offer so the seller chooses yours over the others.
How things have changed over the years
I’ve been a licensed Realtor since 1987. Things have certainly changed since then. It used to be, you’d look through the MLS book of homes for sale to find homes you would show your buyers. Heaven forbid if you let those buyers take your book and find their own homes. That was forbidden.
Then every day, new hot sheets would come out of new homes on the market. Granted, this was before we had computers. You would go look at a house and maybe make an offer. I don’t ever remember being up against another offer.
Showing houses in 2021
Today, buyers find houses they want to see sometimes before I even see them. After we’ve looked at between 10-15 houses right off the bat, we narrow it down to what they are really looking for. After looking at a number of houses, buyers know what they like, what they don’t like, and what they want to see more of.
My typical buyer is set up on an automatic search through our local Multiple Listing Service and receives new listings as soon as they are entered into the system. With each buyer, there is always the best time of the day for them to look at homes.
So every day, I plan my schedule around my buyer’s best time of day. We typically look at one house a day, maybe two. Then they have to decide 3 things:
- do we like it enough to make an offer?
- how much over asking price will we offer?
- what other options will we offer to be the winning offer?
Winning a bidding war when making the offer
There are so many options anymore when making an offer. It’s no longer about price and the perfect closing date for the seller. And it’s definitely not about writing a Dear Mr. Seller letter.
What begins with feelings – ends up with paperwork.
Winning a bidding war has a lot to do with the Realtor you choose. As your Realtor, I want to know:
- what price will you offer?
- how much earnest deposit will you offer?
- what’s your preferred closing date?
- what is your escalatory price?
- how much over any other offer will you offer in the escalatory addendum?
- will you offer an appraisal addendum and if so, how much are you willing to pay should the house not appraise?
- will you sign the In Its Present Condition Addendum and are you willing to check box 2? I won’t let you check box 3!!!
Once we get past the price, earnest deposit and preferred closing date, the hard pieces of the puzzle come into play. And honestly, each piece builds on your past experience in writing offers.
Writing a winning offer
Writing an offer is tricky. It helps to know what other offers you’re up against and whether any of them are all cash. That’s not readily accessible information though. And very honestly, I’ve had sellers accept a higher-priced offer than an all-cash offer. So that technique doesn’t always work either.
You also need to know how offers on the home are going to be addressed. Will they:
- be presented as they come in
- collected for a few days or
- do they have a specific time the agent and sellers will be reviewing all offers?
With every home for sale, the whole scenario changes. You have different sellers, a different agent and a different offer rules.
But once you try one thing and it doesn’t work, the next offer you write will be stronger than the last one. You’ll take more chances and more risks the more offers you write.
Just remember, persistence pays off. And eventually, you’ll pull out all the guns and get your offer accepted. Hang in there.
In conclusion
If you’re looking for a great Realtor who has a good track record of winning the offer and has more persistence than you do, call or text me at (913) 515-3250 or contact me here to set up an appointment for a buyer consultation.
Be sure to check out today’s new listings in Overland Park below. Contact me if there is anything you’d like to see.
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Lot Size12,996.00 ac
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Home Size3,234 sqft
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Beds4 Beds
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Baths3 Baths
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Year Built0
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Days on Market1
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Lot Size13,451.00 ac
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Home Size4,226 sqft
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Beds5 Beds
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Baths3 Baths
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Year Built1983
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Days on Market2
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Lot Size23,087 sqft
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Home Size3,270 sqft
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Beds5 Beds
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Baths3 Baths
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Year Built1910
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Days on Market2
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Lot Size11,156.00 ac
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Home Size3,742 sqft
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Beds4 Beds
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Baths4 Baths
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Year Built0
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Days on Market2
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Lot Size14,434.00 ac
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Home Size3,175 sqft
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Beds4 Beds
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Baths4 Baths
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Year Built2023
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Days on Market2
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Lot Size11,078.00 ac
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Home Size2,837 sqft
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Beds4 Beds
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Baths3 Baths
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Year Built0
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Days on Market2
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Lot Size18,142.00 ac
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Home Size7,445 sqft
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Beds5 Beds
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Baths5 Baths
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Year Built2013
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Days on Market3
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Lot Size14,609.00 ac
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Home Size5,718 sqft
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Beds6 Beds
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Baths4 Baths
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Year Built2014
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Days on Market5
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Lot Size16,046.00 ac
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Home Size2,882 sqft
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Beds5 Beds
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Baths4 Baths
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Year Built2023
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Days on Market5
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Lot Size11,200.00 ac
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Home Size1,070 sqft
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Beds3 Beds
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Baths1 Bath
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Year Built1947
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Days on Market8
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Lot Size12,633 sqft
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Home Size3,048 sqft
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Beds4 Beds
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Baths4 Baths
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Year Built2023
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Days on Market12
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Lot Size9,148 sqft
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Home Size3,608 sqft
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Beds6 Beds
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Baths5 Baths
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Year Built2020
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Days on Market13
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Lot Size12,851.60 ac
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Home Size3,101 sqft
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Beds4 Beds
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Baths3 Baths
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Year Built2023
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Days on Market13
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Lot Size11,762 sqft
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Home Size3,288 sqft
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Beds4 Beds
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Baths4 Baths
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Year Built0
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Days on Market13
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Lot Size10,125.00 ac
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Home Size2,925 sqft
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Beds4 Beds
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Baths4 Baths
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Year Built0
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Days on Market14
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Lot Size8,750.00 ac
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Home Size1,719 sqft
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Beds3 Beds
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Baths3 Baths
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Year Built1965
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Days on Market15
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Lot Size8,852.00 ac
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Home Size2,961 sqft
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Beds4 Beds
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Baths4 Baths
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Year Built2023
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Days on Market19
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Lot Size9,635.00 ac
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Home Size3,039 sqft
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Beds4 Beds
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Baths3 Baths
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Year Built2023
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Days on Market19
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Lot Size9,550.32 ac
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Home Size4,231 sqft
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Beds6 Beds
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Baths5 Baths
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Year Built2023
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Days on Market20
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Lot Size11,043.25 ac
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Home Size4,385 sqft
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Beds6 Beds
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Baths5 Baths
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Year Built2023
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Days on Market20
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Lot Size6,600.00 ac
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Home Size2,758 sqft
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Beds4 Beds
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Baths3 Baths
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Year Built2023
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Days on Market20
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See all Real estate matching your search.
(all data current as of
2/1/2023)
Listing information deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Read full disclaimer.