Win the Bid: 5 Things You Must Do

Houses are being scooped up really quickly right now.  This is no exaggeration: good homes are selling within 24-48 hours now. I’ve seen how frustrating it’s been for some of my clients when they don’t get the properties they offered on.

So… Here are five things that I am asking my clients to do to increase there chances of getting the property that they want. (There are other things, but I can’t give away all my trade secrets!)

1.  Check MLS in the evening, rather than the morning.

Most agents don’t get up early and post new listings. They do it at night. I try to check for new listings in the evening for this reason. If you see something you like, shoot your Realtor an email.

2.   Look closely at the neighborhood on the Internet before visiting the property.

If you are looking at one property in a neighborhood you don’t like, you might miss another property that you do like. So, let’s use the Internet to our advantage. Type the address of the property in to Google Street View and have a look around. We agents already have an opinion of the neighborhoods that we know. But we can’t always predict what you like.

3.  View the property within hours of identifying it, not days.

My “Get Your PHX Team” is adapting to the market conditions. When a property comes on that one of my clients wants to see, the member of our team who is available immediately will try to get them in to see the property, quickly.

4. Have your prequalifcation letter or proof of funds ready.

Realtors cannot show properties unless the buyer has all their financing sorted out. In this market, we need to make decisions in hours. Further, sellers want to verify the buyer’s purchase method. So, everything has to be ready to go.

5. Print/Scan/Fax

These days, we are allowed to sign contracts, then scan or fax them. For this reason, I have my team carry blank contracts to a property in case a buyer wants to make the offer immediately. However, if we don’t write a contract on the spot, we may need the buyer to print/sign/return documents quickly. If a buyer doesn’t have this capability at their office or home, it’s important for them to let us know before we view properties.

The rush that we Realtors feel in this market is frustrating. We understand that nobody likes to feel pressured. Yet, we want the buyer to get what they need and we sincerely appreciate their patience and accommodations. By doing these five things, we are more competitive in getting buyers the property they want.

[image: woodleywonderworks]