From the Field: Strategies to assist Riverside Buyers

From the Field Strategies to assist Riverside Buyers

From someone in the thick of real estate negotiations here are Strategies to help Riverside,Ca buyers win the home of their dreams. Riverside, CA residents have witnessed many changes in the real estate landscape and we are involved in a huge shift right now! Our communities were part of the real estate bubble and demise. We have been at the forefront of distressed sales - short sales and foreclosures. Now it appears we are at the front of another real estate shift.

As part of my buyer consultation, with buyers interested in Riverside or surrounding areas, I meet with clients to discuss their wants & needs, share information about the process and create strategies for winning the home of their dreams. Along the way I have noted several strategies to improve the chances of buyers purchasing homes in Riverside:

1.) Use the Listingbook account. It is a real-time search engine utilized by Realtor's which provides the most up-to-date information. When you email a list of properties you discovered on other search engines you are often looking at properties which have expired, are in escrow and/or have closed. A more productive use of our time would be spent searching through the Listingbook account which is connected to the MLS or multiple listing service.

2.) Do not expect to win with lowball offers! Despite what you may read, or hear from someone who purchased a house last year, the market has changed dramatically in the last six months. This is no longer a buyer's market it has now shifted to a seller's market. What does this mean? Desirable properties are generating multiple offers and bidding wars.

3.) Become familiar with the term "clean offer." This is an offer in which the buyer does not request concessions from the seller; no closing costs, no termite inspections or home warranties.

4.) Determine your "Highest and Best Offer" at the beginning of the negotiation. It will help to safeguard you from overbidding in a competitive market. I recommend holding something back with which to improve your offer, perhaps a negotiation on the appraisal price or a portion of closing cost concessions.

5.) Walk in the door ready and prepared to write your offers. Pre-approval letters, proof of funds and a copy of the Earnest money deposit are required to write offers. 

There are wonderful homes available in the Riverside and surrounding areas for buyers interested in taking advantage of historically low interest rates and great prices. Following these strategies may help buyer's in purchasing the home of their dreams.