10 Steps to Ensure You are the Successful Buyer

The demand for well-priced homes in popular areas is exceptionally high. The process of finding and securing a dream home in a sought-after location has therefore become increasingly difficult for most Buyers.

As your Real Estate Agency, we want to help you secure your next dream home in that sought-after location! Our awesome sales agent, Pieter de Swardt, has put together a helpful list of things you could do to ensure you are the successful buyer of your dream home:

1. Set New Listing Alerts
2. Get Pre-Approved by a Bond Originator
3. Make Your Best Offer the First Time
4. Remember, You Can Offer More Than the Asking Price
5. Do Your Homework Before the Time
6. Bring Your Accountability Partner/Support/Expert Along
7. Look at the Bigger Picture
8. Sign the Contract Correctly
9. Keep the Return Date Short
10. Make Use of the Daunting 72-Hour Clause

Let's look at each one in a bit more detail.

10 Key Steps to Ensure You Buy Your Dream Home

1. Set New Listing Alerts

Set new listing alerts for Property24, Private Property, the Louw & Coetzee Website, and any other listing platform. Stipulate the areas and price you are interested in and set the alert! This ensures that you get the alert the minute that a property is listed. React immediately - often a day later is too late. Start with a phone call to the agent, then a WhatsApp, and if necessary, then an email.

2. Get Pre-Approved by a Bond Originator

Did you know that getting pre-approved is free? The process also secures credibility when your Realtor has to decide between 2 or more competing offers and pre-qualification saves time during the buying process.

3. Make Your Best Offer the First Time

If the property is priced well, and you see that the interest is high, don't play around with low-ball offers, assuming the Seller will counter your initial offer. Most of the time you will not be granted time to come back with a better offer. Oftentimes, more than one offer is presented to the Seller, resulting in no opportunity for the Seller to counter your offer due to cut-off times. Buyers lose opportunities this way.

4. Remember, You Can Offer More Than the Asking Price

If you think there is probably going to be a competing offer(s), remember that you can offer more than asking price to secure your offer being accepted. Often Sellers must choose between 2 or more full price offers, leaving you at risk, whereas an offer of more than asking price could have set your offer completely apart from the others.

5. Do Your Homework Before the Time

Before your viewing, phone your Realtor and ask them to email/WhatsApp you the following items:

• The declaration regarding the condition of the property
• Plans (if they have any)
• A CMA report of the comparative sales in the area

This will allow you to thoroughly prepare for the viewing, as well as think of any questions you may need to ask. Don't know what questions to ask? Take a look at our list of potential questions you need to ask when viewing a home.

6. Bring Your Accountability Partner/Support/Expert Along

Under special conditions, Buyers often include aspects like the right to a report by an engineer, builder, or a second viewing by a family member or other expert, to enable them to come to a conclusion. Ensure that such a person is available to join you on the first viewing so as not to cause a delay, which could lose you time on making an offer.

7. Look at the Bigger Picture

Don't risk losing the property over small requests, such as insisting that carpets be cleaned, the house be painted, or rubbish be removed. You may be 1 of 2 or more competing offers where these types of requests were not included.

8. Sign the Contract Correctly

When signing the contract, ensure that you sign everywhere you need to, on every page, without copying and pasting your signature. You want to avoid a delay in the acceptance of your Offer to Purchase, whereby it may have errors or unsigned clauses/pages. Read all about Signing a Contract the Right Way.

9. Keep the Return Date Short

Often Buyers don't realise that the longer the period for the Seller to accept their offer, the more competing offers may be considered. Now is not the time to be over-accommodating - request that the Seller sign before a next showhouse, or before a weekend, to allow for fewer offers to be considered.

10. Make Use of the Daunting 72-Hour Clause

Contracts will almost always include this clause, where the Buyer is still needing to sell his property, or where the Buyer has already sold the property, but has not yet given transfer thereof. This clause may also be applicable to the bond clause, meaning that marketing of the property you are buying continues AFTER your offer has been accepted, and that buyers who have no suspensive conditions may make competing offers (i.e. a second Buyer that comes along with a cash offer and can pay the deposit immediately). If you cannot meet/waive the suspensive conditions in your contract once you've been put to 72-hours terms, you may lose the property.

Find out more about the 72-Hour Clause.

With the above in mind, we truly hope that you will manage to secure your next dream home in that sought-after location! Still on the hunt? Take a look at the property for sale by Louw & Coetzee.