Is Your Offer for on a Costa Mesa Home More Likely to be Accepted if You Pay the Seller’s Closing Costs?

Even though the real estate market has had a huge decline, many of the homes in Costa Mesa and throughout Orange County are receiving multiple offers. This is because there is not a lot of inventory in a lot of areas, especially in the lower price ranges.

One of the difficulties is that there are many investors offering cash on the lower priced properties, and many sellers prefer the certainty of cash to the uncertainty of a buyer obtaining a loan.

How can a non-cash buyer compete in this competitive market? By getting creative. Price is not always the final decision maker for a seller. As mentioned above, a lower cash offer might be chosen because of the lack of a loan contingency.

To make an offer more competitive on a Costa Mesa home, consider offering a larger earnest money deposit, consider offering a shorter escrow (if possible – allowing for a quicker close); don’t ask for termite repairs (just the inspection); don’t ask for a home warranty. Offer to remove contingencies in just a few days; you could offer to complete all inspections in 5 days instead of the typical 17. All of these might make your offer more attractive to the seller.

Basically, making the offer as simple and beneficial to the seller as possible, makes it more likely that your offer will be accepted.

Would offering to pay seller costs make your offer more attactive? It could, especially if a seller has very little equity in the home. But, relatively speaking the costs of escrow and title are fairly small, and you might find more creative ideas make you even more competitive.

If the Costa Mesa home is a short sale, you might offer to put the money in escrow immediately and agree that the escrow may not be cancelled for a specific period of time (like 60 days), after which it can be cancelled and the deposit returned to the buyer if the bank hasn’t agreed to the short sale. The seller might choose this offer over others as it shows that the buyer is serious and committed to wait for the bank to make a decision.

In determining what is most likely to get your offer on a Cosa Mesa home accepted, it is important to understand, as well as possible, the seller’s motivations in selling the home. Is it a short sale? Are they moving out of state, etc. The more you and your agent know, the better you will be able to tailor your offer to the needs of the seller.

Will paying the costs make your offer more likely to be accepted? Maybe, but there are other factors to be considered and other ways to make your offer more attractive.

If you would like to buy a Costa Mesa home and want to make certain that you are making the best offers possible, please contact me at 714.319.9751.

Wondering what homes are for sale in Costa Mesa?  See below.

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