Let Us Teach You About Investing in Real Estate

Today I wanted to talk to you about investing in real estate and invite you to join us for a free class we offer.

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I have a free class that we put on called Investing in Real Estate 101. We do this on a regular basis and if you’re interested, you can shoot me an email or give me a call and we can keep you posted on when our next one is going to be.

A key thing we teach in our class is that there’s more than one way to invest in real estate. Just some of the strategies are buying more affordable for cash flow, or buying at a higher price for appreciation, doing short-term rentals, a purchase and flip, or long-term hold. We’ll be able to sit down with you and discuss your options and what you’re hoping to accomplish when you invest in real estate.

If you’re interested in signing up for our next class or you have any other questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out. We’d be happy to help you.

How to Win a Multiple Offer Situation

How should you deal with a multiple offer situation? For starters, don’t just focus on the offer price.

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In our area, we’ve only got about 1.5 months worth of housing inventory. That means that if no other homes were to come on the market, we would be out of homes to sell in just a month and a half. 

This is an extremely low number and has led to an increase in multiple offer situations. I’ve got some tips for you on how to determine which offer is the best one to take in this situation.

The first thing you want to be aware of is that the highest offer isn’t always necessarily the best one. We want you to get the highest number of offers possible, but we also want your home to get through the escrow process and close. One way we bulletproof your transaction is by looking at appraisal contingencies, which cause one in four deals to fall apart.

Appraisal contingencies can come back to bite you.

Let’s say you have a $300,000 house and receive multiple offers on it once it’s listed. Let’s say one of those offers is for $1 million. If it’s a cash offer, that’s a no brainer. However, if the buyer has financing, the offer means little. Most of the time, the appraisal contingency protects the buyer. Whatever the appraisal value comes in at, that’s where they will make their counteroffer. Most of the time, they have no intention of paying that high price. They just use it to catch your attention and get you to accept their offer. An offer slightly above asking price with no appraisal contingency is usually a better option.

We approach each person who makes an offer in these situations and ask them if they are willing to waive their appraisal contingency or if they would be able to bring additional money to closing in case of a low appraisal to cover the difference.

There are a number of things you can do to strengthen the likelihood of getting a good, strong offer. If you have any questions for me or you’re thinking about buying or selling anytime soon, give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

How Our Team Helped Amy Through the Sale of Her Home

“I didn’t work with Chad directly, I worked with another member of his team. She really sat down with us during the time when she was giving us comps for the area and size of our home. She really sat down with us and taught us and she had the heart of a teacher and went above and beyond details that other realtors that we interviewed did not give us. I would definitely refer someone to the team and let them know that they really work one-on-one, are very personable, and they’re on top of all the details.”

We Made Frankie Feel Like Family When We Sold His Home

“His organization does a lot of charity. I was working at the rescue mission at the time and his group, they usually go there a couple of times a year to help out, feed the homeless population, and support. So, we met there. I asked for his card, you know, maybe interested in the future. Once I found out that my family, we decided that we wanted to sell the home and move to another location we called him up and he was very happy to help me out. He gave me a lot of help, I mean, in less than a couple of days one of his associates called me up and we were just moving at lightening speed. They’re very courteous, always calling, they make you feel like a family.”

Why You Should Always Get Pre-Approved for a Home Loan

When searching for a home, you can get pre-approved or pre-qualified for a home loan. They sound similar, but there are some important differences between these two options.

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When you seek a home loan, there are some significant differences between being pre-qualified and being pre-approved.

The Pierce County market is on fire and you have to move quickly to buy a property due to all the bidding wars. That's why I can't stress the importance of getting pre-approved at the highest level enough. It will allow you to come to a seller with a stronger offer.

Being pre-qualified basically constitutes calling a lender to tell them your general income, what you think your credit score is, and what your debts are. They'll give you a rough idea of what they'll loan you, but in my opinion, it's not really worth anything. 

Offering to close in just 21 days can really give your offer an edge.

Being pre-approved is a different story. It constitutes providing your bank statements, a real credit check, and the lender making sure that there won't be any roadblocks for you in the lending process.

There are even some lenders out there who can take the pre-approval process all the way up to only having to wait on an appraisal. That process can typically be a 21-day process. If you can offer to close within 21 days, it will give your offer an edge and give the seller comfort in knowing you've taken the extra step to get pre-approved.

If you need a recommendation for a great local lender, we'd be more than happy to provide that for you. Unfortunately, there are far too many lenders out there who aren't reliable and don't do the things they say they'll do.

If you have any other questions about real estate here in Pierce County, you can always give me a call or send me an email. I'm here to help.