How to make your home offer stand out

Making your home offer stand out can be difficult in a competitive housing market. But you can take plenty of actions to set yourself up for success while finding your ideal home.

Working with the right team and following these three general tips could help you get a contract on the home you want.

Time is always of the essence in a homebuying scenario. Add with a competitive home listing and multiple bidders, and you might be feeling the pressure to move quickly. Get organized ahead of time to help you move more seamlessly through the process.

• Know what you want out of your home. When you feel certain about home factors like your price range, ideal neighborhood, or even what dealbreakers will cause you to back out, you can spend less time evaluating home listings. Be a more confident homebuyer with exclusive access to insights from a one-stop real estate tool for Wells Fargo customers.
• Get your financial home in order. Know the status and location of your bank statements, tax returns, and income verification to avoid taking time later to track them down during your home search.
• Learn your financial options. The more you know before beginning your search, the better. Something as seemingly small as knowing what loan options are at your disposal ahead of time can help you move more quickly when you’re deep in your home search. You can explore mortgage loan types here.
• Have cash reserves available. Having access to liquid cash — especially funds set aside specifically for your down payment, closing costs, and other homebuying expenses — can give you more options and flexibility while evaluating homes and help you stand out from other buyers.
• Get prequalified and preapproved. You can get a better sense of how much borrowing power you have with your lender by getting prequalified or preapproved. Learn more about prequalification vs. preapproval.

You can move more confidently through the homebuying process by working with a team you trust — especially when you're looking to move quickly. Build your network to help keep up momentum as you move through the process.

• Use a local real estate agent. When your agent is familiar with your home search criteria, they can more easily advocate for your ideal home on your behalf.
• Leverage investment and planning relationships. If you're already using a financial advisor, they can help you create a plan and weigh your home purchase against other financial priorities.
• Engage your banking and lending relationships early. Let your lender know you want to move quickly and work with them to come up with a plan.

As you approach the end of the homebuying process, you may want to utilize some last-minute strategies to make yourself more attractive to sellers. Consider these options as you evaluate what can help take your offer over the finish line.

Utilize earnest money. Earnest money shows you’re serious about your intent to purchase and is typically applied to closing costs or your down payment once the home sale is finalized. Learn more about earnest money and the costs tied to making an offer on a home.

Offer to waive minor repair requests. Showing your flexibility could make you more attractive to sellers and help you stand out during competitive home bids.

Buy your home with cash and get a mortgage later. Stand apart from other potential buyers and potentially close faster with an all-cash offer. Even with a cash offer, you can still take out a mortgage later to help manage cash flow. At Wells Fargo, you can apply for a mortgage after 90 days of closing for jumbo loans and after six months for conforming loans.

Ultimately, buyers can stay competitive by staying well-organized, building a team for support, and utilizing well-executed strategies to make their offer stand out. Throughout the process, be sure to talk to a home mortgage consultant for additional tips that may be beneficial for your unique homebuying journey.

Still looking for extra guidance?

• Eligible Wells Fargo customers can explore relationship benefits that may be available
• Use our mortgage calculators to help create your plan