How to Get Your Offer Accepted: Getting a Seller or Landlord to Choose You

If you are trying to buy or rent a home in a very desirable area, the chances are that you will have stiff competition from other renters or buyers.

It is no longer true that sellers always choose the highest bid for a property, you also need to be an attractive buyer, someone that can complete in the shortest time and with the least complications.

In many areas, estate agents will not even allow you to view a property unless yours is sold.

The rental market is equally competitive these days and you will need to know how to get a landlord to choose you over other prospective tenants.

Whilst some people are so frustrated with the situation that they are choosing to wait until more homes come onto the market, many people find themselves in situations where they have to move, be that for work or personal reasons, rather than choosing to move.

For those people, a strategy to help them secure a new home is essential.

Read on to discover the best strategies to stand out from the crowd and win that home you want.

You may also like to read: Should I Move Out During Home Renovations or Not? Many people are buying houses to renovate or choosing to stay put and extend their current home because they cannot find their ideal home at the right price in the right place. In this guide, we look at the pros and cons of moving out whilst your home is being renovated.

7 Tips for Buying in a Sellers’ Market

In many areas, as fast as a home becomes available these days it is sold, often within hours, and usually well above the asking price.

For those people looking to move it is a frustrating and soul-destroying time.

So how do you get to know about these homes coming onto the market first?

Then, how do you know how much to offer? And how do you get the vendor to accept your offer even if it is not the highest bid?

In no particular order, you should tick every one of these points, this is a complete strategy to help you become an ideal buyer in today’s market.

You may also like to read: How Do I Find New Housing Developments? If you are looking for a new build home then this guide is invaluable. Here we look at some of the best places to find out about new housing developments, how to search by area or even the builder, and where planning permission has been granted for new developments so that you can be the first to know about new housing projects.

#1 Become Chain-Free

Chains mean delays, complications, and the possibility that someone pulls out and the chain collapses.

Sellers want a fast, easy, and trouble-free sale, so those buyers who have no home to sell, are cash buyers, have already sold their home, or are in rented accommodation, are going to be the most attractive buyers.

Many people are choosing to sell their homes then move into rented accommodation, or move in temporarily with family.

Not only does this put you in a strong buying position but it will also make the whole moving process less stressful.

It means that you can physically move over a longer period, put your things into storage, and then move into your new home at your leisure.

This enables you to thoroughly clean or redecorate the new home, to not have the frantic rush of moving day, and it also means that you can move your things into your new home on a day that is more convenient for you rather than the traditional Friday moving day.

Note however that there is always the risk that you could be priced out of the housing market if you sell your home and then cannot find a suitable home to move into.

If prices continue to rise and housing stock continues to be at a premium then you could find yourself in rented accommodation or living with family for years.

Equally, you may be lucky, sell your home for a premium, and then the pricing bubble bursts and you are quids in.

It is a gamble that you need to very carefully think about.

Some buyers are choosing to take out a bridging loan, which can be particularly useful if you want to buy a property at auction and have not sold your property as yet.

However, a bridging loan is not without significant risks and you should seek professional financial advice before considering such a loan.

You can learn more about bridging loans at www.which.co.uk

You may also like to read: Moving Into a Multigenerational Home – All You Need to Know. To break the chain you may consider moving in with family whilst you find a suitable home to buy. Multigenerational living is not for everyone, but in many cases, it will be a great option or even the only option.

#2 Get Your Paperwork in Order

If you need a mortgage to buy your new home then get your mortgage agreement in principle ready.

Research who the fastest conveyancers and solicitors are in your area and secure their services.

Once you can demonstrate that you have everything in place and you are ready to proceed immediately you will be in a far stronger position.

There is also the advantage that the faster the sale is completed the less chance there is that the seller pulls out and puts the home back on the market just to get a better price, or that you are gazumped by another buyer.

#3 Work Out Your Budget

In your quest to secure a home in the area you want it is easy to end up overpaying for a property just to secure a deal.

However, there is always the risk that this property bubble will burst and you end up in negative equity.

So work out exactly what your maximum budget is, taking into account all the other purchase and moving costs.

You can find a very simple to use home buyer calculator at www.money.co.uk which gives you an instant total of how much it will cost you to move, including all the legal fees, stamp duty, and associated costs.

As always, seek independent financial advice when making such an important decision as buying a new home.

Find out how much it will cost to hire a professional removal company to help you move home using this free no-obligation quote form.

#4 Check Out Sold Prices

So that you know whether an area is out of your price bracket, or to see just what your budget can buy in the area you want to live in, check out the historical sold house prices on www.zoopla.co.uk. You can search by town, road name, and even individual postcodes.

Remember that the listings by an estate agent are for the prices that the estate agent thinks they can get for the property.

After the home survey though, the actual home’s worth could be considerably less, especially if there is expensive remedial work to be done, so ensure that you check the sold prices and not asking prices.

This will give you a far more accurate idea of how much you should be paying for a property in that area.

Visit our home moving blog to read our comprehensive regional and city guides to help you learn more about the places that you might soon be calling home.

#5 Know What You Want But Be Flexible

It is always useful to have a wish list, a nice-to-have list, and a deal-breaker list of features for your new home.

That said, be flexible.

There will be minimum requirements that you think you absolutely must have, such as the number of bedrooms, but don’t dismiss homes without some research first.

For example, you want a 3-bedroom home but there just aren’t any in the area you want, or they are way outside your budget.

A 2 bedroom home that ticks every other one of your must-haves may have a garage or loft that you could convert, or you may have enough money left from the purchase to extend.

Some older homes have a dining room, living room, and reception room. Maybe you don’t need all three and you could repurpose one of the rooms to fit your needs.

It may take some creative design or repurposing rooms, but often homes that could perfectly suit that person’s needs are dismissed without even looking at the options.

So carefully look at floor plans of homes that have sold in that area so you know the general layouts and can start to think how they could work for you.

Visit the local planning office website and see what kind of extensions they have approved in that area.

Look at old property listings to see how other people have changed their homes in your chosen area, and see if there are any good ideas that you could adopt to make your dream home.

You may also like to read: What Type of Property is Right For Me? House, Bungalow, or Flat. It is easy to pigeonhole a certain type of property to a certain demographic, but often a home that you dismiss could be ideal. So here we look at all the pros and cons of each design of the home to help you choose the best option for your way of life.

#6 Be Realistic

Homes these days are selling for tens of thousands of pounds over the asking price in very desirable areas.

Be realistic as to what you can afford and always have an eye on what the future may hold. A bad decision now could see you financially crippled in the future.

One tactic you could use if you are set on moving to an area that is out of your price range is to look at homes for renovation or that are considerably below your maximum budget.

By looking at homes well below your maximum budget you know that you will be able to offer over the asking price and still be within your financial comfort zone.

Of course, there is no point in moving for moving’s sake, but with an extension or modification, a lower-budget home may become the home you need.

You may also like to read: How to Find Your Forever Home. In this guide, we help you to decide what your ideal home will be, from the type of home to the area, and what are the pros and cons of wanting a forever home.

#7 Be Proactive

Try to create a connection with your estate agent.

They obviously want quick and easy sales too, so if you are really organised, are in a position to proceed with the purchase immediately, are flexible in what you will consider buying, and are easy to work with, then you are likely to be one of the first people they notify when a home comes to market.

Keep in regular contact with them, listen to their advice, and use their local knowledge to maybe suggest suitable areas that you were not aware of.

Some people are even posting notes through letterboxes of houses on roads that they would like to live on.

If this is an approach that you would like to try then keep the note short and sweet, and add in some personal details to make it more human.

Something like: you are a private buyer, love the area, and have kids going to local schools, or that your family lives in the area, mention that you are chain-free, and in a position to proceed immediately.

Always handwrite any notes you send as otherwise, the homeowner may think it is a scam of some sort, or local estate agents trying to get houses to market.

You may also like to read: Which is More Important: Location or House? In this guide, we give you 31 things to consider when choosing where to live next. People will generally say the location is everything, but is that really true? In this guide, we seek to answer that question.

How to Get a Landlord to Pick You

The rental market is currently just as hot as the sales market, which is in part due to many landlords making the most of high property prices and selling their properties, a raft of new legislation over the last few years making it more expensive to be a landlord, and people renting homes whilst they search for a place to buy.

In many areas, the demand far outstrips the supply, so not only are rental properties becoming more expensive (the average UK home, excluding London, costs £1,341 per month to rent), but, landlords can be super picky over who the best tenant for them will be.

So we thought that we would look at the advice given to landlords when selecting the ideal tenant for their property.

If you can fulfill all the criteria that a landlord would look for in the ideal potential tenant then you would be in a far stronger position to be a successful applicant.

You may also like to read: Things to Know When Moving Into a Rented Property For The First Time. This is an invaluable guide that tells you all you need to know about renting a home, from how to set a budget to questions to ask a potential landlord.

#1 Tenant Screening

How do landlords choose between applicants?

The first thing they will do is screen you, to ensure that you have the means to pay your rent, that you have no record of bad debt, and will not trash the place.

To do this the landlord will screen you using the following criteria:

Right to Rent Check: This is a check that landlords in England are legally required to do and confirms that you have the legal right to be in the UK. This check does not apply in Wales, Scotland, or Northern Ireland.

A copy of your passport or a UK birth certificate and a driving licence will be required.

Learn about the right to rent immigration checks at www.england.shelter.org.uk   

Financial Checks: The landlord will want to ensure that you can afford to pay the rent.

They will usually ask to see a contract of employment, recent payslips or bank statements, or proof of benefit entitlement.

If you are self-employed they will likely want to see your last 3 years’ bank statements, trading records, or tax returns.

Credit Checks: Additionally they will usually use a credit reference agency to determine if you are trustworthy enough to pay your rent.

Note that the landlord cannot make this check without your express permission and they cannot charge you for making this check.

You can check your own credit score for free at www.totallymoney.com  

Guarantor: If you think you will fail the credit check then you may still be the lucky applicant if you can get someone to be your guarantor.

This is someone who will pay your rent or for any damage you cause if you are unable to.

The landlord will ask for proof that they can pay and for credit references.

References: They will also ask for references from your employer or a previous landlord to determine whether you will be a suitable applicant.

Proof of Current Address: They will also ask for proof of your address covering at least the last 3 years. This could be utility bills or bank statements.

Criminal Convictions: The landlord will also check whether you or any other member of the household has any criminal convictions.

This can adversely affect their insurance which is why this check is made.

If you have all these documents prepared and available, you will be in a good position to get ahead of the other applicants.

You may also like to read: The Ultimate Guide to Moving Into a Shared House. Another option for securing a place in your preferred area is to house share. In this guide, we look at the pros and cons of living in a shared home, the average costs, and tips on how to make living in a shared house easier.

#2 Your Suitability

This is an unknown as different landlords will want different things in an ideal tenant.

• They may want someone on a long-term lease or a short-term lease.
• They may have a no-smoking policy in the home
• They may prefer no pets (note that as of January 2021, it is harder for landlords to refuse to  let to people with well-behaved pets)

You may also like to read: How to Move In With a Friend. Many people choose to move in with a friend so that they can share costs and move in with someone that they know and trust. In this guide, we look at the pros and cons of living with friends and how to make it work.

How to Win Over a Potential Landlord

If multiple applicants meet the landlords’ requirements, have passed the screening, and have all the paperwork readily available, then it may just come down to personalities.

The easier you are to get along with, who will make the landlords’ life as easy as possible, with the least amount of drama, will likely get the tenancy.

If the property has a garden, point out what a keen gardener you are and how important it is for you to have a nice tidy garden.

Compliment the home on the finishes, for example, commenting on how easy such and such surface is to keep clean.

The idea is to show what a responsible tenant you will be and how you will look after the property as if it were your own.

You could also consider paying the rent for the tenancy period upfront.

This shows the landlord that you are committed, and have the funds available, and it will be one less thing for the landlord to have to worry about.

This may not work in every situation, but if you have the financial means and security to be able to offer this, then this may be the tactic that seals the deal for you.

You may also like to read: Can’t Find Anywhere to Live? Have You Considered Intentional Living? Now this is a bit of a curve ball, but have you thought about intentional community living? This is where a group of like-minded people come together to live in a certain way, to have shared goals or interests. In this guide, we tell you all you need to know about intentional living.

When it comes to getting a potential landlord or seller to choose you, then they will often choose you on first impression.

Many sellers will have loved and cherished the home they are selling, and the landlord will want to protect his investment.

They will therefore often choose the person who they think will care for the home, someone like them, someone who they can relate to.

They won’t want to be your best friend or create a relationship, after all this is primarily a business transaction, but they will want to know that their home is going to a good home so to speak.

So research the home and area, be on time for your viewings, be respectful of the property and its owner, treat any viewing as you would an interview, and try to make a good impression.

It is a tough market out there and you need to use all the tools at your disposal to be the one that successfully signs that contract. Good luck.