Yesterday I noted how historically low the inventory is this year. I should have prefaced that BLOG by letting you know that we are currently in DUAL MARKET. 
It is the first time in 32 years that I have seen this, where the upper 1/3 of the market is a heavily weighted BUYERS MARKET while the lower 1/3 is strongly a SELLERS MARKET. In the lower 1/3, Buyers are getting shut out of homes because they are either taking multiple offers and Buyers did not bid high enough OR they are not quick enough to the table and the home is already under deposit. I have a few strategies for both Buyers and their Realtors. Today I will talk about strategies for Buyers. Tomorrow I will talk about strategies Realtors should use when representing Buyers.
Advice For Buyers-
1- DO be ready to go in with a higher than asking initial offer. You may not get a second chance. There is no law or rule that says a Seller needs to ask for Highest and Best. They may accept a solid offer as written or decide to negotiate with only one offer.
2- DO NOT search multiple online sites. Get a Listingbook Account with your Agent (preferably ME). This is the ONLY way to stay absolutely current. All other sites are already behind as it can take a day or two to scrape to the site and they all list CTS (Continue to Show) homes as active. They also have the disadvantage of you having to remember to log on to see the inventory. Listingbook comes to the Buyers email as a Morning Report. It lets you know what is truly available and feeds directly off the Multiple Listing Service.
3- DO a driveby IMMEDIATELY. Don’t waste your Realtor’s time showing you homes that you later find do not have the setting or location you want.
4- DO NOT wait for an Open House. These homes are selling within 48 hours. The Realtor may still HOLD an open house to solicit Buyers. It is always OK to call the listing agent to make sure it is still available or have your Realtor do this.
4- DO bring your spouse, parents, or other decision makers on the first visit. You are not going to get the time to schedule a second showing.
5- DO get your pre approval ahead of time and either at multiple amounts or for the highest amount you for which you quality. You will not get a chance to wait until Monday if you see a home on Friday evening to do this. By giving a letter with the highest amount it is not giving away your hand. It actually shows your buying strength.
6- DO offer flexible contingencies like closing date. It is not always about the money.
7- DO offer tight contingency dates for mortgage commitment, contract signing, building inspections.
8- DO NOT make extra demands for included items such as washers and dryers that are not included in the listing.
9- DO NOT expect to get much at building inspection time. You will be negotiating only health and safety items, things that were not disclosed and things that are broken.
Finally work with a Realtor who is experienced and full time so that they are ready to show your homes and know how to position you to get to your goals. At McCaffrey, not only are we full time and experienced, if one of us is not available we can call on the TEAM for last minute showings