Yahoo! Finance - standing out from the house buying crowd

An often overlooked part of the decision making process for sellers, when deciding on who's offer to accept - do I like them? Selling your home is a very emotive subject and whilst it's easy from the outside to view it in terms of a business transaction, there are often many other factors that the prospective seller is considering; will they get on with the neighbors, do I want these people living in my house, will they look after it? As a potential buyer try to answer some of these questions that will be in the sellers' mind. So as well as doing all the obvious bits like; having a mortgage approval in principal, your solicitors on stand-by and the deposit money in your account think about the other side of it, the emotional side and turn up on time, looking reasonably smart (I'm not saying break out the suit, but maybe not joggers and a hoodie), be polite, be enthusiastic about the house (remember, it's their home) and show them you're the type of person who wont upset the neighbors. I've seen buyers have offers accepted that weren't the highest, simply because the seller "liked them more". Sometimes, it's not all about the money.

The best way to stand out from the crowd in a super competitive housing market is to speak to an advisor and fully understand your position as to what you can afford, not what a calculator online says the amount of people who I talk to on a weekly basis who end up leaving it last minute and do not end up with the house they want due to them relying on an online calculator to see what they can borrow for a mortgage and this in most cases turns out to be wrong. So for the love of God, speak to an advisor about your circumstances; unlike an agent who represents the seller, the advisor works with you to ensure you get the best mortgage possible and also checks if you are even creditworthy and will allow you to understand exactly what you can borrow on your income and outgoings at times this may involve an initial credit check with a lender to ensure you can have a mortgage in principle as this gives agents peace of mind and can put you good stead as we tend to find people who rely on affordability calculators which ain't worth anything to an estate agent as they want to see you have are creditworthy as they represent the seller, not you and feelings do not play a part when offering they will always advise their client to go with the best offer.

Be a prepper, no not hoarding ready for the end of days, make sure you are prepared and ready to go, being a cash buyer is great, but not all sellers see that as a benefit. make sure your finances are in order, have a Mortgage in Principle ready so you can show the vendor you are serious and can afford the property. Don't be tight with your offers, if you want it out in a serious offer, dont muck about!