Buying a home: 5 tips if you end up in a bidding war

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You have finally found your dream home. The same has 15 other people.

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Competitive supply is the buyer’s path in a market where demand far exceeds supply. The lower mainland has had more than its fair share of bidding wars as emotions run high and home-hungry buyers are caught up in the excitement of the hunt. As they say, it’s a jungle out there.

That’s why it’s important to stay calm in Vancouver’s housing market. There are a few things you can do to try and reduce the stress of buying when you are not the only one who thinks they have found their dream home. Local real estate agent Amy Trebelco provided us with some tips for surviving the Greater Vancouver bidding wars.

Work with a real estate agent who knows the area

Any real estate agent who is worth their license will give their client a market analysis for the property. But it also helps to work with someone who knows the area beyond what they see on feature sheets. That way, they can provide an assessment of what a property is worth in relation to the real world, rather than what is written on paper.

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“Neighborhoods and places have different nuances,” says Trebelco, a real estate agent at the Mary Cleaver Group. “An agent who is an expert in the field is aware of the level of activity in the market and has probably seen or been in many of the latest comparable units or buildings, which helps to really understand the market value of a property. They might as well say , ‘Oh, that building has a big project on the way, that’s why it’s priced this way’ or ‘That unit got an award because it’s really well maintained and financially responsible’. “

2. Know yourself

A buyer may have a reason for wanting a property that goes beyond the area recommended by the broker.

“Maybe your best friend lives across the street, or you grew up in this neighborhood, or this is your absolute dream home, and you’ll be living there for the next 35 years,” she says. “Then the value to you as a buyer could be a little bit higher than my market value. That’s the balance between the two things. As long as the buyer is educated on both values, they will make the ultimate decision on the price.”

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3. Be prepared

In the lower mainland, the seller signs a guideline regarding the presentation of offers (DRPO). The document says that the seller will not look at any offer before a certain time.
“Then you know when your offer is due and you have until that time to do your due diligence,” Trebelco says.

This includes:

1. Check in with your mortgage broker to make sure they have the documents they need.
Review of property documents, including strata documents.
Carrying out a pre-inspection.
4. Ensure that your deposit funds are readily available.

“Traditionally, you would do all of this after securing the property. In case of multiple offers, you try to do all of this in advance so you get in as clean as you can.”

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David Fairbairn, of Fairbairn Home Inspectors, recommends a pre-purchase inspection. “It’s a really good deal. It’s a cheap insurance. You spend $ 500 and you can save thousands. We can see the pre-purchase inspections going out of the way right now, and that’s very unfortunate.

“A lot of my business goes to real estate after the buyer has already taken possession. In many of these cases, we unfortunately experience that the buyer has bought a home with a hidden problem. It is a very unpleasant surprise, especially after you have got your keys and moved your furniture in and discover that there is a leak of the foundation. “

Occasionally, Trebelco will tell a customer that they can skip the inspection, which can sometimes happen on street properties, “if the building has well-documented maintenance stories, the depreciation report is recent, or we may know the building. We sell a lot in Mount Pleasant and the East Side, so we have customers who have bought different properties. So if you have the documentation and knowledge of the building, you can choose – depending on your own risk tolerance – to go ahead with or skip an inspection. “

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4. Be available

This applies to both the buyer and the agent. “If we get the phone call where the buyer is in the top two or three and you want to revise the offer, you may miss your opportunity if you’ve been out to dinner or a movie. You have to block that time off and sit by the phone in anticipation of what might happen. ”
That’s what Trebelco does. “Monday and Tuesday night I sit at home. I’m never more than 10 feet away from my phone and computer. “

5. Know your budget and stick to it

“Bid bidding can be emotional,” Trebelco says, “especially if you’ve lost a few properties.” A buyer may be ready to increase their offer by an unrealistic amount. Trebelco said that it is when it is their job to be the silence of the storm, and to say, ‘the broker approved you for a certain amount, we talked about the value, and that was this.’

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“We can help balance the emotions,” Trebelco said.

Trebelco has seen enough homes slip away from dreamers to become philosophical about missed opportunities.

“It is difficult to take the emotions out of several offers when you fall in love with a home and imagine living there. At the end of the day, another one arrives. Once you’ve got one or two under your belt, it’s getting a little easier to ride the wave. I am convinced that you will get the property that you are supposed to get to make it a home. ”

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