People have been asking us if they can buy a house that’s not for sale – and the short answer is. . . YES! It’s all about communication of what you want, how much you’re willing to spend, and letting your agent work the magic of tracking down the perfect home to fit your needs!
Contents
What’s the Benefit of Buying a House That’s Not for Sale?
There’s quite a few, actually!
You aren’t limited to the homes that are active on the MLS .
While this is a great way to find homes that are ready and looking for buyer’s, in a seller’s market, off-market house hunting could give you an advantage due to the lack of inventory and influx of buyer’s looking to make offers on those available homes.
You can avoid the bidding wars that can happen with a home that’s available in a hot market.
If there’s low inventory and high demand, this can lead to multiple offer scenarios, which is great if you have a leg up, but can also be frustrating if other buyers are offering adjustments, higher offers, and waiving certain fees/inspections that you may not want to compete with.
You Could Get THAT House
You know that one house you’ve had your eye on. The one that you comment, “that’s a cute house” every time you drive by with your spouse. The one that you secretly wish had a “for sale” sign in it’s yard. Yeah that one!
You could have it with the right offer. Let your agent know so they can see what the situation is and if it could be a real possibility.
How Do I Get Started?
First, you need a solid agent that knows the market, has some experience, and is willing to get their hands dirty, digging deep to find you the right property.
What do agents do to help, you ask?
Prospecting
If there’s a particular neighborhood or area that you’re looking in, or your agent knows of some areas that your dream home may be in, they can do some marketing in that area to let the residents know that they have a buyer looking to buy a home just like theirs!
If they weren’t interested in selling before, their ears might be perked up, now! Sellers have some great perks to buying without going on the market, too – so this is a win all around!
Database
If your agent has a database of past clients, friends, potential buyers, prospective sellers, people they’ve interacted with over the years – it’s likely they have your perfect home already in their database!
That personal connection can potentially give you a leg up and help you find your home faster.
Tax Records
Your agent can see which properties may have sellers that aren’t living in the home based on what address is showing on tax records. If it’s different than the home address, then the home is likely being rented out or even potentially vacant!
Picked For You: How to Buy a House in a Seller’s Market
Expired Listings
Connecting with sellers whose home didn’t sell could be a great opportunity to find your perfect home. This could mean that the homeowner chose not to sell for personal reasons, but it could also mean that they just never received the right offer – and yours might be just what they were looking for!
What Do I Need To Do?
Keep in mind that this process is not entirely in your agent’s hands – there are some things that you can do to help with the process.
Pre-Approval
Make sure that you are financially ready to make an offer at a moment’s notice. This will also help with making a case for yourself when your agent tells the owner that they have a buyer that’s got the funding and ready to make a purchase TODAY on the right home.
This will also help you know exactly what your limit is on what you want to pay so your agent knows the limit for negotiations.
Have a Flexible Schedule
If you aren’t able to drop everything at a moment’s notice to see a home, make sure your agent knows your availability so they can set some options up for you to see when they have found potential options for you.
The sooner the better, so the seller’s don’t change their mind before you get the chance to see the home. This could mean evening tours, early morning, weekends – whatever works to secure you the deal.
What’s In Your Hat?
Like a magician, your agent will have a better chance to secure the deal if you have some items to pull out of your hat. This could be a higher price, extra incentive for the seller, waived fees on the transaction, etc.
Have this conversation before your agent starts hunting so they know what they have to work with during the negotiation process.
You Might Also Like: First Time Home Buyer’s Guide
Don’t Assume You’re the Only One
Keep in mind that you may not be the first person who has approached this seller about buying their home. If you are, keep in mind that this may also spark an interest in them to actually list their home to see if they could get more offers that might be better than yours.
There’s always the “what if” lingering around, which is why being ready to make an offer right away is important.
Want to See What’s Available?
If you’re curious about what’s on the market right now, below are some of the most recently listed homes in Las Vegas.
Need an Agent?
We’ve got your back! Set up a free consultation with our team and we’d be happy to help you find your perfect home.
