Answers by Hilary Betley

The fewer the contingencies the better. A few creative things I use on offers: if asking for home inspection, add a note ‘buyer to be responsible for up to $x for any repairs noted in home inspection’ (sometimes this helps Seller to be more comfortable knowing you won’t nickel and dime them for all the things) - a home warranty is another ask if you’re concerned about the inspection contingency, sellers are usually more agreeable to that as well; offer to pay Seller taxes (since it’s March, this is a smaller amount BUT it shows seller you are contributing to his net in other ways); escalation clause is always good (we have that built into our contracts already vs writing it in, so it can be easily used).

Most sellers aren’t looking for those kind of ‘extras’, they are looking for the offer that nets them the most. A creative offer with things like: paying seller taxes for the portion of the year; escalation clause (automatically puts your offer ahead of others by $1000 up to a max of $x); offer to pay some of seller closing costs… Depending on the home and your situation, there are always ways to make your offer stand out!