Depending on the market you’re looking to buy in, your need to be competitive could be extreme. Some areas are very popular and have many offers on homes, including cash offers. When there are multiple offers on a home, you have to make your offer stand out. So how do you make your offer or bid stand out?

First, it’s always important to research as much as possible before you start actually looking at home. You need to know what you want, what you will not budge on and how much you can really afford. Then you have a baseline and parameters for making an offer.

A good real estate agent can make a huge difference in the entire process.

Ask friends and family for recommendations.

How can you make your offer or bid stand out?  Your real estate agent should know your market very well so they can help you determine what offer to make and communicate that offer both in writing and verbally to the sellers.

Before you even start looking in person at potential homes, you should invest the time and effort into obtaining a pre-approval letter from your lender. Being able to include that document with your offer shows the seller you are serious and gives them the security that you will be approved for the purchase.

Offer a quick closing.

Often when someone is selling their home, they are doing so because something is on the horizon. Perhaps they have a different home they are in the process of purchasing or are moving across the country. While there are times people may not want a quick closing, by offering one you are showing the sellers you are ready to get on with the process.

Give a personal touch to the business transaction by including a letter to the sellers about why you love the home. Especially if they’ve lived in the home for a long period of time, it can be a very emotional time for the sellers. When they have multiple offers on the house, the idea that their home will go to someone who will love it as they did might be the deciding factor.

Only ask for 5 days to get inspections done rather than the commonly asked for 15 days. You can also offer to purchase the home “as-is.” As the buyer, you can still choose not to purchase the home if significant issues are present, but it takes pressure off of the sellers of being required to make repairs.

Normally, contracts for homes have contingencies built in regarding financing and appraisal. If you make an offer that waives these contingencies, it makes the seller feel comfortable because the buyer cannot back out if they are unable to receive financing on the home or if the home doesn’t appraise for the offered value. While it can be a risky move for the homebuyers, if the buyer has the cash to support the risk, it might well be worth the gamble if you’re dead set on getting the home.