In a rebounding real estate market, it's common for sellers to receive multiple offers. With so much competition for the same homes, you want to make your offer stand out. Here are 5 tips to help your offer stand out from the crowd:

1. Offer the right price - Do your homework and check area comps and pricing analysis on the neighborhood and market the home you'd like to buy is in. If you have a buyer's agent (highly recommended), your agent will have much of this data at their fingertips and help in the process of figuring out the best priced offer to make.

2. Keep repair request discussions positive - In most cases, sellers are not required to make repairs. But what if your mortgage lender requires certain repairs prior to approving your loan (common with some types of loans, such as VA loans)? If the seller knows that the lender is requiring the repairs to proceed, they'll be less likely to dismiss your requests. Even better - have your buyer's agent negotiate repair requests with the seller's agent.

3. Be realistic about demands - In a seller's market, demands like seller covering the entirety of closing costs or giving price concessions for special items or fixes are unlikely to go well. Demand too much and the seller can just wait for or choose a different buyer. You and your agent may have to get creative to keep demands reasonable such as rolling the closing costs into the sale price of the home. Just be careful not to exceed the appraisal value or you risk your loan being rejected by the lender.

4. Consider carefully when choosing an older home - Before placing an offer, really check out the home for signs of disrepair or neglect in the up-keep of the property. If the condition of the home will reduce the appraisal value, you want make sure to consider that when deciding on an offer price. If your offer exceeds what the home appraises for, the lender will reject the loan and you'll stand out in the wrong way.

5. Share about yourself with the seller - Many sellers have sentimental memories in the home they're leaving behind. Sharing with the seller through a letter or email (which can be sent through your agent also) about yourself and your family, what you love about the home, where you're moving from, what makes the home a perfect fit for you, how long you've been searching, and why you chose the home can assure the seller that you are a buyer who will cherish the home just as much as they did.

Buyers face fierce competition in today's real estate market. When sellers typically receive multiple offers, you want to make yours shines the brightest. These tips, along with an experienced buyer's agent from Century 21 Broadhurst, will help your offer get noticed.