5 Tips for Purchasing a Home in El Paso’s Seller’s Market

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When my husband and I purchased our first home in February 2016, the process was smooth. We ended up selling our home and purchasing another one in August of 2021. At that point, the market was (and still is) a crazy seller’s market, which made our experience completely different from the first time. It was anything but easy. I would like to share some tips we learned along the way in hopes of making your journey easier. (Note: My experience is based on purchasing an older home NOT a new build).

5 Tips for Purchasing a Home in El Paso's Seller's Market1. Interview El Paso Realtors.

Realtors can be key in making or breaking your home buying or selling experience. Interview several of them. Be direct with what your expectations of them are. If you hire one and you are not satisfied with them, remember that you are the consumer and you can cut ties with them.

A good tip when interviewing realtors is to identify your wants and needs in a home. Also, establish a timeline. One local realtor suggests making a list of the 3 Ms: what a house Must have, May have, and May not have.

In my experience, some realtors can be pushy in trying to get you to submit a bid. Set your boundaries and don’t feel pressured into doing something you’re uncomfortable with.

2. Shop Around for Interest Rates.

Call different banks and research their financing plans and interest rates. Local El Paso lenders may be the best place to start. Ask the banks if they have any special programs. For example, some banks offer extra incentives to healthcare workers and law enforcement. (Sometimes these programs have special requirements or higher interest rates).

3. Get Pre-Approved.

It’s important to get pre-approved so that you are prepared when making an offer on a house. It also helps to set your budget to give your realtor parameters on the homes they will show you. A pre-approval takes time and having one in your hands can put you ahead of the competition when bidding for a house.

4. It’s a Seller’s Market.

Part of what has made the market crazy is that it is considered a seller’s market because the demand for homes is high. With that said, sellers know they can ask for quite a bit from the buyer and usually will find a buyer willing to give them what they’re looking for. This makes it likely that it will take some time before you find a home you love and that your bid is accepted. I’ve had friends that have placed bids on 15 different homes and were outbid each time. Be patient. Don’t get discouraged. The home that is meant to be yours will come.

5. Navigating Seller Requests

One thing we were not educated on was the different things that sellers can request before moving forward with accepting a bid. Be careful of what you agree to.

First of all, sellers may ask to waive the appraisal.

They may request that you waive the appraisal of the home. Waiving an appraisal means that no matter what the home appraises for you agree to pay the price the buyer is asking. This seems like it wouldn’t be a problem, but the bank will ask for the difference upfront. For example, if a house is being sold for $100,000 (you sign a contract and agree to waive the appraisal), the bank requires an appraisal to be done and the house appraises for $80,000. The bank will require that you pay the $20,000 upfront. This is not feasible for everyone.

If you are willing to pay the difference between the appraised value and the sale price, you can make an amendment to the contract where you clearly list the difference in the amount you are willing to pay. For example, you could say you are willing to pay no more than a $10,000 difference.

Secondly, sellers may ask to waive the inspection.

Another thing that may be asked of you is to waive the inspection. This one specifically applies to older homes. By waiving the inspection, you are agreeing to take the home as-is and will likely not be able to negotiate terms based off of the inspection. With an inspection required by the bank, there may be some big things that will require fixing. You want to have the wiggle room to ask for the seller to fix some of the things found in the inspection before moving forward with the purchase.

It is also important to recognize that no older home is going to be perfect. With that said, pick your battles and negotiate the big-ticket items that would be most costly to fix or present a safety issue. A local realtor suggests that for homes built before 1990 a sewer line scope inspection of drain pipes be performed.

Purchasing a home in a seller’s market was definitely a rollercoaster of emotions. I hope you find these tips helpful. Happy house hunting!

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Cindy Mancha
Cindy is an El Paso native raised in the Lower Valley. She is a graduate from Riverside High School and UTEP. She married her best friend from high school and has a spunky son (born in 2020) and is a nurse who has worked in the hospital setting for 7 years. After experiencing a home birth, she realized her true passion was in birth work and is now a birth doula (labor coach). She is passionate about respecting and advocating for women during their birth journeys as well as building community for these moms. She loves her family and is blessed to be able to live next door to her parents. She loves El Paso and cannot wait to help bring mothers in our community together. Follow Cindy on Instagram here.

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