Amy Hoak's Home Economics: To win a house bidding war, get creative

By Amy Hoak, MarketWatch

If youre a home shopper in a market where bidding wars are common, it helps to have a strategy to ensure that your bid stands out from the competition.

Youll want to do the basics: Make sure you have your financing in place, turning in all your loan paperwork before placing an offer, said Gibran Nicholas, Chairman of CMPS Institute, an organization that trains and certifies mortgage bankers and brokers. Better yet, if you have the means, youll really catch a buyers attention if you make an all-cash offer.

Also, write a financially competitive offer with as few contingencies as youre comfortable with, said Ali Donoghue, a Chicago-based real-estate agent with Redfin. Some buyers are waiving financing contingencies or even home-inspection contingencies, if theyre the handy typethough many buyers would be smart to keep that home-inspection clause, she said.

See also: 10 things home inspectors wont tell you.

And be flexible with your move-in date. Working with a seller who needs to move right away? Be prepared to close quickly so they can be on their way sooner. Does the seller need a month or twoor sixto move out? If you can be flexible and allow them to stay in their home for a while after closing (paying you rent, of course), they may choose your offer over all the rest.

But in some markets, you may have to be more creative than that to win the home you covet. If possible, find out the sellers needs and wants, so you can customize your offer.

Below are some of the more unusual ways buyers can get the upper hand.

Its not all about the money. In situations where you are selling your home, theres an emotional component, said Kathy Braddock, managing director of real-estate company William Raveis New York City. Sellers often like to feel good about the people who will eventually live in their home.

Thats why its often an effective strategy to attach a letter along with your offer, and maybe even a photo of your family, explaining why you want to live there.

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Amy Hoak's Home Economics: To win a house bidding war, get creative