For so many reasons, so many people are flocking to South Florida. Whether your rent has been jacked up to the equivalent of a mortgage payment or you can now work from anywhere, why not in sunny Florida? Those winters are killing you anyway. The idea of moving to Miami is stalking you, and you are stalking Zillow. But where do you begin? In your dreams, baby! Begin in your dreams.

1 – Know What You Are Looking For 

What I mean is, get clear on what you want. Do you want a condo with a doorman and amenities, or do you need a yard for your sweet puppy? Get clear on what you want. Personally, as a realtor since 2005, I have my buyers fill out a survey that asks all about their dream property. This is helpful because it covers things you may not have even considered. You can take a peek at it here.

2 – Get a DU, or In The Case of Cash, Get Your Money Liquid

The market in Miami is no joke. You need to have your ducks in a row and be ready to throw in offers if you want to land a property in this market. What do I mean by that? Dig into your numbers. What can you swing? What are you comfortable paying monthly? If you are paying cash, you still have taxes and insurance to consider. If you are getting a mortgage, talk to a mortgage broker….ASAP. Get preapproved; better yet, get a DU report.

A DU report stands for Desktop Underwriter and is a REAL loan approval for the buyer. It is usually done after you already have an offer, but it is smart to ask your mortgage broker for it before because you could have a rude awakening when they tell you that although you are approved, you must satisfy conditions, like paying off your credit cards or clearing some blemishes on your credit report before you are securely approved.

Some sellers require a DU report if you are financing. I see that more and more. Anyone can give you a preapproval, and sellers know that. A DU report tells you what you must do before they approve your loan. Don’t take my word for it. Talk to your mortgage broker and let them explain it to you.

Honestly, most buyers do not go so far as to get a DU report, so it will undoubtedly set you apart and stand out from all other buyers rolling up with just a pre-approval. They simply do not know to get it.

3 – Use An Escalation Clause in a Multiple Offer Situation

Do not be afraid to throw in offers. Just because you submit an offer and it gets accepted does not mean you will end up at the closing table. As a buyer, you have a few ways you can get out of a contract without losing your deposit. I tell my clients to lock the property up and then decide if they want to buy it.

In Florida, we write contracts as is with the right to inspect. That means the seller is selling the property AS-IS, but you have the right to inspect it, and if you find anything you do not like about it, you can cancel the contract within the inspection period and get your deposit back. Another Pro Tip I use when sending in offers is an escalation clause.

In scenarios dealing with multiple offer situations, this can help you stay competitive while putting a cap on what you will pay. It goes like this. The asking price is, say, one million dollars. You offer them $1M, and you add a clause that says that if they get any other offers over $1M, your offer will automatically increase by say $5,000 over that offer. I suggest you give it a cap on how much you are willing to go up. Here is the exact language I add to the contract:

The purchase price is $1,00,000; provided, however, that if Seller provides Buyer a bonified and verified third party offer evidencing an amount greater than the Purchase Price, but not more than $1,150,000 (“Qualified Offer”), then the Purchase Price shall be revised to be increased to the sum of the Qualified Offer plus $5,000.00.

In other words, your offer will automatically escalate by $5K over their highest offer, but you will not pay more than $1,150M.

Suppose they get an offer of $1,050,000. And they show you the offer (obviously redacting any unnecessary information), then your offer will automatically increase to $1,055,000. I have had great success using this clause because it shows that you are willing to go up if you get out bided, but it puts a cap on what you are willing to pay. Plus, they have to provide you with the other offer. In a transaction where this came into play, the listing agent sent me the first page of the other offer and blacked out the buyer’s name. That clause won my buyers the house because rather than going back to the other offer, they came to us; we upped our offer by $5K and then closed the deal.

4 – Write a Letter to The Seller About Who You Are and Why You Want The House

Another thing that helped in that transaction was that the buyer wrote a letter to the sellers explaining who they were and why they wanted the house. The sellers related to them and liked them, and we ended up closing the deal.

5 – Use a Great Realtor

Lastly, use a realtor. A realtor will give you the neighborhood nuances that you just can’t get online. Truth is you can get so much more these days online but you cannot replace the market knowledge and expertise of a realtor. In Florida, the commission is a seller’s expense so it does not even cost the buyer anything. Using the listing agent as your agent in hopes of getting a better deal is like going through a divorce and using the same attorney as your partner. A seasoned Realtor will be able to walk you through this chaotic process and can offer you referrals and resources that come with a point of reference, rather than using a yelp review as your guide.

I outline these tips and much more on the buying process in my new book, Buying Miami – The Must-Have Guide to Purchasing a Home. It is available on Amazon.