OK, here's the deal. You have found that perfect home. Its in the right area, has all the right benefits, is close to work and the price is right, but someone else also thinks the same thing. Now there are competing offers on your dream home. Is it time to panic? No. It's time to get smart about your offer. In a seller's market there can sometimes be several competing offers on a given home as there are many interested parties competing for only a few prime homes.

The first thing you should do is make sure that this is indeed the home for you. Take the time to seek out all the alternatives and make sure that this is the home you want. Now, with that decided; the idea is to make your offer as attractive as possible to the seller and let them know that you mean business. Typically when an offer is made there are subjects to the offer. These can range from the passing of inspection, to the successful securing of financing, or even something like the repairing or replacing of a roof. The fewer subjects there are attached to your offer, the more attractive the offer will be to a seller. If you have some room to spare on the price you could also word your offer to read "bid is X dollars over the highest bid."

One thing that is always a concern to sellers is that the offers are coming from qualified buyers. This means buyers that already have their financing ready to go in the event of a purchase. If you don't have your mortgage ready to go, chances are that the offer of someone who does will be accepted first. A full pre-approval can goo a long way towards making your offer the one that catches the seller's interest. Buyers will also like it if you have some flexibility in your desired possession date. This gives them the time they need to move their belongings and say goodbye to their old home.