If you have decided to buy a main home or a vacation home in a seller's market then, you want to do what you can to improve your chances of getting in a good home for a good price and with contingencies that you want included. You will be at the disadvantage, but you can follow some great tips and advice that should be a big help to you.

Choose your offer carefully

When it's a buyer's market, the sellers are at the disadvantage and they will be more likely to jump at low-ball offers for fear of having their house sit on the market for a longer period of time if they turn an offer down. However, when it's a seller's market, there will be more people making higher offers, which puts you, as the buyer, at the disadvantage.

You'll want to heed the advice of your real-estate agent, who knows all about the current market and what's been going on in it. They will more than likely be able to get a good sense of the amount a seller may be willing to accept by taking a look at that particular property's history and information. If you would still like to try a lower offer than what your agent suggests, make sure you don't go too low, or you might offend the seller and they won't counter-offer. If the house is getting a lot of interest and you definitely know it's the one for you, then it may be time for you to make an offer above their asking price.

Get yourself preapproved as soon as you know you want to buy

Going out looking at homes in a seller's market while you aren't even pre-approved puts you at a disadvantage. It makes you look less serious against a potential buyer who has gone in and done the process of prequalifying already. If an offer is made by you and a pre-approved buyer, the chances are more likely that the seller is going to pay serious attention to their offer over yours, since an offer from a pre-approved buyer will tend to be a less risky one.

Prepare yourself for the possibility of a bidding war

When you decide to purchase your next home during a seller's market, you need to be realistic about the possibility of a bidding war. You may not be the only one that has fallen in love with one of the houses that you have looked at. If someone else is also determined to have it, then you may find the two of you going back and forth with the sellers as the price gets higher and higher. Make sure you know just when to cut your losses, and don't get yourself financially in over your head.