After a solid ability to purchase, I truly believe that the people that are put together for a transaction will make or break its success...  Attorneys & agents kill deals all of the time. The right collaboration is key to getting across the finish line.  That is all outside of the paperwork though and often isn't truly clear until after a contract is chosen.    

Is the listing agent reputable? How much is due diligence fee?

A realistic seller with a good agent looking for the best deal, not some pie in the sky dream deal. No solution for the greedy seller without a conscience. Maybe a buyer that says "No thanks"!

How we dress contributes to first impression dynamics this we know. It is the same with Real Estate called "curb appeal". That famous first step of the journey is no myth. Pictures of the property/area, my driving approach to it and then the inner sanctums set it all up for a quick and efficient sale. In movies, people forget the music that emphasizes the moments in the film and give it more impact. Real Estate impacts all involved. 

Sometimes it can be the lender or the REALTOR that you have worked with before.

A trusting relationship between the agents. 

I have seen some interesting things being offered and they also make me a bit sad because sellers and agents have been taking advantage of the buyers for far too long, haha.

Substantial earnest money amount shows seriousness. The seller must decided the best course that suits them, it's not a one-size-fits-all scenario!

Well interesting timing for this question as our market has turned back into a more balanced market, in fact it favors buyers as our inventory is back to almost near highs versus record lows.  During the 'frenzied' market buyers were willing to waive appraisal, offer way over list price and pay the difference if there was one - in cash, high cash amount down, higher than normal earnest money, have an inspection but waive the right to any repairs etc. And oh yes, seller rent back which we personally did not get involved in but it was happening a lot.

Offer terms.  Agent reputation and responsiveness.  Lender reputation and responsiveness.  There are others too, of course, but these are the main things.

Substantial EMD

It's been an out-of-control market where emotion seems to rule. Until banks put a stop to unjustified sale prices emotion will rule. I know, supply and demand. There is a limit and I'm concerned many are going to get burned.

Good to ask the seller, or their agent, "what is most important to the seller?"

Sometimes it may make a difference is you can offer flexibility in their moving into another home, ie dates, help with moving etc.

Get an "in" to the listing agent. What does the seller want and need? Maybe a delayed closing or a rentback at no charge. 

"Free" rent back for 60 days. 

I wish your question would have been about selling instead of buying as I have answers for that BUT you already covered the answers well with-in your question Andrew Mooers | 207.532.6573 

Clean contract I think is the best start. Higher EM even though it doesn't make a difference in our area. Good loan officer.

I just got a buyer into contract with an offer that is nicely below list but the offer is non-contingent. I was told our competition offered more but it was contingent on loan approval, appraisal and review of property condition, reports and disclosures. In other words, normal contingencies in our area. The agent convinced them that it was a bad risk to take the contingent offer. Those buyers could have come back with requests for repairs or something else expensive and then cancelled if they did not get what they wanted. By that time, our offer would have expired and my buyers would have moved on.

Yes, the pendulum may be moving towards buyers.

I always tell my sellers that cash offer is only closing earlier and that at the end most loans go through in 30 days anyway so go for the highest offer.

The obvious terms are 1- no appraisal contingency 2- shortened contingency period 3- offer free rentback for a period of time 4- show enough proof of funds to verify the ability to remove the appraisal contingency.

Cash is not king, I beat it often with my loan backed buyers.

Fast doesn't always matter with rent backs being 50% or more of our sellers' needs.

Clean offers, short contingencies, no appraisal contingency on overbids,
big down payments, low seller costs, buyers agent reputation, free-seller rent backs. This is how I'm getting buyers accepted.