The #1 Way To Win a Bidding War on a House, According To Mega Real Estate Broker Lisa Simonsen

Despite what shows like House Hunters show, buying a home can usually be a very stressful experience. First, finding your dream home can take a while. But once you do find the perfect home, odds are others will also see it as their perfect home. This leads to bidding on a home, where trying to give the best offer so that you can secure that house. So how do you make sure that you get your Forever Home? That’s where Lisa Simonsen comes in—sharing the #1 way to win a bidding war on a house, and not lose your mind while doing so.

Simonsen is an acclaimed real estate broker based with teams in New York, Los Angeles and (soon) Miami. She also appears on the Max reality television show Kendra Sells Hollywood, where she acts as a mentor to Kendra Wilkinson while the model and reality star learns the trade of real estate. Simonsen switched careers from the world of fitness to real estate and has been making quite a name for herself in the field.

Simonsen has closed over $2 billion in deals since 2005, and over $100 million in sales in 2022 alone. She is ranked as one of New York City’s top 75 individual brokers and landed in the top .05% of all national real estate brokers, according to Elliman, the real estate company the Simonsen team is housed under. So she knows more than a thing or two about how to make sure your home bid wins.

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What is the #1 way to win a bidding war on a house?

First off, Simonsen tells Parade that you have to be ready before even putting a bid on a house. Seems like a no-brainer, but the small details are sometimes forgotten and that can really be an issue if you want your bid on a home to win.

“You have to be ready. So you need to make sure your credit score is great and make sure your pre-approval is in place,” Simonsen says. “You really want to be ready once that opportunity comes up to be able to jump [on it] and not be like, ‘Oh my God, I need to do this or I should have paid off that.’ So really be prepared.”

In addition to having “all your financial ducks in a row” as Simonsen calls—including references from past rentals or living situations—her number one tip is to find the right broker.

“Make sure you're aligned with the right broker,” Simonsen says, telling Parade that people who think they can do a deal without a broker are misinformed. “A great broker is going to make up for everything because that's what they do. They're going to negotiate you the best deal and make sure that all of your T’s are crossed and that you're ready to seal a deal.”

How is a real estate broker different from an agent?

According to realtor.com, a real estate broker is "someone who has taken education beyond the agent level as required by state laws and passed a broker’s license exam."

Related: 15 Best Words To Describe a House for Sale

How to get a good broker and win your home bid

While that can sound intimidating—especially if you’re trying to buy in a city that’s crowded with potential buyers and brokers—Simonsen says that finding the right broker really just comes down to testimonials and reviews. Just like you want to research the area you’re moving into and what you need to do if this is your first home, you also need to do some research to figure out the best broker.

Simonsen considers herself a closer and says that brokers with a good winning record, who close deals often, are great candidates.

“You don't want to hire someone who showed something a hundred times,” Simonsen tells Parade. “You want to hire someone who's showing something much less. You want to be with someone who is going to get over the finish line.”

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Home buying is a lot of work, but there are ways to make it easier on yourself

Even before going into the home-buying process, it’s probably evident that it takes a lot of time and effort. But Simonsen says that a lot of people are actually surprised by how much effort that entails.

“If it was easy, everyone would be doing it,” she notes. “So, you kind of have to be mentally ready, but when you're working with the right person [broker] and you have your ducks in order, it certainly becomes a much smoother transition.”

Again, to have that smooth process, Simonsen has some good tips.

“I mean, do your research even before you start with a broker,” she tells Parade. “Start walking neighborhoods thinking about where you like and also be open.”

For Simonsen, "being open" means not being closed off to new neighborhoods or other aspects of your choice. Have breakfast in prospective neighborhoods, get some coffee around there, go to the hottest restaurant in the area or meet a friend for drinks. Basically, be open and explore your possible new home area and don’t let other biases or opinions stop you from checking out new ones.

Related: What Color Houses Sell The Best, According to Three Real Estate Experts

How should you deal with burnout from house hunting and bidding?

Sometimes, even with the most planning and research, things still don’t work out in our favor. And with that can come this feeling of burnout from the home-buying process: all of the house hunting, bidding, putting up offers and more. And Simonsen gets that completely. Short of curing your home-buying burnout with a “Skinny Girl margarita,” the luxury real estate agent jokes, she does say that it’s all about collecting yourself so you can continue your journey.

“I think you need to take a day off, take a moment off and then get back in the game,” she explains. “Take a moment to decompress and then get back into the ring. And of course, again, when you're aligned with the right person [broker], they can also be bringing you the opportunities. So you don't have to do as much work and feel overwhelmed. Because it can be very daunting.”

Next up, if you're just getting started on house hunting, here's a comprehensive list of how to buy a house.