There are many strategies involved with the purchase of your new home.  The first is how to structure your offer. 

1.      Price.  Is the home you want to buy priced $20,000 below market, and only been listed two days?  Were there 12 agents all showing at the same time, writing offers on the hoods of their cars?  You may need to consider offering above asking price.  Alternatively, has the home been sitting for 6 months without a sale?  You may be able to get this home for much less than the listed price. 

2.      Earnest Money.  A very general rule is to offer a minimum $2,000 per $100,000 as earnest money.  For a $500,000, a typical earnest money offer will be $10,000.  However, there are no rules.  If you want to show how serious you are, put up $20,000 in earnest money.  As long as it's held in escrow, it is probably very safe.  If you only have $500, give it a try.  Low earnest money is a sign of weak or non-committed buyers, and most listing agents will advise their sellers not to accept.

3.      Time to Close.  30 days is typical.  If you can close faster, this is often an advantage to the sellers.  Sometimes, though, the seller will need longer to move.  This is a negotiable item.  The more flexibility a buyer has, the stronger the offer will appear.

4.      Time for Neighborhood Review, Inspection, Appraisal, and Financing Contingency.  Sellers may not want to close right away, but they want to know the deal is solid.  The shorter you can make each of the steps listed above, the stronger the offer.

5.      Down Payment.  Especially in a multiple offer situation, sellers will compare down payments.  An offer with 20% down is more likely to close than a zero down offer.

6.      Seller Paid Closing Costs.  People are all different, especially during a negotiation.  If someone is selling a $300,000 home, they may be resistant to discounting the price $10,000.  However, if asked to pay $10,000 towards the buyers closing costs, many sellers will find that more acceptable.  In this hot market, the best solution for a buyer who does not want to pay closing costs is to have them rolled into the loan.  Ask your agent or loan officer to explain how this is done.