You should never be afraid to make a low-ball offer on a house. But when you know there will be competing bids, that tactic is off the table.

Instead, you've got to work with your agent to come up with your absolute best offer. Remember, others will be doing the same, so you want your offer to be perfect in every way so that it will stand out above the rest.

First, remember that everything is negotiable. Everything! Try to figure out what is important to the seller and use it to your advantage.

If the seller is proud of the beautiful dining room chandelier, offer to let him take it with him. If he says he hasn't found another place to live yet, or his newly built house won't be ready for three more months, give him that time by offering to delay closing for up to 120 days. Your willingness to give the seller the extra time he needs may just be the deciding factor in whose bid he chooses. Alternatively, you could offer to close quickly, and then rent the place back to him until he can move out.

The more you bow to the seller's side, the better. For example: Don't ask the seller to pay for any of your closing costs, or even the amount that is customary in your market.

A somewhat controversial tactic is to attach a personal letter -- maybe even a family photo -- to the offer. It should be handwritten, not typed, and tell the seller how much you love the house and how well you would take care of it. Some sellers have been swayed by this maneuver, even taking lesser offers because they believe the house they love -- the house they really hate to leave -- will be in good hands.

But on the flip side, if the seller knows how badly the buyer wants her place, she might play hardball and refuse to negotiate. In other words, the letter could backfire and put the buyer at a distinct disadvantage.

Say, for example, the seller accepts an offer with a personal letter attached, and a subsequent home inspection finds several issues that must be addressed. The buyer may be willing to bargain on these items, but the seller might not budge, knowing how much the buyer wants the deal to go through.

A few other tips:

-- Escalate. If you really, really want the place, considering adding an "escalation clause." With this tactic, your offer says that if anyone beats your bid, you will up the ante by a certain amount. So if a competitor offers, say, $250,000, you will automatically go to $250,100.

A hundred bucks may not be enough to save the day; $1,000 may be a better figure. Be careful, though. It is wise to set an upper limit in these clauses. Realize, too, that if your bid goes too high, the property may not appraise for what you're paying.

-- Clean your offer. To catch the seller's eye, make your offer as clean as possible: in other words, no contingencies. Don't, for example, make your offer dependent on the sale of your present residence.

There are two clauses you should keep, though: (1) A clause that makes the deal dependent upon your ability to obtain financing at a certain amount and/or interest rate, and (2) A clause that makes the sale contingent on a satisfactory home inspection. Both of these are your "get out of jail free" cards if you should get cold feet.

If you do decide to give up the financing contingency, at least attach a letter from your lender showing you are cleared for funding, and attach a proof-of-funds statement.

But think twice about dropping the inspection clause. The house may look great to you, but it takes the trained eye of an independent home inspector to determine whether you are buying a pig in a poke. If he finds that the roof must be replaced, or there's a hidden leak in the basement, the inspection clause lets you change your mind and move on to the next house.

You might ask the seller if he had a pre-inspection done before listing the house, and ask to see it to ease any concerns you may have.

-- Beef up your earnest money. Don't just attach a $1,000 check to your offer. Bump it up to $2,500 or $5,000, or maybe even $10,000. This shows you are dead serious. It does make it more difficult for you to shop elsewhere because your cash is tied up in this house. But the money counts toward your down payment anyway, so it's no big deal if this is the place of your dreams.

-- Be their backup. If your bid comes in second, all may not be lost. Ask the seller to hang on to your offer as a backup contract. You never know what's going to happen: The other guy's deal may fall apart, and if it does, yours will rise to the top.

If you are fortunate enough to be a seller on the receiving end of multiple offers, you are not necessarily stuck choosing one offer over another. There's still room for negotiations, and you're in the driver's seat. For instance, you might inform them that you are dealing with more than one offer, and request that all wannabes come forth with their highest and best bids by a set time.

Also, realize that price may not be the determining factor. Terms also are important. If a buyer offers to pay your share of the closing costs, for example, it might seal the deal because the overall amount -- price plus closing costs -- may net you the most money. Or, if the best offer in dollar terms also requires you to replace the roof, you can defer to the next-best bid, which has no such requests.

Closing on a mortgage became easier in October. For borrowers, at least.

As of Oct. 3, TRID forms are the law of the land. TRID stands for TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure -- with TILA standing for the Truth In Lending Act, and RESPA for the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act -- and it means slightly fewer procedural hoops to jump through.

Borrowers will find that four key mortgage documents have been reduced to two: The new Loan Estimate -- given to you when your loan application is approved -- has now replaced the old Good Faith Estimate and initial Truth-in-Lending statement, and the new Closing Disclosure -- given to you three days prior to closing -- replaces the old HUD-1 Settlement Statement and the final Truth-in-Lending statement.

Now you will be able to clearly see exactly what you'll be paying in interest, mortgage insurance and other loan costs. You'll also be told exactly how much money you'll have to bring to the table, so there will be no surprises. And you'll be able to make sure your lender hasn't jacked up the charges from what you were originally quoted.

For now, the pressure's on lenders -- many of whom dragged their feet and pled software problems during implementation -- to get the forms done right. But that doesn't mean consumers can't gum up the works or force unnecessary delays.

For starters, as a borrower, you should know what you want in terms of loan products. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) offers a suite of online tools (cfpb.gov) to help you learn about your options. Discuss your choices thoroughly with your loan officer.

Once you settle on the best mortgage for your situation and submit your application, you should receive a Loan Estimate that details the terms of the mortgage within three business days.

It's important to stick with your choice of loan -- say, a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage over one with an adjustable rate. If you change your mind five days before closing, the whole process must start all over again, and that will push back the closing.

At the same time, Melissa Kozicki of Mortgage Builder, a Michigan-based mortgage software company, says you shouldn't feel that you have to go forward with any step in the process if you have a legitimate concern.

"Borrowers should never feel obligated to proceed," she says, but should "understand that changes could cause delays."

Ask the lender what should happen next, and when. Lenders are now responsible for the closing and the accuracy of the final closing documents -- not title companies or escrow agents -- and there are now definitive guidelines that must be followed.

Previously, the title company would prepare the closing papers after going back and forth with the lender on various fees. Then the papers would be sent to the lender for a "final blessing," says Dave Jacobin, president of 1st Mariner Mortgage in Baltimore, "but the lender still did not own them."

Now, though, Jacobin believes the new rules "will make settlements run smoother with less confusion and error. The change in regulation places more responsibility and burden on the lender, but the increased clarity of the transaction benefits everyone in the long run."

Still, you can slow the process if you don't quickly send in all the documents -- bank statements, tax returns, etc. -- needed to approve your loan. This has always been the case, but it used to be that there was a window, and it wasn't a big deal if borrowers were slow. Now, says John Meussner of California's Mason-McDuffie Mortgage, it is "imperative" that you communicate with the lender and "return requested documents immediately."

"You'd better be ready to get your lender what they need, when they need it," he advises.

As settlement day approaches, you should receive a Closing Disclosure, which is a summary of the final terms of the loan. You should compare the disclosure form with the loan estimate you were given when you first applied for your mortgage.

In the past, borrowers wouldn't see the final numbers until they sat down at the closing table. That gave them little or no time to check the good-faith estimate against the final HUD-1 settlement sheet, which often changed dramatically, or even ask questions. If borrowers were uncomfortable with the final figures or couldn't get answers, they often felt railroaded to continue. After all, the moving van was packed and the kids were waiting in the car.

Now, you have the opportunity to thoroughly check the final numbers before you get to the closing. If the figures have changed from what you were told originally, you have time to ask questions and find out why.

Finally, Ted Rood of MB Financial Bank in St. Louis warns not to change your closing date at the last minute.

"Don't set the closing for a Monday, then decide to take a long weekend and reset the date for Tuesday," he says. That would require the lender to rework the Closing Disclosure, and that means at least a three-day delay.

Above all, though, realize that you can stop the process anytime you like. You always could, but now, says Kozicki, "you have a louder voice. ... You do not have to sign a contract just because you signed an application or other documents."

Is the good old-fashioned open house still a powerful marketing tool, or is it now pointless in this age of electronic media?

It's a question that's debated often among real estate agents. Some love open houses, some hate them. But many still use them, if not to snag a buyer, then at least to hook new clients.

According to a recent poll by the trade magazine Real Estate, agents are almost evenly divided about open houses, with 44 percent in favor and 56 percent against. At the same time, though, 62 percent -- almost two-thirds -- host one to three open houses every month. Only 24 percent won't sit in a house on a Saturday or Sunday, waiting and hoping for a buyer.

If you are going to hold an open house, you should make sure your agent doesn't simply stick a sign in the front yard and hope prospects show up. Rather, he or she should make it an event, like the folks at Chicago's Kuehl Group brokerage do.

"We take open houses seriously and consider them an important initiative in our marketing strategy," broker-owner MaryEllen Kuehl posted on the ActiveRain real estate site recently.

Some sellers don't like open houses. After all, selling a house is stressful enough without adding a weekend or two where they have to leave for several hours, kids and pets in tow, allowing anyone and everyone to walk through their pristine palaces.

But Kuehl said in an interview that once she lays out her plan, most of her clients agree to give it a shot. "They understand they need to do some work, too," she said. "They realize the benefit. The more qualified people who see their house, the more quickly it will sell."

To stage an open house, Kuehl says preparation is key, and that it should start months in advance. Here are some of the steps her agents take to make open houses a success.

-- In selecting the day and time for your open house, your agent should do some research into what's going on in your area to minimize conflicts and optimize attendance. If there's a big ball game on Saturday or Sunday, for example, skip that weekend and pick one where there's relatively little going on.

-- Advertising is key. The Kuehl Group sends postcards to the neighbors, because often a neighbor will know someone who is in the market for a place close to theirs. For example, a nurse I know just sold her house to her next-door neighbor's father without having to do any marketing.

Kuehl Group agents also send email announcements to every agent and broker in the Chicago area, as well as to her own agents' private mailing lists. The client's sphere of influence is also notified via social media, and the event is publicized on specialized open house websites.

-- "The online marketing should be complete and flawless," says Kuehl. Social media is important, she says, since "most visitors will check out a house online" before dropping by.

Toward that end, she hires a professional photographer to take pictures, which she then puts on a custom site for each seller's home. These individualized sites feature virtual tours and the day and time of the open house. The company goes so far as buying targeted ads on Facebook to run the 24 hours prior to the event.

-- Next, Kuehl agents help their clients with staging the property so it shows as well as possible. They make suggestions on arranging furniture, presenting each room's highlights, removing personal items and setting up lighting.

-- On the day of the open house, directional signs are placed at every point of entry into the neighborhood. The sign placed in front of the house is adorned somehow, often with balloons or flags. If the weather is inclement, a sign at the front door asks visitors to remove their shoes, with "footies" provided to cover stocking feet.

To keep the home fresh in visitors' minds, Kuehl agents also offer custom water bottles with pictures of the house on the label.

-- For a good first impression, sellers are asked to mow their lawns just prior to the event. It also is suggested that they freshen flowerbeds and put down a new doormat.

-- Just before the anointed hour, agents put some cookies in the oven or boil lemons on the stove. Plan B: scented candles. "The wafting smells are so inviting," Kuehl says.

Her agents disdain putting out food, though. "Sellers work too hard to keep their places clean to have crumbs all over the place," Kuehl explains. Food is only for open houses held for local brokers agents, and even then, she doesn't think it's really necessary: "Some just come for the food."

As you can see, it's not easy to pull off a top-notch open house. But it could be well worth the trouble if the house sells quickly, and for top dollar.

Always, the Chicagoland broker advises, the goal should be "to make sure homes show like a shiny new dime and bring in the best possible pool of prospective buyers. We know buyers are picturing themselves living in the house as they tour, and we do everything in our power to make it easy for them."