Are you currently looking at real estate for sale in your area? If the time has come to take the plunge and finally purchase that house you've had your eye on, you're going to want to make sure you do everything right before you make your official offer. Here are three tips to keep in mind if you want your offer on your future dream home to be the one the seller accepts.

Get Pre-Approved

In a competitive market, every advantage counts. If you show up at an open house and let the real estate agent know that you are already pre-approved, there's a chance you might move ahead of others who are only just starting to look and don't yet have all of their financial ducks in a row. This lets the real estate agent and the seller know that you are serious about buying and that someone has already looked at your finances so there won't be any awkward surprises during the closing.

Bring Cash. Lots Of It.

You know what's even better than getting pre-approved for a loan? Cold, hard, cash and lots of it. No one will expect you to have hundreds of thousands of dollars on hand, but if you pay the entire down payment on the house up front or offer to pay the seller's closing costs for them with cash, you may just sweeten the deal enough to get the keys to the house you've always wanted.

Make the Offer in Writing and Include an Escalation Clause

In real estate, an escalation clause on a housing offer lets the buyer know that if any other offers come along, you will beat all offers up to a certain price. So, for example, if you want to go low with your initial offer because there aren't any others currently on the table and the seller balks, you can include an escalation clause to let them know that you will beat any other higher offers that come in during the next two weeks, up to a specific amount. If the seller agrees to this but there are not any other offers, they then have the option to sell you the house at your initial bid, potentially saving you a lot of money.

In an aggressive housing market, you need to be equally aggressive when making an offer to a seller. More than anything though, remember that money talks. Get pre-approved before you start looking and let the seller know if you can pay any percentage or even just their closing costs in cash to speed the process along. If you want to play the long game while still being relatively aggressive, talk to your real estate agent about the benefits of the escalation clause.