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8 Tips To Improve Negotiation Skills In Selling A Home

A Quick Guide To Selling Your Home

Naturally, if you are trying to sell your home, you will always look forward to getting a great offer. But after someone does make an offer on your property, what do you do then? Negotiations can be tricky, but this is a crucial part of the entire process of home selling.

After listing your home or in case you are about to do that, it's now time for you to consider also, what you should do once a prospective buyer makes an offer. It's common to negotiate with a would-be buyer after an initial offer is made, and through this, both parties will arrive at terms that they all find satisfactory. Through this, you will learn how to negotiate and how to avoid accepting an offer that is simply unsatisfactory for you, which a buyer or an agent may be pressuring you to accept. Make your negotiation skills effective with these tips!

1After The Offer, What Then?

Finally, someone made an offer to buy your home. Your agent gave you a call and informed you that someone is interested in purchasing your property. The agent then sets a meeting so that he can give you the offer, so you can now sell the house and begin a new chapter in your life. You think that the waiting is over, as you are about to close this deal. You are, however, wrong.

Most sellers will agree that the most challenging part of selling begins after an offer is made. Perhaps that offer will leave you feeling dissatisfied. If you get an offer, don't automatically assume that it will contain everything that you want. Maybe, the buyer is willing to pay the full price of your property if the real estate market is doing great; but if not, you may have to negotiate so that you'll both end up getting a fair deal which you all deserve.

2Getting An Offer Is Only The First Phase

Avoid having very high expectations when you know that the market is in a lull. Perhaps, the offer will even be lower than your expected price, and the rest of the terms will be unsatisfactory for you. In general, there's no guarantee that an offer will be good; more often than not, it's not desirable to a seller.

The selling process begins after an interested buyer makes an offer on your house, so expect to do a lot of negotiations during this phase. In case the offer is not desirable to you, make a counteroffer, and then the buyer can do a counteroffer again. The entire process goes back and forth, and it does take a lot of time and a lot of talking. When a beautiful property is being sold, a lot of would-be buyers will be tempted to make an offer, and each of them will want to purchase the property at the most reduced price.

3Negotiations Are Difficult For Sellers

No seller wants to hear someone bargain over the price of the house that he wants to sell. For most sellers, the "haggling" or negotiation phase is the hardest stage of selling. If by chance, you meet a buyer who readily agrees to all the terms and conditions you've set, as well as to the initial price, then that's a rare and lucky occurrence.

Finding this type of buyer is hard. These days, bargaining is the norm. It is but natural for both parties, the buyer and seller, to make demands and to concede on certain issues until they come up with something satisfactory to both.

4Accept To Win Some And Lose Some

Winners will know that they have already won. How? Winners typically have specific goals in mind, and they consider themselves to have won their battles once their goals have all been achieved. Losers, on the other hand, may take a little time to get the fact that they've lost. In case you are on the losing side, that's fine; however, make sure that you are in a position, wherein you can still avoid a total loss.

To lessen the damage, have an idea about which offers you're willing to accept or not before negotiations even start. Perhaps, the offer that you get is less than your initial asking price, but maybe you should consider this especially if there are other aspects of the offer that's agreeable with you. In other words, before turning down an offer, make sure that you carefully think about its pros and cons.

5Your Sale Price Must Be Realistic

It is quite challenging to come up with a sale price, but you should consider these two factors: profit and the status of the real estate market. Avoid basing your sale price on what you imagine your profit should be, but it should be based on fact and on reality. Let's say that properties that are similar to yours are selling for $150,000 to $165,000. So, what's the likely result if you do decide to list your house for $165,000? This means that you'll probably get a lot of offers that are less than your asking price, and you must be prepared to accept one of them.

Remember that once negotiations begin, anything is possible. Even your priorities and opinions can quickly change when negotiations have started. Sellers, who've promised themselves that they will not accept an offer that's less than what they're asking for, may suddenly find themselves agreeing to a much lower price because they desperately need to sell their house.

6Some Agents May Put Pressure On You

Before negotiations, it's crucial to identify your targets. You should also be ready for anything. If a buyer hires an agent to present the offer, you may encounter some minor elements that could put some pressure on you.

It's common for agents to put pressure on you. The reason for this is that the agent won't get his commission if you refuse the offer. When an offer is being presented, it's common to hear this from buyers' agents, "I know that you'll agree to this because it's a very fair offer, and it's likely the best one that you'll ever get considering the current market."

7Don't Be Pressured To Settle

It's possible that your listing price and the amount offered by a buyer will be markedly different. The buyer may also disagree with the terms and conditions that you have come up with. Nevertheless, the real estate agent who works for the buyer will describe the offer as the best one that you could ever get.

Your agent will tell you again and again, that you are getting the best offer and nothing is better than that. Because they want home sellers to sell their properties quickly and at a much-reduced price, most agents will also ask several difficult questions. He will do everything to persuade the seller to take the offer.

8Know How Offers Are Presented

There is no defined method to present an offer, as a lot of creativity and quick thinking are required. Nevertheless, the results are usually the same. Initially, the buyer's agent will sweet talk you into being open-minded about things, and then he'll identify specific issues regarding your property.

As for sellers, those who have less or zero experience in selling won't know how to proceed or how to tackle things, once they receive the offer which is also known as the purchase order, sales agreement, or deposit receipt. It's common for sellers to remain stunned as they try to make sense of what an agent is trying to say, and this agent will likely bombard the sellers with all sorts of paperwork that contain legal jargon, that he won't take the time to explain thoroughly.

As you may have noticed, there are a lot of issues to be considered during the negotiation stage of home selling. In case you want to sell your property quickly, perhaps you may be persuaded to accept an offer that has a lower price than the amount that you've asked for. However, if you think that your property is worth the initial listing price, take the time to consider all the factors listed above. Now, you are more ready to tackle the job of selling your home!



About Author

John Quintana

John Quintana is a proud Cuban, a lifelong resident of Miami, Florida, where he lives surrounded by a loving family. When he's not writing, he spends his time either fishing or in the kitchen.