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January 29, 2024
Real Estate Negotiation Tips for Sellers
Don’t Always Give Yes or No Answers
Use Time and Silence To Your Advantage
Put an Expiration Date on Your Counter Offer
How do you negotiate as a seller?
What negotiation techniques might you need to use when selling a property?
How do you negotiate a home sale?
How to negotiate house price with agent?
How long does a seller have to respond to an offer?
Low mortgage rates and a thriving seller’s market have put homeowners in an ideal position. With homes sold before you see the for-sale sign, buyers have been more flexible with real estate negotiation strategies than ever before to secure a place they can call home.
Although sellers may not be having difficulty negotiating for their best interests in the current market, there are still several price negotiation strategies they have at their disposal for the best outcome. Even if you’re desperate to sell your home, it’s time to deploy the best seller negotiation tactics for a win-win solution. Read on to learn essential real estate negotiation tips and how to get the best sale price.
Real Estate Negotiation Tips for Sellers
We’re going to assume that you want the most money from the sale of your home. The best way to do this is by listing on MLS for free. But these home seller negotiation tips will work even if you have an agent helping you with the sale.
Don’t Always Give Yes or No Answers
It’s easy to get swept up in the real estate negotiation process and forget that there are more options than a simple yes or no response to requests from buyers. Responding only negatively can turn the buyer off immediately. Instead, offer solutions that will allow you to discuss the matter further. One example of this is offering credit instead of making repairs.
As a price negotiation strategy, this saves the seller in more ways than one. If a seller agrees to make repairs, they open themselves up to the subjective view of the buyer. If the repairs can’t be made to their satisfaction, they might constantly go back and forth, potentially causing a delayed closing. Instead, a credit will allow the buyer to make the repair to their satisfaction within a reasonable budget you discuss.
Use Time and Silence To Your Advantage
Silence is one of the most effective tools a negotiator has. The ball is in your court after the buyer sends you their repair request or counter to your counteroffer. In some circumstances, waiting several days before answering may be prudent. The longer the buyer waits for word on your response to their requirements, the more concerned they will get that you are likely to walk away. The buyer may begin to question if their request was truly reasonable or if they’re willing to forgo it to get the home.
Counter At Your List Price
As a seller, you’re unlikely to accept a potential buyer’s initial bid on your house if it’s less than your asking price. Buyers realistically assume a back-and-forth negotiation, so their initial offer will usually be lower than your list price—but it may also be lower than what they’re truly prepared to invest as one of their price negotiation tactics.
Because they are fearful of losing the potential sale, most sellers will make a counteroffer that is greater but still lower than their list price. They want to appear adaptable and prepared to compromise in order to complete the transaction. This method works to get the property sold, but it isn’t always the best way to receive the most money for your home.
Instead of decreasing your price, maintain the listing price during your house negotiation tactics. Someone serious about buying will stay involved and come back to you with a better offer. Assuming you’ve priced your house correctly in the first place, countering at your list price shows that you know how much your home is worth and want to get the money you deserve.
This method isn’t a complete guarantee. You run the risk of losing a buyer if you use this strategy. However, you will save time if you avoid buyers that make lowball bids and refuse to have reasonable negotiations.
Agree to Pay Closing Costs
As a result of the pandemic, many had suffered financially when they were expecting to purchase a home this year. Consider this: 43% of Americans have no emergency savings, and 38% had $3,000 or more in personal debt.
Keeping this in mind, some sellers may consider paying some or all of the buyer’s closing costs to facilitate the deal. This method is beneficial for homeowners who have been on the market for some time and want to close the deal as quickly as possible.
Closing costs vary by state (for example, in Florida, the usual buyer’s closing fees are roughly $4,200), so sellers should do their homework before making an offer. The reason this is beneficial to the seller is that they can keep their original asking price or even ask for a higher amount, and the buyer isn’t paying out of pocket for their closing costs, because it’s built into the borrowing costs instead.
Don’t Be Aggressive
One of the most crucial real estate negotiating tips is that this isn’t like the movies. You won’t want to start negotiating in an aggressive manner. Chances are, this won’t work, and someone would rather walk away from their dream home than satisfy someone they don’t like.
Remember that negotiations are not meant to be a fight. Potential purchasers may be scared away if a seller adopts a confrontational approach. Buyers will appreciate anyone that engages in conversations with the purpose of getting the greatest offer for both sides, and they may be ready to negotiate with the seller on certain items if they have a win/win attitude.
Buying or selling a home is the most costly financial transaction most people will make in their lives, so it stands to reason that both sides want to come out on top. The buyer wants to receive the best deal on the house, while the seller wants to make as much money as possible from the sale. Keeping this attitude at the forefront of all negotiations is crucial for a positive experience.
Put an Expiration Date on Your Counter Offer
In order to sell your property quickly, consider putting an expiration date on your counteroffers. This method compels the buyer to make a decision, allowing you to either get your property under contract or move on to the next interested buyer. Make it shorter than the typical time period in your state’s traditional real estate contract, but not so short that the buyer is put off. If you’d like, you may lower the default expiration duration to one or two days.
In addition to finalizing the transaction as soon as possible, there is an additional reason to put pressure on buyers to make a quick decision. Despite the outstanding counteroffer, your property is effectively off the market. Many purchasers will not submit an offer if another discussion is taking place. And if the transaction falls through, the number of days your home has been on the market has been increased.
Be Willing to Walk Away
Unfortunately, some buyers are obsessive about getting the greatest deal possible and have no fundamental understanding of the current market value. Buyers that are concerned with getting the best deal will make no compromises and plenty of demands until they are happy that they have “won” the negotiation process.
When this type of buyer realizes that you’re eager to sell because you’ve already made an offer on another house, they’ll haggle you until you’re at your wit’s end while claiming to be willing to back out of the transaction. In situations like this, it’s best to know your value and when to walk away.
The key to executing these real estate negotiation tactics successfully is to be confident about them. Your home should be priced well, in excellent condition, and you’ll need to be prepared with every worst-case scenario that could come at you. If purchasers aren’t excited about the property you’re offering, no amount of pressure can persuade them to change their minds. They’ll simply walk away from the deal altogether.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
How do you negotiate as a seller?
There are several real estate negotiation tactics seller should know to get the most money for their home. The first thing you want to keep in mind is to stay professional at all costs. A low-ball offer can result in a home negotiation that ends up going above the listing price if the conversation starts off on the right foot. Other pro real estate agent negotiation tactics you can use are:
- Make the buyer think any sale negotiations were their idea.
- Try and create a bidding war by holding off offers until after the open house.
- Offer to pay the buyer’s closing costs and work this into the sale price.
- Be willing to walk away if you don’t get a seller counter offer full price back.
What negotiation techniques might you need to use when selling a property?
There are several home selling strategies you can use when selling a property. Some of the best home negotiation tactics used by expert home sellers are:
- Negotiating the inclusions. If a buyer requests a repair on the laundry machines, you can argue that the cost of the machines to be included in the sale price is more than the repair cost. Therefore the buyer is winning. Make them think they got the better deal!
- Be willing to walk away from any low-ball offers. Some home buying negotiation strategies are genuinely centered around a deal and are a waste of your time. You can quickly weed the serious buyers from the bargain hunters with our next tip.
- Don’t be afraid to counter offer. Someone may be willing to pay more than you think, and it’s worth asking for during the sale negotiation process.
How do you negotiate a home sale?
When you’re in charge of your home sale, negotiations will be part of the process. In order to succeed with the house negotiation process, you’ll need to:
- Be calm and patient. You may receive multiple offers your first day on the market, or you’ll hear crickets for weeks to come. Don’t let a low-ball bully offer throw you off your game. Be calm and patient during the process instead of letting emotions get in the way.
- Use silence to make the other side wonder and grow in anticipation. During the counter offer process, they will begin to second guess if their request was unreasonable if you stay silent for a period of time.
- Try to negotiate over the phone before wasting your time writing offers back and forth. That way, you’ll know ahead of time if it’s worth another round of signatures.
How to negotiate house price with agent?
If you’re selling your home on your own without the help of an agent, you may be overwhelmed if this is your first time. Don’t let home price negotiation tactics or negotiating house price after offer accepted strategies scare you. You just need to be calm, courteous to the agent for a win-win solution, and stand your ground while negotiating house sale.
How long does a seller have to respond to an offer?
Technically, a seller can wait as long as they’d like before responding to an offer. However, the standard practice is 24-72 hours. Real estate negotiation tactics from buyers often include a time the offer expires, giving the sellers a reasonable window of time to respond.
Negotiating as a seller can be exciting, overwhelming, and exhilarating all rolled into one. While you want to focus on win-win solutions, you can have a head-start on savings by listing your home with Richr.
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