Negotiating An Offer

You received an offer!  Pat yourself on the back.  You have worked hard up to this point to secure the best offer on your home.  But it may not be as clear-cut as that.  What if the offer it is not what you expected?  

Negotiations are typically part of a home buying or home selling process.  Once you start getting offers, be responsive and attentive to buyers. Again, expect negotiations and bargains to be discussed. This is a normal part of property sales.  

How to come to the table with winning arguments to score the best deal:

Before negotiations, you should consider some of these scenarios:

• Your minimum selling price
• Renegotiating if a buyer surprises you with hefty repair demands
• Whether or not you’re willing to sell to buyers who aren’t pre-approved
• How much you’re willing to sell for if a buyer offers you cash
• What you’ll do if you have very few offers
• At what point do you reconsider hiring an agent?

If you’re going to have a leg to stand on in negotiations, you need to have your ducks in a row. 

As a seller, you should:

• Set the right home price
• Have your home ready to show
• Know your responsibilities
• Have terms in mind 

Key Ideas:

• Set your list price based on current comps
• Use open houses to foster competition, virtual or in-person depending on current conditions
• Use counteroffers with expiration dates
• Think about different options for counteroffers and concessions

A little investigative work may be required on your part to help uncover some of the buyer’s motivation.  The following questions will help you begin to formulate a thought process to establish a framework of response back to a buyer:  

• Who are you negotiating with: what is their financial position?
• What strategic concessions are you willing to make?
• What comps (other homes for sale) are you up against in your area?
• What do you have to negotiate with?
• What are your non-negotiables?

As a seller, you could have 3 possible goals:

Create A Bidding War.  When you have more than one buyer, you can inform them as such which will generally create a bidding war to win the property.  

Drive Urgency.  In this scenario, you inform the parties you have multiple offers on the table.  Buyer’s will be prompted to feel the urgency to submit their best offer in an attempt to win the bid.

Make More Money.  When you have more than one offer, you stand the highest chance to receive top dollar for your home.  In many cases, seller’s can exceed asking price if negotiations are handed carefully.  

What’s Up For Negotiation?

As you enter this stage of a home sale, it’s important to know that it’s not just the price of the home that’s up for negotiation. In fact, home negotiations can include a huge range of items that have personal or case specific value.

Negotiation Tips.  Home sellers and buyers have a lot of opportunities to drive the conversation that occurs during the sale of a property.  Here are some negotiation tips:

• Know how to receive an offer and what your options are
• Set a bottom line price you’ll accept
• Remember that price is not everything
• Set intentions and goals for your negotiations
• Understand contingency clauses and offers

Remember….The goal for everyone is a win-win deal.  Don’t get caught up in the small stuff and be willing to give a little as this will make the buyer feel they are getting a fair shake and more importantly, get them to closing on your home!