Selling real estate can be just as much work as buying. There are so many things to worry about as you prepare your home to list on the market. Then you have to worry about the real estate agent you will hire to help you get the house sold. After that, you have to worry about who will be coming in to tour your home throughout the week. Will you hold an open house? Do you take the first reasonable offer you are presented with? Our blog was designed to assist you through the selling process a little bit easier.
When you've listed your house for sale and you start to receive offers, it's time for your real estate agent to really shine. As a skilled and experienced negotiator, a real estate agent will negotiate on your behalf with the buyer agents who are representing the various buyers who are interested in your home. Often, prospective buyers may request that their agents use diverse tactics in an attempt to force the seller's hand. You don't want to fall for these techniques, as they could cost you money or result in unfavorable conditions related to the sale of your home. Here are some negotiation tactics that you should ask your real estate agent to be firm about.
Critiquing Various Elements
One technique that many prospective buyers and their agents will use is expressing concern over various elements in your home. To a novice seller, this may compel him or her to be more flexible on the price in order to make a sale. In many cases, though, this critique is merely a tactic used to drop the price, and your listing agent should know this and be firm. For example, a buyer agent may say that his or her client doesn't like the wall color of several of the rooms in the home and would need to go to the expense of repainting them. As long as your colors aren't outlandish, you shouldn't feel the need to drop your price accordingly.
Using A "Final Offer" Approach
In an effort to coerce the seller to lower his or her price, some prospective buyers will suggest that their offer is the final one and that the seller should take it or leave it. In many cases, this is simply a tactic — if you come back with a sensible counteroffer, the buyer may indeed respond and resume the negotiations. Make sure that your agent doesn't get intimidated by someone using a "final offer" approach.
Suggesting New Terms
When you listed your home with the help of your agent, you included several terms that suited for you. For example, you selected a preferred closing date and included which elements (appliances, for example) you didn't want to include in the sale. Some buyers may attempt to change these terms, perhaps suggesting that they'd submit a higher offer if they could get you to agree to a new closing date or include more items with the sale. While your agent shouldn't outright refuse to listen to such suggestions, he or she should also know that this can be negotiating tactic and that if such suggestions don't suit you, there's no need to budge on them.
Share28 February 2017
