8 Tips for Negotiating When Selling Your Home

When selling your home, it’s hard to get the deal you want.

Here are some tips that can help you negotiate your way to the best deal.

1. Stay in Charge

You always want to be in charge of the situation when selling your home. If you have a deadline, don’t mention it. If you are behind on mortgage payments, don’t let your buyer know. If the buyer knows about these situations, it gives them unnecessary leverage during the selling process.

2. Silence is Golden

Silence shows self-control. If a buyer is throwing offers or terms that seem ridiculous, the silence may cause them to rethink their choices on their own. However, don’t be silent in situations where the buyer is being fair and respectful. In these cases, the buyer can take the silence as a sign of disrespect and may cause them to move onto another opportunity.

3. Work with Your Bank

Working with your bank can help reduce pressure, especially if you’re behind on mortgage payments, or if you can’t afford the current payment. If you can come up with a plan to make a payment as soon as possible, they are more likely to offer you an extension on your payments until you sell your house.

4. This House is Made for Talkin’

Renovations on your house can help improve its appeal, but once the house is shown to a potential buyer it pretty much sells (or doesn’t sell) itself. Buying a home is an emotional decision, so if people don’t feel connected to a home, they won’t buy it.

During a walk-through, try not to be too talkative unless someone asks you a question. It can be beneficial to remove yourself from the situation entirely, and in some cases, letting the agent take over. By doing this, the buyer is able to connect with the home on a more emotional level.

5. Create a Bidding War

Bidding wars are exciting because it means more than one party wants to buy your home! It’s difficult to fabricate a bidding war, so instead of trying to fabricate them, many people find success by refusing to accept offers until a certain date. At this point, when someone finds out that another person has made a higher offer than them, they might work up an even stronger bid.

Like most major sales or purchases in life, it’s not a sure thing. If you’ve struggled to get an offer or if the housing market is poor in your area, don’t hold off with offers. Work with what you get as they come, and you can negotiate with the buyer directly. You can also make a counteroffer if you receive a lower offer. With this, you know that the buyers are already interested in the house and you may be able to come to a mutual agreement.

6. Trust Your Realtor’s Expertise

Just as a buyer will have a buyer’s agent, a seller should have a listing agent who represents the property. You should be comfortable enough letting them take the lead in negotiations to get you the best outcome. Realtors know the current market conditions and can negotiate with those conditions in mind.

7. The Price Isn’t Always Right

You can negotiate prices until the cows come home, but it’s also important to make sure the buyers have the correct financing in place so they can make good on the offer. In addition to price, sellers and buyers can make plans about repairs that need to be made on the home, who will pay the closing cost and the settlement date. If you are having trouble coming to an agreement on an issue, try making a concession on another topic to help push the deal along.

8. Move Quickly

It may be tempting to wait it out and see what other offers come in, but that might not be the best situation. Often times, the first offer is the best offer. If the offer happens to be close to what you were asking for, don’t make a counteroffer so the buyer doesn’t have time to rethink their offer or lose interest. Take what you can if it’s close enough to your asking point. Once you know your bottom line in terms of profit, and other such details, you can move forward with the transaction.