When you are negotiating and the buyer makes an offer, don’t feel compelled to respond immediately. Whether it be 10 seconds or 10 minutes, make the buyer or their agent speak first. They may see your silence as disappointment, and choose to revise the offer or offer a concession just to break the silence. Do not let experienced negotiators use this tactic to get you to accept successively lower offers without a counteroffer from you and your agent. However, you don’t want to wait too long to respond, either. When a buyer makes an offer, that means that they are in the mood to buy, right then and there. You should take advantage of that “mood,” since moods change, and you don’t want to miss out on a sale simply because you’re stalling.
DO LEARN WHAT MOTIVATES THE B TES THE BUYER
Sometimes buying agents will work to learn why you want to sell your home. Agents know that sellers want to go through closing only once. If the buyer is advised to demand a lower price because of minor defects discovered during a third-party home inspection, they will use this as a negotiating tool. More importantly, an agent for the buyer may advise his client to offer the asking price, knowing that minor flaws exist, only to later demand reductions to bring down the final sale price. Knowing that situations like this happen, don’t let the process of selling your home wear you out. Don’t compromise your time and effort to keep things moving in closing. Your listing agent should suggest a home inspection before you list to avoid trouble when negotiating the sale.
DON'T FREELY GIVE OUT INFORMATION
If you have multiple offers on your home, the price is not always the bottom line. Sometimes, what you tell the buyer will influence
104
Powered by FlippingBook