A frequent buyer tactic is to assume a “let’s not play games here” attitude and say something like, “Let’s not dicker around. What’s the offer you have told yourself you will take to sell this house?” Buyers have surely considered “what they would take for the house,” however, starting there is not going to get you your price. That is a trap to well avoid. A good answer is “I’d take an offer of my asking price right now. What are you offering?” A response like that puts the ball back in the buyer’s court to make an offer, which is the place the seller wants it to be. Hearing the offer from the buyer allows the seller negotiating room. Seller can accept, reject, counteroffer, or take it under consideration. A buyer’s offer will help you set parameters or to take a mid-point to work from thereon. There is a tendency in people to increase or decrease the offers they make in the same fashion the other party does. A counteroffer midway between asking point and buyer’s offer might elicit another offer to split that difference. A counteroffer not responding directly to the offer, but instead offering a 10% reduction in the price might receive another offer 10% better than the buyer’s initial proposal. Seller can control the price negotiations with a previously planned counteroffer strategy. The person who is making the first offer is in a disadvantageous position. Guard against making this mistake. There is always the possibility that the buyer’s first offer will be better than what an anxious seller might propose. In that case, you are already ahead.
Take advantage of the Power of “Negotiating Silence”
Be like Cary Grant, the strong silent type, in negotiating the house sale. Do not become best friends with the seller, do not let the fact that the buyer is a single mother and you want to help her out get in the way of your best price negotiation. Do not let a
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