DON’T LET A BUYER LOWBALL YOUR PRICE
Home buyers look for deals. Think how quickly you would jump at a home selling below market value that meets all your needs. That situation rarely happens, but that does not mean buyers won’t make lowball offers. If they see your house as the perfect home, they may suddenly switch their priority to negotiating a lower-than-market-value price. No matter how insulting or laughable their offer may be, keep your cool and maintain your position. If they truly like your home better than any others, why would they pay less for it? Stay focused, and negotiate accordingly.
DO BE QUIET AND LISTEN
Whether you are approached by the buyer or the buyer’s agent, remaining quiet is one of the best ways to negotiate the sale. Developing a feel-good, friendly relationship with either the buyer or their agent might lull you into dropping your guard and can interfere with your focused efforts to sell your home quickly and for a good price. Buyers who are uncomfortable with your silence may want to break it and, in doing so, end up providing too much information. The more knowledgeable you are about the buyer, the better poised you will be in negotiations.
DON’T BE MOVED BY AWKWARD SILENCE
When you are in negotiations and the buyer makes an offer, don’t be compelled to respond immediately. Whether it be 10 seconds or 10 minutes, make the buyer or the buyer’s agent speak first. They may see your silence as disappointment and choose to revise their offer or offer a concession just to break the silence. Conversely, do not let experienced negotiators use this same tactic to get you to accept successively lower offers without a counteroffer from you and your agent.
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