in the middle. He was willing to accept their $230,000 offer. The seller’s agent advised him to give a little, maybe counter at $237,500 to see what happened. The buyers came back with $235,000, and, after more negotiations, the buyer and seller agreed on $237,000. So, what can you take from this? Don’t meet in the middle. Instead, give 10% to 20% and let the other guy give 50%. You’ll gain a little more in each round of negotiations.
COMMON NEGOTIATING MISTAKE #3: TALKING TOO MUCH
This is the worst sin of negotiating. Don’t tell the buyers or their agent your life’s story. What do you think would pop into buyers’ heads if they heard this out of a seller’s mouth? “We must sell the home because it is in foreclosure, and if we don’t sell it by June 23rd, the bank will foreclose on it.” Immediately they would think, “I wonder what he owes on the house. Because if it doesn’t sell, he will have a foreclosure. The seller probably just wants to get what he owes on the home, so he can avoid foreclosure.” This is an extreme example, but it shows you how a simple slip of the tongue could cause a seller to lose a large amount of hard- earned equity. A seller facing foreclosure might be desperate enough to get out with none of their equity, just to avoid foreclosure. But, what if the buyer would have been willing to pay the market value for the home? That seller just lost all his equity! When a
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