In this situation—a bidding war—it is not uncommon for the seller to come away with more than their asking price. The reality is, you might only get one bid out of the whole shebang. However, the bidder isn’t privy to that information. The fact that they could be competing against other offers also works in your favor. They’ll try to make an offer better than everyone else’s, because they don’t have a clue there is no one else bidding. Who does the winner turn out to be? You!
NEGOTIATION TECHNI N TECHNIQUE #4: UE #4:
AN EXPIRATION DATE FOR EXTRA MOTIVATION
Remember, once you and the buyer agree to an offer and sign the contract, you are legally bound to see the process through until you and the buyer close the deal or agree to cancel the contract. However, there is a way you can counteract this problem. You can set yourself up for a higher selling price and a shorter waiting time. To sell your home quickly for the most money possible, put an expiration date on your counteroffer. It means you give your bidder a certain amount of time to either agree or disagree with your terms. This benefits your outcome in a couple of ways. I encourage you to be reasonable. The last thing you want to do is turn your buyer off by making the timeframe too short, particularly if their current offer isn’t far off from your ideal price. However, feel free to go below the standard time used in your state. If the typical deadline is three days, make yours two.
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