costs.
Step 10: Negotiate with the Seller
The negotiation process in real estate transactions is one of the key steps for both the buyer and the seller. While the seller and listing agent want to sell the home for the reasonably highest amount they can, the buyer and the buyer’s agent want to get the best deal that they can. It can feel like a competition, and this is where negotiations come into play. For many buyers, this is the toughest and most challenging aspect of purchasing a home, to the point of becoming exhausting. It’s especially difficult to navigate if you don’t have a good buyer’s agent who’s skilled in negotiation tactics. In fact, this is one of the biggest reasons that we recommend hiring a real estate agent — negotiation! But you should also learn negotiation skills yourself. There are strategies and tactics you can learn and do when you are involved in the home-buying process, and we will discuss these in greater length in Chapter 10. However, we can offer a summary of this aspect in this step in this process for the purposes of this chapter. You need to plan ahead with your agent on how to make a winning negotiation strategy. For example, once you find the home that meets your needs and falls within your price range, and you intend to make an offer, you should review comparable sales in the area and compare these comps with the prospective house, which will aid in validating the asking price. Be sure to research and look at at least a handful of properties that are similar to the one on which you have your eyes set. This way, you can take the average price of all the applicable comparable homes, and mention it in your offer. I also recommend that you visit the homes you’re using as comps before deciding on a price
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