CHAPTER 18 How Not to Negotitate
CASE STUDY #14
The seller home spent 11 months on the market with the previous real estate agent. After only four months with me, the property sold for 97.5% of the asking price. In an ideal world, you’ll prep your house, put it on the market, and have it sell at list price that first day, right? True, sometimes it happens, but if you’re reading this, it unfortunately hasn’t happened for you. I’ve gone over a lot of the reasons you may be in this situation, and now it’s time to review the final step— negotiation—in depth. Why? Well, if you or your agent don’t have the right skills, it’s possible that this is the hurdle that’s keeping your home from selling. Before we get into how to negotiate, though, it’s important to know how not to. This chapter is all about common mistakes people tend to make that leave their houses sitting on the market or selling for too low a price. The very first mistake is hiring a real estate agent for the wrong reasons. Yes, technically, this is a pre-negotiation mistake, but if you don’t think ahead you could end up with an agent who won’t negotiate well on your behalf. Don’t just go for the person with the lower commission rate or who says they’ll list your house for the highest price. These agents don’t always act with your best interests in mind. Instead, do your research and hire an agent who’s well-known for getting great results (and, of course, has strong negotiation skills). The first official negotiation mistake is one of the most common: meeting in the middle. Most people think this is the perfect
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