1 – PATIENCE IS KEY
When negotiating a transaction you never want to come across like you are in an urgent situation. This gives out a vibe of desperation and you lose control of the negotiations when you are in a desperate place. You always want to come across as calm and give the impression that you will take it leave it.
2 – GET INFORMED
Gather as much information as you can about the other side. You do this by asking the sellers questions if possible, such as where are you moving to? Are you buying or renting your next place? Did you buy your new home already?
You can also look up how much a seller owes on the property through public records.
All this information along with current market conditions will give you great insights into how much negotiating room there is. You take all this information to decide how much money you will offer.
3 – GOOD COP, BAD COP
When negotiating verbally you always have the third party way to get out of something you no longer want to agree on.
I recall one transaction where I was working with a seller who was in a rush to sell his home. Against my advice he offered to include a couple of items of furniture if they bought the house. Well, it didn’t end there. The buyer’s agent came back and started demanding more and more items. It got to a point where I said enough is enough, and I decided to bring in the “bad cop” – the wife.
I said to the buyer’s agent, “You know what, my seller’s wife had no idea he had promised any of this stuff and she is super upset about it. I’m not even sure I can give you that price we discussed earlier.” They quickly forgot all about the furniture and we just settled on the price – all because we brought in that “bad cop.”
4 – BE WILLING TO WALK AWAY
This is such a powerful tool when negotiating. When you know you’ve reached the price you want to pay you have to be willing to walk away from the deal. To let the other side know, I get this price or I walk. This can be nerve wrecking for buyers if you are buying a home they are in love with, I totally get that. But this is what it takes sometimes to get the number you want.
5 – EMOTIONS & NEGOTIATIONS
Buying or selling a home can be a very emotional process. When negotiating the price of a home the key is to think with your head not with your heart. When you begin to bring emotions into the negotiations things usually don’t work out. This is why it’s always a good idea to let someone else who is not emotionally invested do the negotiating for you.