Whether you’re a home buyer or seller, one of the most exciting and stressful parts of the entire real estate process is negotiating an offer. Many of us have spent a restless few hours, or even a sleepless night, while an endless series of questions filled our minds: Will the price be attractive? Will the offer be accepted? Can we reach an agreement on the conditions? Will the deal go through?
While price is certainly an important factor, if you don’t tea important factor in whether or not an offer is accepted, there are still a number of other considerations that play a role in the decision-making process. This is particularly true in cases where multiple offers are being considered. Deals aren’t just about price, and how smart a shopper is in putting one together can make all the difference.
Of course, having the right real estate professional to negotiate on your behalf is another important factor that could mean a difference of thousands of dollars in your pocket, or even if the offer is accepted. Here are some points that can help improve your negotiating position:
- Choose a sales professional with a proven track record of success. You will benefit from the experience of a representative who has already negotiated the sale of similar homes in the same area. Find out before hiring your chosen agent what kind of experience they have in a multiple offer situation, what the tactics are if the negotiations get complicated
- Be open, direct and completely frank with your sales representative. After all, they represent your best interests! To do it well, they must have a clear understanding of your needs, your goals Y your limitations
- Make your offer as unconditional as possible. There are many conditions that can be eliminated with a little advance planning. For example, if you pre-qualify for a mortgage, you won’t have to include a condition that gives you time to set up financing. This can be a very strong theme, especially in a multiple offer. Before writing an offer depending on the situation, I will try to collect as much information as possible from the listing agent. Ask questions that will later come as a benefit to my clients. Questions like what appointments are your clients looking for? Have you found a place to go yet? The more information you can find, the better we can prepare to make the most favorable offer before we make it and get that offer accepted.
- Keep the terms of your offer as close to the list as possible. Remember, all things in an offer have value. The closing date or certain exclusions may be of great importance to the seller, but not to you. The more the listing “reflects” your offer, the more attractive it will be. I like to lay out an action plan for what will be done when an offer or offers are made. I recently did a deal where we received 10 offers on the property, there was clear and open communication with my (client) sellers and I worked for their absolute best interest, we ended up with an offer almost $40,000 above the list price.
