The following article is a guest post. If interested in submitting a guest post, please read my guest posting policy and then contact me.
You want that home you saw yesterday, but you can’t just take it. You have to put in an offer for it. And, then, it has to be accepted by the seller. If the seller decides he doesn’t like your offer, you don’t get the house. Fortunately, there are ways to negotiate your way into a seller’s heart, and some things you can do to improve your odds of having your offer accepted.
Don’t Make Low-Ball Offers
A discount is almost always expected during negotiations. If you lowball the seller, however, your deal will likely be rejected. What’s lowballing? Usually, it’s offering anything below 10 percent of the asking price. The major exception to this is when concessions need to be made to make major repairs to the house.
For example, in a normal market, expect to pay 90 to 97 percent of the asking price of the home. However, if the house needs a new roof, it’s generally understood that the seller will pay for all or some of the repairs. This is a reasonable negotiation.
Be Accommodating To The Seller – Within Reason
Sellers have needs too. Be accommodating. Maybe your offer amount was OK, but the seller needs other conditions to be met, like a faster closing time. Sometimes sellers go with buyers with more flexible terms or funding arrangements too. Ask what other needs, if any, the seller has. Sometimes, it’s not always all about the money.
Sort Out Your Financing First
This is the biggest mistake buyers make – especially first-time buyers. They don’t secure the financing necessary to buy a home before they start placing offers on houses. It’s considered bad manners and inappropriate to do this sort of thing to a seller. If you don’t have the financing lined up, you’re basically just wasting everyone’s time – not good.
So, make sure that you’re prequalified before you speak with a real estate agent.
Don’t Take it Personally If Your Offer Is Rejected
Even the top realtors in the country don’t win every deal. Expect rejection on at least one home. It happens and it can happen for any number of reasons. Sellers can be irrational. Maybe you didn’t offer enough, even though you didn’t lowball the seller. Maybe your agent flaked out on you, the seller, or was rude or unprofessional.
Don’t Get Desperate
Whatever you do, don’t get desperate. This is something that first-timers often do. They fall in love with a home, get a “home crush,” and then they can’t see past the fact that there are other houses on the market.
They get desperate, they start bidding more than what they can afford. Suddenly, they’re in over their head. Or, some buyers face multiple rejections and then decide that they’ll take the first offer that gets accepted. This can be just as bad. You end up not getting the home you really want, and you’re just settling for a “yes” because the actual buying process has become more important than finding something that you truly love.
Dennis Ellis has a knack for real estate. When not researching housing market trends, he often blogs about the practical side of buying and selling property for the everyday person.
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