Five Proven Tips to Help You Negotiate in a Buyer’s Market
Before the dismal collapse of the housing market, negotiation skills weren’t quite as important as they are now. In many cases, all you had to do was put the house on the market with a reasonable price and get out of the way.
Things have changed. And aren’t supposed to get any better soon.
What you’re looking at now is a more traditional market where buyers have their share of homes to choose from. That means the negotiation game among you buyers has reached a new level of importance.
Here are four tips to help you negotiate in a buyer’s market.
1. Be Informed
I can tell you without exception who always wins in a negotiation—the one who has the most information and uses it wisely. It’s the one tool that’s imperative in any negotiation. Information leads to the right price for a property. It puts details in perspective. It lessens tensions. And it keeps emotions in check.
Take away: Burn the midnight oil and do your homework.
2. Don’t Lower Your Commissions
This is a key point…because in a buyer’s market, many, many REALTORS® automatically put their commissions on the auctioning block.
But if you lower your commission to get a seller’s business…what does that really say to the seller? That you’re easily willing to come down on price—not what a seller wants to hear!
3. Handle Offers with Care
Never flat out reject an offer. Sure, you’ll get offers that you simply can not accept…and that you might even find insulting…but be careful and tactful with how you respond to those offers.
You’ve done your homework to arrive at the asking price, so explain that to those who make offers instead of a flat rejection.
4. Keep a Positive “This-Will-Work” Attitude
Imagine how comfortable you’d be on the operating table with a surgeon who’s sending out vibes that things might not pan out. You’re confidence in that surgeon sinks. And you want to get the heck out of there!
So, in all situations, focus on solutions and persist without exception. No matter how bad things get, think creatively. There really is a solution to every problem. And if you persist and emerge with a solution to a seemingly impossible situation…you’ll look like a super hero.
This is hard. Cause it will take time. You may look like a fool but keep begging for more time.
5. Ask for Help
At any sign of trouble, go for help. Ask an expert, mentor or coach what you should do in a sticky negotiation situation. Better yet, hook up with someone that will support you and ask them to commit to being available for help.
Best yet, hook up with two people: someone from real estate and someone from a different field. The person outside of your industry will be able to give you fresh insight never heard of before.
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