A Guide To Selling Your Home – Part 6: Negotiation Skills
Selling a house is a multi-step process and it requires a lot of effort including negotiation skills. Once you’ve decided to finally put your home on the market and listed it, the offers begin to roll in. The next step is to think about negotiation and close the deal.
Negotiating the transaction is the most important part of selling a home in today’s buyer’s market. You should be equipped with negotiation skills when trying to sell your home. When buyers show interest in your property, you will get an offer from them, and then the negotiation process starts. Your goal should be to get the maximum possible profit in the transaction in the form of a high sale price and other factors.
However, You can also avail the expertise of an experienced real estate agent who knows your local market and is experienced at negotiating.
In this sixth part of our A Guide To Selling Your Home, we’ll try to make you learn some negotiation skills and show you how to handle the negotiation process in selling your home and seal the deal. Here are a few tips that will help you:
Preparation
Preparation and practice are important in the home selling process. The better you prepare, the more your satisfaction with the entire transaction will be. Mostly, the party which is most prepared is generally the party that gets the maximum profit in the home-selling negotiations.
Evaluate The Offers
Always pay attention to your first offer as the best offers usually come at the beginning. Moreover, you never know when the best offer will come along. Besides, you have to evaluate how much it will cost you to wait for the next most profitable offer. Once you have received an offer on your property then evaluate them and be prepared to negotiate and seal the deal.
Focus On Main Agreement
Remember your priorities and respect the buyers. Put minor issues aside and focus on the big issues. Don’t let minor issues get in the way of big ones and complete the main agreement. With the main agreement completed, come back to the small ones later and you may find minor issues are far easier to settle. You should also set a time limit on the sale by giving them a suggestion to complete the deal in a month or two.
Be Polite
Your only concern should be to get the best price for your house. Always be polite and honest to the buyers but remember to stay professional in the negotiation.
Don’t Be In A Hurry
Never show to your counterparts that you are in a hurry to sell your property. An experienced negotiator will always use this tactic and show that he is not desperate at all.
Some buyers may try to force you into accepting a low offer immediately by saying that they have to go elsewhere. But you should tell them politely that you understand their problem but you also have some other offers to consider. Therefore, you need time to compare the offers and certainly can’t respond immediately. Tell them also that you are pleased to keep talking to them and that your door will always remain open for them.
Besides, you can refer to a relative or an absent authority who has an interest in the property. They are the persons who are not interested in the deal. Tell them that you need to speak to them before accepting the offer. In this way, you can buy time for yourself and also remain approachable. This way, you can show them that you are not at all desperate to sell the property and can’t be pushed around.
Be Responsive
Always respond quickly to any question of the buyers if you don’t want to delay the sale. When buyers make an offer, they are in the mood to buy but moods can change if the process goes on for a longer period.
Don’t Be A Tough Negotiator
Always stay cool, be patient and keep the communication civil and rational throughout the selling process. People tend to respond much more positively with people they like. Therefore, be pleasant and friendly to people or you might lose sales. So, don’t be rude, unreasonable, or emotional with people and put them on the spot.
Also read: Home-Buying Guide – Part 10: Tips For Smart Negotiation
Be Realistic
Don’t be a stubborn negotiator in any negotiation. You should also be prepared to compromise sometimes and not try to win every point or it could sour the deal. In fact, the final terms of the deal should make both parties walk away with satisfaction.
Keep Incentives To Remove Stalemate
If there is a stalemate between you and your potential buyer regarding price, it’s worth having a few incentives to throw in. So, you can think about offering the furniture, the lawn mower, and other fittings which can pay off in removing the stalemate.
Don’t Reveal Too Much
It’s not easy to sell a home in the present buyer’s market. Therefore, It is crucial to keep certain aspects of your selling situation as concealed as possible from the buyer and his agent. In fact, any vulnerability you show could be used against you which might cost you thousands of rupees. So, you should keep some information to yourself. This will result in better control of the structure of negotiations by you.
For instance, mentioning your baseline sale price, deadline, the reason for selling, the urgency of selling your property, etc. is something that gives the potential buyers some unnecessary leverage to use against you. Both parties look for leverage that will give them the advantage they want in a negotiation.
Therefore, make sure the buyer and buyer’s agent should only know what they’re legally entitled to know and what you want them to know.
Know The Buyer’s Needs and Priorities
Similarly, if you find out more about the buyer’s priorities, financial situation, and needs during the negotiations, then you can use this information against them and be able to strengthen your own positioning by resolving any obstacles more effectively.
For instance, if there is a stalemate regarding the sale price because of the buyer’s financial constraints even though he is very much interested in your property then the buyer might be more flexible about some other terms or giving some other concessions. Therefore, the more you know about the buyer’s priorities, financial situations, and needs, the more you will be able to keep yourself in a better position and gain control of the situation.
The Wince
The wince is a way to convey via body language your negative reaction to your counterparts without resorting to argument or other negative verbal responses. It alerts them to the fact that you know your limits and thus forces them to clear their position. It gives you comfort in the deal without weakening your position.
Practice Silence
Being silent is an extremely powerful negotiating tactic for you. Sometimes, it helps you to avoid buyers’ unnecessary and ridiculous offers while negotiating the deal. Practice being silent unless someone asks a question while selling your home. Let the real estate agent speak the most whom you have hired for this purpose.
Don’t say a word and wait if you’ve mentioned your asking price and you’re waiting for a response. Most people feel uncomfortable when conversation ceases. If your counterparts also understand the importance of silence then restate your asking price and repeat your terms without offering any concessions after a long pause. This tactic forces your counterparts to clear their position and sometimes respond with a concession.
However, when the buyer is fair in his dealing and also respectful towards you then keeping silent is not the right option. Therefore, giving the silent treatment to your counterparts under these circumstances will be a sign of disrespect and may not be considered the right move.
Therefore, keep on practicing these negotiation skills which will help you to seal the deal in a better way in selling your home . Moreover, these negotiation skills also make you prepared for handling the typical buyer’s tactics while selling your home.
Ajay Verma is a founder and writer of The Housing World, a real estate and mortgage news website. He brings with him 20+ years of rich experience in the real estate and mortgage industries. He has worked in senior roles in Delhi and NCR in the above-mentioned sectors.
