After going through the entire marketing phase of your home-selling journey, now, the offers are coming in. Here’s where the most challenging part of the process comes in – the negotiation phase. You can ace this one! Just read this guide and follow these tips to ensure that you get top dollar by closing time.
For added negotiating power: Get a real estate pro on your side
Make sure your real estate expert is one with sharp negotiating skills, a long history of previous victories at the negotiating table, and your best interests in mind. They should learn about your goals by asking you the right questions. (Do you want to negotiate for a quick sale? Substantial profits? Specific contingencies?)Your answers will help them in molding their stance.
Sure, sellers like you can go face-to-face with buyers at the negotiating table. But if your skills aren’t at par with those of the buyer and/or their representative, you run the risk of ending up on the losing end of an agreement.
Know what to do at each stage of the negotiation
The various stages consist of the following:
Receive the offer. Look at the offer price, the down payment, the terms of payment, the length of time you have before being made to move out, and the contingencies. See if the offer is to your liking or if there are aspects that will have to be discussed further in the negotiations.
Understand the contingency clauses. These clauses could be used by the buyer to let go of a deal. See first if the contingency is reasonable, if it won’t affect offer value, and if there’s still room to limit its scope. If you can, negotiate for the least number of these clauses to be included in the final agreement.
Make a counteroffer. If you’re not satisfied with the offer presented to you, you can either reject it or present a counteroffer. The better option is to make a counteroffer than to simply reject it so you can open the floor to negotiations. These are usually the points raised in counteroffers:
- Terms. Flexibility of terms is most likely the point of contention here. Just remember that everything can be negotiable so, at best, you can bat for terms that will be amenable to all parties concerned.
- Price. This is usually the primary point of negotiations between sellers and buyers.
- Occupancy. On this point, you may be the one to make adjustments should the buyer indicate a specific time for you to vacate your home to make way for them.
- Contingencies. You can downright disagree with contingencies presented by the buyer but it could lead to the buyer backing out of the deal. Instead, use the factor of time in your negotiating arsenal – perhaps, a deadline to be agreed upon for work to be completed.
Accept the offer. The agreement is sealed once both parties have their signatures written on the contract. Usually, it’s the seller who first signs the agreement. If at this point, the buyer still sees something not to their liking, they can still opt to renegotiate or back out.
Ensure that you have copies of all paperwork related to the sale. Naturally, you’ll want to hold on to these papers as your proof of the successful real estate transaction.
Trust in the Noel & Martinez Team to be your strongest ally in the negotiating process to ensure top dollar in your home sale. Contact us by clicking here!
