Everybody wants a deal…
Don’t offend. Unless you are making an offer on a property that has been held purely for investment (this includes foreclosures and short-sales), the seller is emotionally invested in his property. Negative comments (regardless of their accuracy) of the seller’s home are not a winning strategy. Even in this market, negative statements about the property whether spoken or written into the offer can arouse the emotions of the seller creating a negative response.
Don’t criticize the seller’s price. Your agent has given you information on comparable property sales. Sharing your mountain of information and a 50 page CMA (Competitive Market Analysis) will not endear you or your offer to the seller. Your offer speaks for itself. The seller has set a price, probably after having taken this same information into consideration. You may believe his price to be high, but it is his price. Insulting his intelligence or sense of reality further will not further your cause.
Don’t defend your offer the wrong way. Saying it is all you can afford or that you are basing it on what you believe values will be during the next quarter century. Such explanations of your offer will likely leave the seller feeling that there is a buyer out there, other than you, who can afford his home and at the price it is worth today.
Don’t be unreasonable. There are offers, and then there is the “what’s he smoking” offer. If a home is offered for $X, and you are willing to pay 10% less, do not offer X minus 20% and then ask the seller to throw in the bedroom furniture, refrigerator and ski boat. You will not be taken seriously. Is this already the lowest priced home in the neighborhood? Is it already a good deal?
Do be prepared to negotiate. No buyer wants to think they paid too much, and no seller wants to think he sold out to cheap. Expect to go a round or two. “Take it or leave it!” offers are rarely met with smiles or high-fives from the seller, even in this market. In negotiations, everyone wants to feel like they were in control and that they prevailed. Work toward a win-win feeling through out the process to achieve the best result.
The market is filled with great opportunities for the buyer. Great values… Values relative to prices a year or two ago are common. But, ridiculously great “deals” are needles in the proverbial haystack. Because market value will always be determined by what a buyer is willing to pay. That buyer might be you, but if you are unrealistic or even simply careless with creating and presenting your offer, it will probably be someone else.
It is a great market… for the buyer who is looking for great value but who also is willing to work the offer process in a manner that lets the seller feel like a winner too.
May the Market be with you.
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