So you’ve done all your research, gone through all the steps, gotten pre-approved, found your perfect neighborhood and finally found your dream home. You’re ready to make an offer – but you don’t want to just make an offer, you want to negotiate and you want to have the winning bid.
Last week, we talked about how to step up your negotiation by including a cover letter with your offer, but it’s likely that unless you are offering at or above listing, you’ll be negotiating on a price with the seller, in which case, you’ll need to be prepared with these great negotiation tips:
- Go in with confidence – your pre-approval gives you the advantage of being considered a cash-buyer, a quality which sellers really go for
- Find out how long the property has been on the market
- Find out if there have been any price fluctuations
- Find out why the seller is selling
- If there are any problems with the home, use them to negotiate the price
- Keep it professional and nice
- Find out the prices of other similar homes in the area
- Use your appraisal to negotiate if applicable
- Find out if there are any other offers on the home
For more information about the home buying process, check out our First Time Homebuyer’s Guide.