Presenting offers in a buyers’ market
Dirk Zeller wrote an informative article over at Real Blogging, a real estate industry site. If you get a chance, take a look at what he has to say. Mr. Zeller provided some solid insight regarding the current market and helping avoid conflicts between potential buyers and sellers with homes on the market. Some highlights - talk about every aspect of the offer before presenting the price. It is the hope here that you can find some common ground with the seller ahead of money talk. The next step is to present the offer price, and break down the difference between the offer and the asking price over a period of years so the amount does not appear as large to the sellers. Explain to the sellers that the $15k difference is only a few bucks a day that the sellers would have to pay on their next mortgage over the next ten or fifteen years. Most sellers would think differently about this as opposed to looking at receiving much less than they hoped. In the same way, this opens a path for negotiating between buyer and seller. Explain the same numbers to the buyer and see if there is any common ground that can help the deal get done. As with any offer, you should always explain how your buyers arrived at their offer price. Explain your interpretation of current market conditions, identify comparable properties that have sold recently, etc. This will help justify the offer being presented as legitimate.
This is all well and good, but many list agents (sellers’ agents) do not want you to present offers face-to-face to their seller. Presenting as much as you can about a buyer’s ability to close on the deal, and remember, the worst they can say is ‘no’. There are many different strategies for negotiating, and if you are a potential buyer, you must be sure to ask your agent about negotiating experience, if they have had any negotiation training, etc.