How to Negotiate When Selling a House – Learn the Basics

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 Whilst a lot of people are scared to negotiate with buyers when selling their property privately, there is absolutely no need to be. You’ve actually greatly simplified the process by taking the middleman out of it, and if you watch our negotiation videos, you’ll be an absolute pro. 

Let’s Get Started: How to Negotiate When Selling a House

The first rule of negotiating with buyers is to know your position and be entirely realistic about it.  Do you have time on your side, strong equity in your property, no need to sell quickly, or is your property “in demand”? If those things are true, then you’re in a strong negotiating position. If not, then you’re in a weaker position and you should adjust your negotiation approach accordingly. 

It’s also important that you always be crystal clear about your bottom line before you start. Knowing your bottom line means knowing your precise final limits that you can negotiate within and hopefully up from. One way to think about this is, if you had someone willing to sign and pay today – what would you be willing to walk away with?

Understanding the buyer’s perspective can also be extremely helpful. For example, a buyer who needs to move urgently may be willing to pay slightly more if you can settle earlier. Try to understand why the buyer is looking to purchase, how quickly they’d like to proceed, and if they have finance already approved or not.

Whilst you want to find out about the buyer’s position, you should keep information about your situation close to your chest. Once you reveal that you’re selling due to divorce, or financial issues you’ve given away most of your negotiating power. If the buyer pushes you on why you’re selling try to use open-ended answers that don’t make it sound like you’re in a desperate situation. For example, “we’ve been thinking about it for a while, and it’s just time.” 

A final point is on detaching emotionally. It’s easier said than done but detaching is important, as emotions can severely impede the negotiating process. Often changing the way you look at the negotiation can help with this. You could look at it as a business transaction where you are cool as a cucumber, or you could look at it as a game that you and the buyer are playing. 

Now You Know How to Negotiate Your House Sale

It should be clear from the points already made that the biggest thing you need to know about negotiating with buyers is that you need to prepare well. We can’t stress this enough. Be prepared. Be prepared. Be prepared.  You’ve made an excellent start by watching this video but be sure to watch the follow up which explains negotiating steps and tactics.  Also, don’t forget to like and subscribe for more useful tips, or visit propertynow.com.au for expert advice.

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