Home Price Negotiation Tips
How to get a lower price on a house involves the knowledge you have and how and when you use it. As promised, here are some reliable house buying negotiation tips to help you in your home buying process:
1. Always Have a Plan B:
Finding the perfect house is difficult enough. But what happens when you and the seller are unable to agree? Be smart enough to walk away. This means that although it may be frustrating or painful to walk away from a potential home, you should have a second, third, and even fourth option if the first does not work out. As a potential buyer, you should have a shortlist of houses that you can begin negotiations on while still having your back-up options available.
2. What are Your Must-Haves?
Contingency clauses are conditions or actions that the buyer and seller agree to that make the contract binding. If you present too many contingencies that you are unwilling to compromise on, you can very quickly become less desirable to sellers. Deciding how to negotiate house price offers includes putting down the most important five or fewer items that should go into your contingency clauses. Doing so will make your offer more attractive to sellers and result in you getting more conditions you want in a sale.
3. Inspections and Repairs
Before you sign on any dotted line, you must have a professional inspection performed on the listing. This falls in the top three tips of how to negotiate a house price when buying because the inspection will give you a detailed understanding of what repairs need to be done on the house. Using this knowledge, you can then negotiate with the seller what repairs they should cover and which ones you will cover. Beware of sellers who insist on a very short closing period to pressure you into forgoing an inspection or trusting their inspection report without verification.
4. Closing Costs
Although most buyers pay these without question, it is not a set-in-stone rule and should be part of negotiating a house price prior to exchange. Closing costs typically include loan origination fees, recording fees, and lender title insurance and are generally calculated as between 2% – 6% of the sale price. Given that this is not an insignificant amount, it is beneficial for you that you negotiate with the seller to either pay a part of or the whole of the costs.
5. Remember Your Realtor
Buying a house on your own might seem like an easy option because of all the applications and sites that now provide you with information previously only available to realtors. While these are helpful, realtors are still recognized professionals you will need by your side to navigate how to negotiate house prices when buying. Their knowledge of local markets, unique insights into market movement, and what language you should avoid as you negotiate a contract are invaluable in the home-buying process. And to top this off, they also help you get the best deal suited to your circumstances.