In most cases, buying and selling a home is a negotiation process. Prices are rarely set in stone, and most sellers have to adjust their asking price in response to the offers they receive.
As a seller, you may be unwilling to significantly lower the price of your home for financial reasons. But rather than constantly turning down offers and taking longer to sell your home, there are ways you can make buyers feel like they're getting a good deal. The following strategies will entice buyers to meet your asking price without much downward negotiation.
1. Have the home inspected for any necessary repairs
If you have multiple problems arising during a home inspection, buyers will see this as an excellent opportunity to negotiate downwards on your asking price. They may feel as if the needed repairs warrant a lower price for the home, and you will often have a hard time convincing them otherwise.
The best approach is to carry out a home inspection yourself, even before a buyer hires their preferred inspector to do the job. Fix any issues with your home in advance so that the buyer's home inspection report doesn't uncover any problems. If you pass the home inspection with an A+, buyers will have little wiggle room to negotiate downwards.
2. Make sure your asking price is in line with nearby properties
Before you set your price, make sure you analyse the prices of other competing properties. Check local real estate listings, online resources and even consult real estate agents to make sure that your asking price is reasonable and competitive. In this way, buyers won't have much of an excuse to offer a lower price for the property.
3. Offer to cover a portion of closing costs
Another smart way to meet your asking price is to offer other incentives that will cost less in totality. For example, rather than being offered $10,000 less for a $300,000 home, why not propose to cover half of the buyer's closing costs? In this case, the closing costs will add up to between $6000–$7000 at most.
Covering half this cost instead of taking a lower price for your home will save you about $6500. Such incentives appear tempting to buyers while actually costing you much less in the bigger picture.
4. Have a solicitor handle your paperwork
Conveyancing solicitors understand the ins and outs of the legal processes involved in selling a home. They can justify your asking price to potential buyers in a way that makes them feel like they're getting the best deal available.
They can also simplify the contract negotiation and title transfer process to make buyers think less about the price and more about the excitement of owning a new home.
Share28 December 2018
No one gets married planning to get divorced, but by the time I see them it's pretty obvious why they are getting divorced. When a marriage is beyond repair I'm there to fight for my clients right's under family and property law and to get them the best deal I can possibly negotiate. Even if you feel like your case is messy or complicated, I can guarantee in my time as a lawyer I have seen and heard worse things! This site has a collection of useful articles and links on developments and case law in the Family Court of Australia.