When you feel you have everything in order and are ready to start talking about prices, consider some of the following tips you can use at the negotiation table. Inspection results can be the key to negotiating a home’s final selling price. An inspector will take a walk through the home and evaluate the home for any issues like foundation cracks, problems with the heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) system and more. The inspector will then give you a copy of the report. You can ask the seller for concessions if the home inspection reveals any problems that are deal breakers for you. You may want to ask the seller to fix a problem, give you a credit for closing costs or lower the price. You can even use the inspection results to cancel the sale if your offerincludes an inspection contingency, or if the inspection reveals a major home issue. Keep in mind that an inspection isn’t the same thing as an appraisal. Your appraiser will only give you a rough estimate of what the home is worth. Your appraiser won’t let you know that your roof has a few shingles missing or that the upstairs closet has broken lights. An inspector gives you a much closer look at the home and the problems you’ll have to deal with if you buy it.Be Sure To Get An Inspection
Be sure to get both an appraisal and an inspection before you commit to a home purchase.
Always Communicate Through Your Agent
You might already know that there’s a lot of real estate jargon to master. Remember that many of these terms have legally sensitive definitions and are often conflated with one another. For example, many buyers don’t fully understand the difference between an appraisal and an inspection. You may not get the answer you need in time if you contact a seller asking about appraisal results when you really intended to reference inspection results.
Ask your agent to handle any conversation between yourself and the seller. Your real estate agent knows how to phrase questions and requests in a way that doesn’t put your interests in jeopardy. Never contact a seller directly.
Ask For Closing Costs
A down payment isn’t the only cost you need to pay to close the deal. You must also cover closing costs. Closing costs are expenses that go to your lender in exchange for servicing your loan. Some of the most common closing costs include appraisal fees, inspection costs and credit check fees.
Closing costs on a home purchase are usually 3 – 6% of your total loan value. For example, closing on a $150,000 loan means you can expect to pay $4,500 – $9,000 in closing costs. This means that these fees can potentially present a significant barrier between you and your home purchase.
You may not realize that you can ask for seller concessions beyond the price of the home. For example, you can ask the seller to pay or chip in on some expenses if you want to buy a home but you’re having trouble covering closing costs.
The seller may agree in order to close the sale faster. However, if there’s a lot of competition for your home, you may want to hold off on asking for closing costs. Ask your lender if you have the option to roll your closing costs into your loan.
Find Out Why The Seller Is Moving
The more you know about a seller, the more effectively you can negotiate. For example, if your seller is moving because they’ve bought a new home, you might be able to get a better offer by asking for a discount. You probably won’t be able to get repairs or renovations before the closing date, as the seller likely wants to get out of the home as soon as possible.
Ask your real estate agent to do a little digging on your seller. Find out if the seller prefers a shorter or longer closing process. If your seller is getting a divorce or wants to move to an area with a better school district, they’ll probably be more eager to sell. This gives you more room to negotiate, especially if the property has been on the market for a while.
Get Personal
Have you been shopping for a home for a long time? If so, you know that finding the perfect property can be emotionally draining. What you might not have considered is that selling your home is also an emotional process. Every seller has memories of their home, and they want to see their home go to people who will take good care of it.
You may want to include a personal letter with your offer because of this emotional attachment. Include details about why you like the seller’s property, some of your favorite features and how you plan to use the home.
For example, if a seller knows that you want to restore a historic property or use your prospective home to start a family, they may be more willing to help you out. Even if you aren’t able to offer more money, the personal touch of a well-crafted letter makes your offer stand out.
Don’t Be Afraid To Walk Away
In some situations, you’ll encounter a seller who doesn’t want to budge on the home’s price. They may have a number of offers or be extremely attached to the home. In these circ*mstances, it can be tempting to throw your budget to the wind and offer more than you can afford to win the bidding war. This will force you to take on a higher loan, and you may even need to buy private mortgage insurance (PMI) before you close if your down payment is too low.
Go into the home buying process assuming that you’ll need to walk away from every home you see. Attend multiple showings, ask your real estate agent to set up a variety of viewings for you and try not to get too attached to a particular home. This can help you negotiate more effectively and stay within your budget.
