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4 Tips For Negotiating A Counter Offer

If you’re new to the real estate world, you might be thinking ‘what is a counter offer’? A counter offer is commonly prepared when the offer isn’t accepted.  The offer may match some of what you’re looking for but doesn’t quite meet enough of your non-negotiables for you to accept it. Rather than walking away from the first offer, you counter in hopes to get to an area of mutual agreement. Areas to counter can be in the form of price, the inclusion of a home inspection, conditions based on financing approval or sale of another property, and more. It’s the art of the deal and finds it’s way into the majority of home sales. Here’s what to expect and some tips for negotiating a counter offer:

 

Know Your Numbers Ahead Of Time

When approaching a real estate transaction, it’s always important to know what your bottom line is before walking in. This is especially important when negotiating a counter offer. Whether you are the buyer or the seller, you should take the time to outline what is firm and what is negotiable. Know your max budget as a buyer. On the contrary, what the lowest price is your willing to except if you’re the seller. Having these parameters laid out ahead of time will make the offer process go so much more smoothly and you’ll be more comfortable making game-time decisions.

 

Be Realistic About Price

For a seller, pricing your home is a very strategic move. You don’t want to be priced too high, or too low. Coming right in at a competitive market value is right where you want to be. But it’s important to note that fair market value might not align with what you think your house is worth. When the time comes to list your home, do so with an open mind. Basing all your decisions off financially sound and realistic data will enable you to counter buyers offers with confidence. 

 

For a buyer, it’s extremely important to know what your max budget is and stick to it. Many people think there is no harm in looking a home outside their price range, but if you happen to find your dream home, it may be more than you can afford. In this case, it might be tempting to go in with an extremely low offer. But, unless the house is way over-priced, your chances of getting the seller to not counter offer and come down a substantial amount are minimal. Before you house hunt, get pre-approved for a mortgage. Know what you can afford and stick to looking at homes that are under or right at your max budget.

 

Be Compassionate And Kind

When selling your family home, or looking to buy your first house, real estate transactions are often highly emotional for both the buyer and the seller. It’s a huge investment both financially, physically and emotionally, so our biggest tip in submitting your first offer and/or negotiating a counter offer is to be compassionate and kind. Keep your offers fair, don’t be overly greedy and don’t lose sight that the person on the other end is pretty much in the same boat that you are.

 

Know When To Walk Away

Our final tip is sometimes the hardest to follow but wraps all of our previous tips into one. Know when to walk away. If you find that negotiations are going stale, counter offers are continually unrealistic, it’s important to have the confidence to walk away from the deal altogether. If you’re a seller, there will be other buyers and if you’re a buyer, there will be other homes. Knowing your minimums, maximums and non-negotiables will help you know when this transaction is just not the one for you.

 

The offer and counter offer can be daunting but you don’t have to go it alone. We are here to ensure that your next real estate transaction is a memorable one. Let’s get started today.