There’s no denying that purchasing a house is an expensive endeavor; it’s likely the most lavish purchase you’ll ever make. So, it makes sense to try to bargain where you can. Save a few dollars here, get a few things thrown in there, right? We hear ya—we’re all about making a clever deal that doesn’t leave your house-unfortunate.
But when it comes time to bargain, there are a few approaches you should avert, lest you in danger displeasing the seller and failing your shot at your dream house. This is notably true in a red-hot seller’s market, where the seller might have several tempting deals and is looking for anything that breaks the tie.
So, search out the word on the street about your trusted agent by talking to people you trust. And then tell your agent to help you into a great house by not trying to pull off one of these misguided actions.
- CONVINCING YOURSELF TO MAKE A LOWBALL DEAL: How low can you go? That seems to be the game some purchasers play, domineering that if they will begin low, they’ll end up getting the home they desire. Purchaser’s agents usually discourage their clients from this ploy because they fear it will “insult” the seller. But the predicament might be larger than just hurting someone’s feelings. The real problem in starting well below the market value is that it costs you integrity. The seller either thinks you don’t know the market, or you are searching to take dominance of someone and in either case, they don’t want to deal with you. You’re not going to curtail their target by starting at a lower number.
- ASKING FOR A LOT OF ADD-ONS: You might be feeling encouraged to ask for more than just the home, but you should resist that allurement. Purchasers who think it’s a better idea to ask for furniture or appliances to be thrown in for free or predict that the sellers will just leave their porch household property because it “goes blended well” with their home. The maxim “it doesn’t hurt to ask” doesn’t anoint in this situation.
- ASKING FOR A ‘ONE-WAY-OFFER’: Just as the seller has a goal price in mind, you seemingly have a point at which you’ll begrudgingly to bend. But one of the lowest things you can do is advertise this to the seller. This just puts the seller on the opposing side and automatically it is a path to a dead-end offer. Sometimes purchasers have to try this ploy themselves to see how it really ends up before they agree to get with reality.