Negotiate effectively
USINFO | 2013-12-23 15:28

 

Right now, "there's more room for negotiation" in most housing markets because the sales pace slows in autumn, and prices have been falling, says Steve Habetz, president of ARCServ, a network of real estate attorneys.

Villena counsels buyers to avoid the temptation to toss out lowball offers, because sellers won't negotiate if they feel insulted.

"You have to be able to defend that offer as much as the seller has to be able to defend the asking price," he says. "If you're not making a full-price offer, it's not enough to pull a number out of the air. You should be able to show that this neighborhood has 20 comparable homes for sale, and, although I like your property, it's priced 6 percent above the other properties. That gives you a better footing for establishing an objective and reasonable negotiation."

Don't just negotiate with the seller. "Most people think that only sellers pay commissions," Villena says. "They think that buyers are being serviced for free. Most people are not yet aware that there is a commission component reserved for the buyer's agent. And that, too, just like the seller's commission, is negotiable."

How so? Some buyer's agents are willing to rebate a portion of their commission back to the buyer at closing. For a number of real estate brokerages, such as Homekeys, BuySide Realty and HouseRebate, buyer rebates are the focus of the business plan. Expect to make your own appointments to view houses and to drive yourself there if you use one of these brokerages.

Realtors associations in some states have persuaded legislatures to ban commission rebates to buyers.

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