Negotiating Tips for Sellers in Brooklyn (or anywhere else)

     If you are thinking of selling your home or already in the process, often times the most problematic aspect of selling is the actual negotiation process. Making a mistake could cost you thousands of dollars, or worse yet, losing an entire deal. Below is a list of tips to keep in mind that will both insure you get the highest price and do not lose a good buyer:
 

• If you give a counter offer or reject a buyer bid, have a plan B just in case the buyers refuse to up their offer. Let's say the buyers offer you $500,000, you want $505,000. If the buyers refuse to budge, ask them “How quickly can you close?”, then ask them for their attorneys name and phone number. This will at least buy you some time to think. Advice…If they do furnish you an attorney name and number at that point, if you do not have other back up offers….don’t look a gift horse in the mouth!
• Ask if they will be willing to waive their mortgage contingency! If the buyer is willing to do this, it virtually means they cannot get out of the deal without forfeiting their down payment to the seller, even if they do not get the mortgage.
• If your selling a multifamily dwelling with tenants, be prepared to take a little less if the buyers will keep your tenant. This is a blessing.
• Given today's market conditions you are better off asking the lowest price possible and remaining firm on that number. Don't worry about the buyers trying to talk you down. Price it at what you want, don't play games.
• Accept the offer! In Brooklyn, many times buyers make an offer and after it gets accepted, they get cold feet, back off and the deal dies. If you have an offer that is close, consider accepting it. It takes about 2-3 weeks in today's market to get into a legally binding contract. During this time it is standard protocol (again, in Brooklyn) to continue to show the house just in case something goes wrong. If you do not get a higher offer during this time, you'll know you made the right decision accepting the offer. If a higher offer does come on the table, you can consider it. Ethically speaking when you accept an offer it should be in good faith, however, just like the way a buyer can back out at anytime prior to signing the contact, so can the seller.
• Don't fail to see the forest for the trees! If you get an offer that is 97% of what you want, focus on that 97% you do have, not the 3% you're missing!
• The market is tough in most places right now, be prepared to sell for somewhat less than you expect. You will ultimately recoup the loss because the next home you purchase will in turn also be sold to you for less!
• Include the appliances and lighting fixtures! I've seen too many deals die over stupid issues like this. If we are talking about an heirloom that has been in the family for 100 years, I understand Otherwise, I don't care that it took you six years to find that chandelier, now that you know where to get it, buy another one after you close!
• Do not bluff! Too many times a seller falsely tell the buyer that they have other offers or higher offers. The problem is that if you then go back to the buyer after making such a statement, they will know that you were lying and most likely lower their offer.
• Do not tell a buyer how much your other offers are for! Many times a seller believes that if they inform the buyer that there is a higher offer than theirs the buyer will pay more. Realistically and usually what happens is the buyer will back off because most buyers are fearful of getting into a “bidding war.” Not only that the buyers who will play this game, will only offer $500.00 to $1,000.00 more. The thought here is that had you not told them anything, they may have offered a lot more. I've made many deals where the offer that is accepted beat the second highest offer by up to $30,000.00! If the buyer says “tell me what your highest offer is and I'll beat it by a thousand dollars,” I tell them “we already have another buyer that told us they would beat the offer by $2,000.00!” Or you can just tell them you have an offer for…..ten billion dollars ;)
• Have an experienced Realtor negotiate on your behalf! Realtors typically sell homes for much higher prices when compared to similar homes sold with no Realtor involved. Not only that, but a professional Realtor will negotiate on your behalf so you do not have to worry about all this. You can just go on with your normal life doing what your great at and we will take care getting your home sold!

     That's it for now; I will provide more negotiating tips in future blog entries. Hope you enjoyed the read and if you have any comments or questions, please post them to this blog.

Mitchell Feldman/ Madison Estates & Properties, Inc.
Office: (718) 645-1665/ Cell: (917) 805-0783
Email: MitchellSFeldman@aol.com 
Web Site: www.MitchellFeldman.com and www.MadisonEstates.com 

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