So. You’ve had an offer on your property, and now it’s time to negotiate the price. Here are some top tips to help you achieve the best price when selling your home.
Set a Lowest Price
Have a lowest price in mind. It’s easy to get caught up in negotiations and forget what price you’d be happy to accept. So before you enter any negotiations ask yourself what the minimum price is that you would accept?
First calculate a property valuation for your home. Then use our guides on the cost of selling a house and the cost of buying a house to work out how much you can afford to sell for. Anything above the price you calculate is a bonus, and anything below is a no-go.
Assess the Situation
What situation is the buyer in? Are they in a chain? Are their funds in place (either via cash or a mortgage in principle?). If the buyer is not in a chain and has funds in place to purchase your home, it might be worth favouring this buyer to ensure a faster, more efficient completion of sale. This may require accepting a slightly lower offer.
Relax
Pressure and/or stress is not helpful during negotiations. It’s important to know that nothing you discuss with the buyer over the phone, over SMS, over email or over the Investate platform is legally binding. They are, quite simply, informal offers and negotiations.
Offers in England and Wales are only legally binding once contracts have exchanged. This process differs in Scotland whereby solicitors for the buyer and seller are required to exchange letters (‘missives’) clarifying the details and conditions of the offer. Once these details are agreed, the ‘missives are concluded’ and both parties have a binding contract.
Be Yourself
Don’t suddenly develop into a hard-hitting, non-negotiating stubborn mule. And conversely don’t quiver like a feather on a blustery day. Just be yourself and be open-minded about potential offers.
Grow a Thick(er) Skin
Be prepared for a cheeky offer. It’s natural for interested parties to offer 20% below the asking price to test the waters and try their luck. Don’t blow a gasket! At least it’s a figure to negotiate with! Do not take things personally. Negotiating the price of your home is business and not pleasure.
Be Realistic
Remember that this is a negotiation, and as such your asking price may need to be reduced. If deep down inside you feel that you’re being a bit cheeky and asking for too much, chances are you probably are asking for too much!
Do Not Discriminate
It doesn’t matter who is making an offer on your property, so long as they legally have the funds in place to buy it.
Stay Calm
Do not get overexcited. It’s easy to want to quickly accept the first offer that comes in, especially if you have your eyes set on another property! The first offer is always a difficult one to process since there are no other offers to compare it to. If the offer is above the lowest price you set out for then it might be advisable to accept?
Incentivise
Do you own any nice furniture that you’re no longer in love with? If so you could potentially use these items as bargaining power to sweeten the deal. This could be particularly attractive to first-time buyers since they probably don’t own any furniture and are usually grateful for any help they can get!
