So you’ve set your asking price, prepared your house for sale, advertised it and handled viewings. Now it’s time to negotiate with buyers!
If you don’t have much experience with selling houses, or even if you do, negotiating with buyers can be stressful. Having someone else do this for you is what persuades many people to hire estate agents, but some homeowners decide to go it alone.
If you’re worrying about how to handle price negotiations, we have lots of tips and advice to share that will help you through the process.
Hire an Estate Agent to Handle Negotiations for You
An estate agent will handle every aspect of your sale, including the price negotiations. The agent themselves will deal with potential buyers and follow up with them after house viewings. If a buyer wishes to make an offer, the agent will relay this to you and negotiate with them based on your instructions.
Of course, the other benefit to having an estate agent handle your sale is that they can offer advice about your asking price and how to deal with offers. If you receive an offer and you’re unsure about how to respond, your agent will advise you on whether or not you should accept it or hold out for something better.
Be wary though. Estate agencies are businesses. They take a considerable cut regardless of when or how much you sell for. Some sellers feel pressured by their estate agent to hold out for an unachievable price, while others may feel obligated to accept a disappointing offer.
Even if you’re working with an estate agent to sell your house, you still might find the following tips useful in helping you deal with negotiations – and your estate agent.
Tips for Handling Negotiations Yourself
If you decide to go it alone and handle the sale of your property yourself, you will need to negotiate with potential buyers. This can be a daunting prospect – if you get it wrong, you could lose a buyer or end up selling your house for less than it’s worth.
Here are some tips for handling negotiations yourself:
- Set a realistic, fair and achievable asking price. This decision will be made before you put your house on the market, but it’s the foundation for all successful negotiations. A property with an asking price that is too high or too low will pave the way for complicated and drawn-out negotiations in the future.
- Don’t let unexpected offers unnerve you. If a buyer puts in a lowball offer, don’t assume your property is unattractive or that you’ve got your asking price completely wrong. If you’ve done your research, stick to what you believe and hold out for a fair price.
- Keep a written record of negotiations. Ask buyers to follow up on verbal offers in writing and make sure you send counter-offers in writing too.
- Offer to take your property off the market. This is a great incentive for serious buyers who want to avoid being ‘gazumped’. If they really want the house and don’t want to risk being outbid, this could sweeten the deal.
- Be wary of ‘take it or leave it’ buyers. Remember, most buyers have great poker faces – they may have fallen in love with your property and be willing to pay whatever it takes to get their hands on it, but they certainly won’t show this. Again, don’t let buyer behaviour unnerve you.
- Offer to move into rented accommodation. Property chains are risky and off putting for buyers. They’re time-consuming and expensive when they fall through. If you offer to move into rented accommodation and avoid a property chain, your negotiating position as a seller will be much stronger.
Sell Your House to a Fast House Buyer
If you’re selling your house and the idea of handling negotiations is causing you concern (with or without an estate agent), there is another option available to you.
When you sell your house to a fast house buyer like Zoom, the whole process from start to finish is incredibly easy. We’ll organise a visit to meet you and see your house in person, then we’ll provide a cash offer in principle. We have our own cash facility to fund the purchase, meaning the sale can take as little as 7 days. We won’t charge you a penny either.
Here at Zoom, we take the stress and financial strain out of selling a house. Get in touch with our experienced team to find out more!
Call 0333 880 4362 or complete our online enquiry form to get the ball rolling.
