The Real Estate negotiation process can be a fun and exciting experience; especially when you are prepared and have a good negotiation strategy in mind. Here are some basic rules for handling property or any other negotiation in your business. By implementing these steps into your process you can hold your ground, get a fair deal and obtain property at the price you want.
Determine Your Target Price
If you have a target price in mind prior to the negotiation process you can effectively design your offer and counter-offer strategy to reach this goal. Make sure your price is reasonable; balancing your desire to own the property with market price and value fundamentals.
Offer Less Than You Expect to Get
Even if you have never heard of negotiation strategy, you probably already know to start your offer low to see what response you get. If you do nothing else, this strategy should reduce the asking price by 1 or 2 percent.
Bracket the Offer Effectively
Untrained negotiators usually expect to transact at a price halfway between their starting point and your initial offer. “Bracketing” means that you have taken this knowledge into consideration and have made adjustments within your offer to reflect it. The opening position should be low enough that if the seller splits the difference, the resulting price is lower than your target. For example, if the asking price is $110,000 and your target price is $105,000, you may bracket this negotiation with an offer of $98,500 (rather than $100,000). This would create a range of $11,500 and a higher chance of you obtaining the property at or below your target price.
Never Offer to Split the Difference
Splitting the difference in a negotiation means that you offer a number that is half way between both sides. The problem with this method is that if you are the one that makes this offer, the seller can now negotiate with your new price as a low point. You effectively re-bracket yourself with the estimated final price above your target.
For example, if your offer is $180,000 and their asking price is $220,000, an effective negotiation should result with an approximate $200,000 final price. If you offer to split the difference too quickly, the new bracket positions will be $200,000 and $220,000. In this case, the probable outcome will be closer to $210,000 and you will have left $10,000 on the table.
Look for Gains Beyond Price
Once the price is close to final, see if you are able to get anything more out of the deal. There are literally hundreds of ways to do this so try something unique. A friend of mine once added the request for a few hundred new golf balls to the final offer. The seller was not willing to counter-offer – removing the golf balls – and risk losing the deal.
Final Thoughts
Using a negotiation strategy will ensure that you have created a final deal that satisfies both parties. You will have ethically presented yourself and your offers with proactive purpose, rather than reactive response and you will obtain the best outcome possible for your negotiation. These rules will help you understand the process and successfully obtain the properties you want to buy.