5 magic questions that will save you thousands when you buy

5 Magic Questions That Will Save You Thousands When You Buy

5 Magic Questions That Will

Save You Thousands When You Buy

5 Magic Questions That Will Save You Thousands When You Buy

Our promise to you Since 1988 we have strived to provide the very best real estate service in Sydney to the many property buyers, sellers, investors and tenants who call on us for help and advice each week.

This booklet and the advice it contains is part of that promise. We hope you enjoy the content and profit from the experience.

Remember, our offices are open 7 days a week to help you with any real estate matter so be sure to call us if you think we can help.

You'll find contact details for your nearest Prudential Real Estate office on the back page of this booklet.

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5 Magic Questions That Will Save You Thousands When You Buy

5 Magic Questions That Will Save You Thousands When You Buy Real Estate is the same the world over.

Every property seller wants the absolute maximum for his or her home and every property buyer wants an enormous discount off the asking price.

This is human nature.

Standing between the two parties, however, is generally a real estate professional. In NSW, real estate agents generally act for property sellers (after all, property sellers pay for our services). As a result, property buyers are pretty much left "out in the cold". They have to rely on their own resources to negotiate the best price for a property.

purchasers a fighting chance when it comes to negotiating their next property purchase.

The questions that follow are the very best negotiating questions available to the average property buyer.

We know beca r property purchasers have used these same questions when trying to negotiate with us for a discount off theasking price of a property listed with ourfirm.

And that is the purpose of this SPECIAL REPORT.

And when you use these same questions correctly you may also be able to squeeze an additional discount or concession from a property seller when next you negotiate the purchase of a property. You never know, you might save yourself thousands in the process.

We thought it about time we "turned the tables". We thought it time to give

You'll have nothing to lose and everything to gain if you simply give them a try.

5 Magic Questions That Will Save You Thousands When You Buy

Question 1

"How long has this property been on the market?"

Here's a simple truth - in most cases, the longer a property is on the market the keener the seller is to make a sale. In some circumstances this may well translate into a lower selling price.

their home looking like a show home from 9.00am every morning (in case there is an inspection) can be very draining for most home owners especially when they have to clean up after children.

If you've ever had your home for sale in the past you'll understand that there's a certain degree of excitement for property sellers when they first put their property on the market.

After a few weeks human nature kicks in and most homeowners are willing to consider a lower price than the one they may have started with only weeks before.

This excitement quickly wanes over the f i r s t f ew we e k s w h e n b u ye r a f te r buyertroops through their home without making an offer - or when weeks go by without an inspection at all.

Either way, the drudgery of having to keep

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On the other hand, a property that is only new to the market is unlikely to allow a discount off the asking price.

So you can probably see that the answer to this question can often help you work out how much a property seller might discount their asking price in order to make a sale.

5 Magic Questions That Will Save You Thousands When You Buy

Question 2

“Why are the owners selling?"

There are as many reasons for selling a property, as there are people in the world.

In the main, however, you can divide all these reasons into two distinct categories those that require a quick sale and those that do not require a quick sale.

Clearly, a property seller with a reason for selling that requires a quick sale might well consider a lower selling price than someone with a reason for selling that does not require a quick sale.

And what sort of reasons for selling belong in the first category ? Here's a few . . .

• Property owners who are selling as a result of a divorce.

• Property owners who are selling as a result of financial hardship.

• Property owners who are selling as a result of a job transfer.

• Property owners who are selling in order to buy another property to which they are already committed.

• Property owners who are selling as a result of an injury, illness or death in the household.

• Property owners who are selling as a result of a neighbourhood dispute.

If you ask this question and then hear any of these reasons you may well be able to negotiate a lower selling price than if there were a more mundane answer such as "the owners areselling in order to update to a larger home".

5 Magic Questions That Will Save You Thousands When You Buy

Question 3

"Have there been any other offers?

If so, how much?"

This question is reasonably selfexplanatory but surprisingly few people think to ask it when they are negotiating.

So, let's think about it for a minute.

If you knew that there had been offers made for the purchase of the property you wanted to buy you might be led to believe the following ; a. That other people had seen sufficient value in the property to make an offer. In other words, the home has been popular and if you don't hurry someone else may well buy it before you ; and / or, b. That the property seller is stubborn and is holding out for "their" price and it may therefore prove difficult to negotiate a selling price suitable to you.

Either way, simply knowing the answer to the first part of the question has little benefit to you if you are a buyer hoping to negotiate a lower selling price.

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But when you know the answer to the second part of the question you may d i s cove r a n e g o t i at i n g a d va n t a g e.

Knowing exactly what happened during a p rev i o u s n e g o t i a t i o n w i l l p rov i d e invaluable clues that will assist you in determining how much to offer when you start negotiating.

For example, if a property seller received an offer several weeks ago and rejected the offer because it was too low the very same offer may now be of great interest to the owner. This is especially true if several weeks have elapsed since the last offer consider this in light of the answer to Question 1 above.

On the other hand the value of a previous offer will tell you the price an owner will not accept - your first offer could then be placed slightly above this last rejected offer in order to conclude any negotiations quickly and, hopefully, to your advantage.

5 Magic Questions That Will Save You Thousands When You Buy

Question 4

“What is included in this sale?"

This question could open a number ofnegotiating possibilities.

Firstly, a good agent will be armed with a list of those items that are included with the sale of the property.

Generally, you can count on at least 4 items - fixed floor coverings, light fittings, curtains and blinds. The balance of the list of inclusions will vary from property to property.

The important thing is to obtain the list.

Once you've got the list have another careful look through the house. Look at each item on the list and ask yourself whether you like / need this item. Ask yourself what it would cost you to replace

this item if it weren't included with the sale.

You may decide that some of the items on the list of inclusions are things you don't want. Once you've decided what you don't want you are in a position to pose another question ; "Since I don't want / need (whatever items you've decided you don't require) I would expect that the owner would discount their asking price by an amount equal to the value of these items - could you ask the owner ?"

You never know what answer you might get - you may even get a discount off the asking price. But you'll never know if you don't ask the question.

5 Magic Questions That Will Save You Thousands When You Buy

Question 5

"How long is the settlement period?

Would the owner like to settle quicker?"

Very often an owner will "pay" you to move quickly by allowing a sizeable discount off the asking price if you are able to settle faster than the normal six to eight weeks.

In order to take advantage of this question, however, you will need to have your financing ready to go by arranging your mortgage well before you begin to look seriously.

You'll also need to know how quickly your bank can settle the purchase. This is a key

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point as some banks can take up to a week after your solicitors have completed all the final searches to draw' the required cheques for settlement - so find out what your bank can do before committing to anything like an early settlement.

In any case an early settlement can benefit b o t h p a r t i e s a n d b e t te r st i l l e a r l y settlement may be worth a sizeable discount to the owner - all you have to do is ask.

5 Magic Questions That Will Save You Thousands When You Buy

Why these questions won't work at Prudential Real Estate

Prudential Real Estate first opened in 1988.

Over the past 20 years or more we've had the pleasure of serving literally thousands of property buyers.

And it's these same buyers who have posed these same sticky questions to our staff on many, many occasions.

Because we have had so much practice with these questions we have developed various ways to manage such questions which protect our client's best interests.

For example, questions like, "Why are the owners selling", can be answered very simply and politely by replying, "I'm sorry,

the owners have not authorised me to answer that question. Is there something else I can help you with ?"

In fact, there are diplomatic ways to answer each of these 5 questions. Ways that switch the negotiating advantage back in our favour.

The questions provided in this booklet will probably work very well when buying from another agent with less experience and skill but unfortunately they will have little value when negotiating to purchase from Prudential Real Estate.

5 Magic Questions That Will Save You Thousands When You Buy

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5 Magic Questions That Will Save You Thousands When You Buy

FREE REPORT 19 Sanity Saving Tips For Smart Property Investors

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Recipients of this report are reminded that, although due care has been taken in the preparation of the within contained material, prospective property buyers, sellers and investors are always best served by making their own independent inquiries before entering into any real estate transaction.

This report has been prepared for the sole and exclusive use of Prudential Real Estate clients and customers. The whole of the contents and design are protected by copyright.

COPYRIGHT Š Michael O'Sullivan 2001-2015

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