Knowing How to Get the Best Deal Possible on Your New House With the housing market being at an all time low, this has introduced a great deal of room when it comes to being able to bargain and negotiate on prices. By doing your research and keeping the opposing real estate agent on their toes, you can avoid being taken advantage of. So how do you know what shape your market is in? Economists believe that real estate is closely tied to employment, so if you are in an area of growing employment, do not expect to see double-digit depreciation anytime soon.
Getting a Good Deal There are a few different tricks and tips you can use to ensure that you get a good deal. Consider trying one or two of them, in addition to your own research, and you will be happy that you did. First of all, human nature is the biggest problem for sellers and buyers to overcome in a changing market. Prices stagnate or drop a few percentage points, and it is very interesting how different buyers and sellers react. For the most part, sellers still think their house is special and different, and immune to the market. Buyers figure every seller is about to be foreclosed on and make ridiculous lowball offers. Smart buyers do their homework, know what size home they need, how much they can afford, and then search the market for what they want and negotiate fairly. If you do this, you will avoid a lot of back and forth bantering about cost that leads to nowhere. Next, when you make an offer, know the recent comparable sales—this can end up being a great bargaining tool. Make an offer up to fifteen thousand dollars under what the last one sold for. Even in this market, if you insult your seller, they will not want to deal with you. Sellers know what the last one sold for—you need to give them enough interest that they will consider it. You need to find out as much as you can about the motivations behind the person who’s home you are interested in. This could include whether they are going through retirement, a job change, divorce, or just an interest in moving somewhere bigger or nicer.
Ideal Time to Buy If a buyer knows the seller’s motivation, they can negotiate a better deal or move on to the next property. They may also get a better deal, as some people are looking to get a sale pushed through quickly, depending on the circumstances.
Next, remember that after fifty to sixty days the person selling is usually absolutely sick of keeping their house spotless and sick of people walking through it. This is when they may be the most anxious about selling their house, as traffic to their house has likely fallen sharply—you can jump on this opportunity. Unless you are incredibly handy and have time and cash, go after houses that are as updated as you can afford. This is easier to do in a stagnant or falling market and fixers are not usually discounted enough to be worthwhile, despite what you may hear. There is usually more that needs to be done to the house than you think. In a tighter market, it is not too much to ask the homeowner to add the closing costs to the price of the house. It is better to put twenty percent down and add the closing costs to the loan, than put fifteen percent down and pay the costs upfront. You could even try asking them to fund new kitchen appliances, or even a washer and dryer. Throwing in these little items can make it a much better deal for you. However, do not ask them to paint the home for you, or do other handy work. Chances are, they will do a quick and sloppy job since they are not invested in the outcome at all. They will generally choose the cheapest people possible to do the job, and the work may suffer. If you follow these rules, you may be able to get a much better home than you would be able to afford, if you did not do any research. Make sure that you know your market, and make reasonable offers. Photo Credit: Ayla87, svilen001