Page 138 - Selling secrets 5 18 2023

DON’T BE MOVED BY AWKWARD SILENCE

When you are negotiating, and the buyer makes an offer,
don’t feel compelled to respond immediately. Whether it be
10 seconds or 10 minutes, make the buyer or his agent
speak first. They may see your silence as disappointment
and choose to revise the offer or offer a concession just to
break the silence. Do not let experienced negotiators use
this tactic to get you to accept successively lower offers
without a counteroffer from you and your agent.

DO LEARN WHAT MOTIVATES THE BUYER

Sometimes buying agents will work to learn why you want
to sell your home. Agents know that sellers want to go to
escrow only once.

If the buyer is advised to demand a lower price because of
minor defects discovered during a third-party home
inspection, they will use this as a negotiating tool. More
importantly, an agent for the buyer may advise his client to
offer the asking price, knowing that minor flaws exist, only
to demand reductions bringing the offer down to what the
buyer wanted to pay.

Knowing that situations like this happen, don’t let the
process of selling your home wear you out. Don’t
compromise your time and effort to keep things moving in
escrow. Your listing agent should suggest a home inspection
before you list to avoid trouble when negotiating the sale.

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