Selling your house is likely one of the major financial transactions you will tackle in your lifetime. So keep in mind that the price you agree on with a client, along with broker fees or simply the realtor commissions you pay, will determine the amount of money you make.

 

Therefore, being tough when selling your property may guarantee a few more hundred, or maybe thousands, of dollars. Speaking of playing hardball, we have put together some key negotiating tactics that could put you in control and help you earn the top dollar in the US and Canadian markets.

Main Takeaways

-        One hardball trick is to stick to the first list price in your first counteroffer, or just reject an offer even without proposing a counteroffer.

-        To facilitate a sense of competition, you should accept offers only after an open house.

-        When tailoring a counteroffer, consider adding an expiry date to it to force a quick response.

Try These Negotiating Tactics When Selling Your Property

Countering at Your List Price

As the seller, you probably won't wish to accept a potential client's offer on your property if the amount is less than your asking price. Clients often expect a back-and-forth negotiation, and as such, their first offer will always be lower than what you're asking. However, it may be less than what they are willing to pay you in the end.

 

Most sellers at this point will opt for a counteroffer with a higher price, yet still below their list price. This is often because they are afraid of losing the potential sale and want to look flexible and willing to bargain to close the deal. This tactic surely works in terms of getting your property sold, as dozens of sellers can attest. However, this is not necessarily the best way to go if you want to earn the top dollar.

Therefore, instead of reducing your price, counter by sticking to your initial buying price. If they truly want to buy your property, they'll stay engaged and come back with a better offer. And assuming that you started by pricing your property fairly, countering at your list price means you're aware of what it's worth and you intend to earn what you deserve.

 

This, however, might surprise any buyer—and some can even be turned off by your hesitance or unwillingness to negotiate. Using this hardball strategy means you're risking having a buyer walk away. But, you're also avoiding wasting a lot of time on clients who make lowball offers and won't close a deal unless they get a bargain.

 

Further, the best way to counter at your list price is to counter only slightly below it—conceding by something like $1000, for example. Use this process when you want to be tough but are afraid that appearing too inflexible could also turn off potential buyers.

Rejecting an Offer

If you are tough enough, you can try a negotiation technique that is more intense than countering at your list price. Rejecting the offer—and not countering it at all. But to keep the buyers in the game, ask them to submit a new offer after rejecting the first. If they are truly interested and you clearly didn't turn them off, they'll definitely submit a new offer.

This tactic sends a stronger signal and a clear indication that you know what your property is worth and that's what you want. So, if they resubmit, it will be with a higher offer, unless they want to play hardball and submit the same, or even a much lower offer, which happens frequently.

 

Not countering means you are not ethically locked into a negotiation with any buyers, and you can accept another offer (a better one) if it comes along. For a potential buyer, knowing that another client might show up soon with a better offer creates the pressure to submit a more competitive offer sooner.

 

This bargaining tactic is especially useful if you have an open house coming up, or if your property has recently been listed on the market.

Creating a Bidding War

Speaking of open houses—embrace the idea and use them as a vital part of your strategy. After making all the crucial marketing efforts, that is: establishing eye appeal, staging your home, getting professional real estate photographs; floor plans, 3D virtual tours, and making your property available to be shown, plan an open house for some days later.

Don't consider any offers until after the open house. As a result, many potential buyers will anticipate competition and might be tempted to submit a competitive offer. Once you get a few potentials, you can go back to the top bidders and ask for their best offers. Usually, the open house may permit one offer, but the one offering it won't certainly know about it.

 

So, you'll have a psychological advantage going forward with counteroffers and so on. In addition, while it's always possible to field different offers on a property from multiple buyers simultaneously, accepting a better deal from a new bidder while negotiating with other buyers is considered unethical.

Include Expiration Dates on Your Counteroffer(s)

Firstly, let's assume that someone has submitted an offer that you obviously don't want to accept, and you have decided to counter that offer. You clearly get involved in a negotiation with that buyer. While you can get involved with multiple buyers at the same time, which is not illegal, it is generally considered unethical to accept a new offer from another buyer when you're in the middle of another negotiation.

If you're interested in selling your house fast, consider adding expiration dates to your counteroffers. This tactic will oblige the buyer to make a decision, so you can get your property under contract or just move on. But don't set a very short deadline that turns off a potential buyer.

 

However, you can make it shorter than the usual time frame in your state's standard real estate contract. For example, if, say, the usual expiry date is 3-days… then you could consider reducing yours to 2 or even 1 day. In addition to closing the deal fast, there is another reason that pushes you to make a quick decision. Let me explain.

 

While a counteroffer is outstanding, your property is effectively out of the market. So no one else will submit an offer when another negotiation is taking place. If that deal fails, you have added time to the official number of days your property has been on the market. And the more your property stays on the market, the less attractive it appears and the more likely you're to reduce your initial asking price to get a buyer.

The Bottom Line

The key to enforcing these bargaining tactics successfully is that you must provide a superior product. Your property needs to show well. It needs to be in excellent condition. And it must have something else that the competition doesn't have if you want to have the upper hand during a negotiation.

 

Remember, if they are not excited about your property, your hardball strategy won't cause them to up their game. And you'll either accept their offers or see them walking away. Sometimes you might have a great home that could earn you more money, but you just didn't provide the best first impression to attract high-paying buyers.

 

Nothing beats an offer that is well presented. And showing your property the right way to the world takes more than just a few photos. Investing some money in professional real estate photography, among other crucial elements of successful marketing, might just be the difference between closing any deal and closing a great deal.