How to Buy a House in Detroit | 10 Ways to Negotiate Like a Pro – Part 2

Thanks for checking out part two on my talk on negotiation tips.

If you haven’t checked out part one yet, you can check it out here:

How to Buy a House in Detroit | 10 Ways to Negotiate Like a Pro

I’ll pick up where I left-off in part one…

Knowing the Buyer

Let’s say you’re the homeowner. As the homeowner, you want to know as much as you can about that potential buyer.

The more you know about them, their motivations and so forth, the better.

In negotiating, it’s not always about the money; it’s more about solving the other person’s problems or needs.

So the more you know about the other party and their problems, the more you can tailor your offer in a way that will address their problems.

Train ‘Em

It’s funny, but you can actually train the other party subconsciously to do what you want them to do.

This only works if they’re someone you’re going to be negotiating with more in the future, though.

So going back to our example, let’s say I offered you $60,000 on your house.

Let’s say you respond with, “OK, as long as you close in seven days.”

Then I say, “I’ll close in 5 days, if we can get the price down to $58,000.

Did You Catch It?

Assuming that we’re going to do business on a continual basis, what I’m doing here, is training you to stop asking for stuff once I’ve met or surpassed what you’re already looking for.

This tactic can put a little bit of fear in the mind of the other party; it teaches them to stop asking once their needs or goals are met.

Conflict is Good

When we got my wife’s truck, I went to the dealership with this big, long negotiation plan.

I was ready for war.

I made my first offer, and the dude at the dealership basically said, “Deal.”

I felt like an idiot.

I felt like I got robbed!

I wanted to back out of the deal altogether.

I didn’t, but I wanted to.

You see, when it comes to a negotiation, both parties need to leave it feeling like they were able to haggle a little bit for what the want.

If it’s too easy to get to a resolution, there’s a good chance that at least one of the parties involved is going to feel like they got shafted.

So if you negotiate a price and the negotiation goes too smoothly, and the other party ends up backing out, think back to how the negotiation process went.

If it went by without much negotiating taking place, there’s a good chance that this is why.

Respond Quickly to Counteroffers

This is especially true for people that are potentially buying the property.

Regardless of whether the market is hot or not, reply ASAP to counteroffers.

If you don’t you’re giving another person a chance to get in on the deal, or snatch it from you altogether.

Play Nice

I hear horror stories from home sellers all the time that talk about how other investors were flat-out jerks to them.

I guess they feel like they can talk to the homeowner “any type of way” just because the person is motivated to sell.

That’s just flat-out wrong. How would you feel if someone treated “your” mom or grandma that way? I know I wouldn’t be pleased.

So just be nice.

If you’re paying cash for the house, you’re already getting it at a discount, geez.

I like to sweeten the deal sometimes, by offering to clean up the house when they move out, or even letting the seller choose the closing date.

Karma is real.

Adjust Your Attitude

When I first started out in real estate, I used to look at negotiating as being an uncomfortable experience.

I used to feel like I was going into battle or something.

Luckily I underwent a paradigm shift at some point.

Nowadays, I look at the negotiating process as two parties working towards a common goal; and that common goal is the selling of the property at a price that’s fair for both parties.

This change in my viewpoint has changed the tone of most of my negotiations from “competition,” to one of “cooperation.”

And believe you-me, there’s a huge difference between the two.

Hey, I appreciate you checking this post out, hopefully you found some useful stuff in it.

What other tips would you recommend when it comes to buying or selling a house? Leave a comment!