You may feel you have no negotiation skills and are dreading it when it comes time as a buyer to do this step. These skills are very important. When buying a house, it is pretty much expected for the buyer to negotiate the asking price.

Basically, the best preparation one can do is to be informed. For example, with some personal research or data from a real estate agent on how much similar homes have sold for in the market within the year, one can be able to use these prices as basis for your offer.

Don’t forget to use the results of a home inspection to use. Inspection findings such as items for repair or replacement can be points for negotiation.

Another thing that could be helpful during negotiations is you need to know the reason why they are selling. One can obtain this information by having your agent ask the seller’s agent or ask around the neighborhood.

You also need to determine if it’s a seller’s or buyer’s market. What makes it a buyer’s market is when the seller needs to move soon. Houses tend to stay on the market for a while when the real estate is slow.

When it’s the seller’s market it’s a lot harder to drop the price during negotiations. Some reasons as to why this is, is because other houses are selling at asking price, or the market has rapid sales.

In the heat of negotiations, one must not forget to take into consideration emotional appeal on the seller’s end. For example, a buyer can make the seller feel that their home will be in good hands.

In conclusion, being informed is key to put the buyer in a better position during negotiations. One should also be prepared that negotiations will take some time than originally estimated since offers and counter offers are likely to go back and forth until both buyer and seller agree.

This author has been contributing articles on buying homes for the past three years. Additionally, this individual likes providing knowledge on New York neighborhoods, such as Battery Park City apartments as well as Greenwich Village apartments.

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