Real Estate Negotiation Secrets

When you bought your home, you offered less than you were willing to pay, right? That's the most common negotiation technique. For experienced investors, however, that's just one little secret among the many more powerful ones. What else can you do?

How To Make An Offer

1. Offer an odd amount, like $161,793. This gives the impression that you know something the seller doesn't. They may think you have a good reason for that particular price.

2. Play dumb. Ask questions, talk slow, ask for help, and never show off your real estate expertise. Sellers are afraid to budge if they think a smarter person may be taking advantage of them.

3. Use the "limited authority" ploy. Say "I'll have to check with my wife (or partner)." It's easier for sellers to accept that you can't do something, rather than the idea that you won't.

4. Refer to precedent. "My father bought his house this way." If the offer is at all unusual, sellers will feel more comfortable if they know it has been done that way before.

5. Ask for things you don't want. This lets the seller win concessions when negotiating. If you can say, "I guess I don't need the refrigerator, if I can get my price," you're more likely to get your price.

6. Be reluctant. "well, I don't know..." Reluctance gets the seller looking for ways to motivate you, and lets him feel like he's won something when you settle the point.

7. Make the offer their idea. "Are you saying you'd like a later closing, and more earnest money? Well let's do it your way, then. I just need..."

8. Get a yes before the offer. "What if I paid your price, but got my terms? Would that work for you?" Even with a few changes, it will be hard for the seller to say no to an offer he more or less already agreed to.

9. Flatter the seller. Flattery has been proven to be worth an average of $1962 in real estate negotiations. That's a joke, by the way, but you know if he likes you, you'll probably get a better deal.

10. Pass over problems, and return to them later. Agree on every agreeable point first. It will feel like the house is sold then, and it will be difficult for a seller to lose the deal over an issue or two that you need to go in your favor.

You can spend a lot of time looking for cheap houses. Why not spend a little time learning how to purchase every home for less, with some smart negotiation?

Steve Gillman has invested real estate for years. To learn more, and to see a photo of a beautiful house he and his wife bought for $17,500, visit http://www.HousesUnderFiftyThousand.com

More than 40 states signed onto a proposed $25-billion deal with major mortgage servicers over faulty foreclosure practices. New York, Nevada and Delaware joined California in holding out for better terms.

More than 40 states signed onto a proposed $25-billion settlement with major mortgage servicers over faulty foreclosure procedures, but California, New York and other key states were still not among them.

California has until Monday to share in a multi-state deal with banks to obtain mortgage relief and reforms. Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris, who walked away from talks last year, says the door remains open.

With a Monday deadline at hand, California officials have resumed direct talks with the Obama administration about joining a multibillion-dollar, multi-state mortgage settlement with the nation's largest banks, a source said Sunday.

The talk show host pays $12 million for the 4,088-square-foot house with four bedrooms and four bathrooms. The ocean-view home sits on 1.26 bluff-top acres with beach access.

In one of the more talked-about transactions in town, actors Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have sold their Malibu beach house to daytime host and comedian Ellen De Generes for $12 million.

The four-bedroom, five-bathroom house built in 1920 for industrialist James Wigmore lists for $2,875,000.

A decorative cast stone entrance opens to this restored Spanish Colonial Revival-style house in Pasadena's South Orange Grove area. Built in 1920 for industrialist James Wigmore, the house retains such original details as coffered wood ceilings and arched doorways.

They don't believe they can sell their property for what it's worth, so they're spending money on making their homes more comfortable.

Do you fit any of these descriptions?

A biennial research report by the National Assn. of Realtors indicates that a handful of real estate agents and brokers and their clients either don't know the law or don't care to follow it.

When it comes to lawsuits, real estate agents and brokers tangle mostly among themselves.

The president aims to help about 3.5 million people with good credit who are unable to refinance at historically low rates because their homes are worth less than their mortgages.

 

The White House hopes to help millions of homeowners lower their monthly mortgage bill with a $5 billion to $10 billion plan to set up a streamlined refinancing program for people who are current on their payments.

The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller index of 20 large U.S. cities fell 1.3% in November from October as foreclosures continue to drag down the housing market.

Three straight months of home-price declines in the biggest U.S. cities showed that foreclosures remain a significant drag on a housing market that is entering its fifth year of deterioration.

L.A. Clipper Chris Paul may be quick down the court, but he moves pretty fast when it comes to buying multimillion-dollar real estate too.