| Real Estate & Property Management Services

For shoppers, here's the dream: there are no negotiations, forget about negotiating, and instead you can spend your valuable time worrying about paint colors and moving companies.

And it could develop. We know that, several home sellers accept any offer they gaze upon, and in Falls Church for various rationale. Conversely, owners are also known to reject offers for heaps of reasons. Or make counteroffers. A counteroffer is particularly certain if you make a very low offer, or when there are multiple offers. When the purchaser receives a counter-offer, it’s up to the home shopper to decide whether to accept the new contract, negotiate the terms, or walk away.

When negotiates are underway, as your real estate adviser, please talk to me. I will be your spirit guide to real estate negotiations in 22046 in Falls Church, if you want to haggle with the seller. By this I mean that I will use my experience and negotiating skills as we craft a series of offers and counter-offers to help get you the most compatible deal on your aspirational purchase. This is what I do every day. As events unfold, you’re not just going to sit there. I’ll help you understand the negotiating conventions we will deploy. Those tactics will vary depending upon the home but in 22046 here are some basics we come back to time and time again. In Falls Church, let's examine a few ideas every property hunter should see before negotiations begin:

Raise Your Price (Within Reason)
Even though you don’t want to overpay for a house, you have to keep in mind that you may end up having to increase your offer, particularly if your first one was on the low end. Let your agent’s expertise guide you in helping you determine how much you should increase your offer by to make it more appealing to the seller. As your realtor, I’ll use similarly priced “comps” – homes in your area that have recently sold and are similar in terms of square footage and features – to persuade the seller to see the appeal of your offer. Negotiations may escalate quickly and be stressful for you, and you may feel like doing whatever you have to do to get your hands on that home, but you will have to keep several things in mind in order to keep yourself from going overboard:
- No matter what, you can’t exceed the monetary confines of the amount for which you were pre-approved.
- You should, under no circumstances, exceed your budget.
- You don’t want to buy a home and then not be able to enjoy it, so you’ll want to make sure your counteroffer is an amount that you’re comfortable spending so that you still have money to spend on living.
- Remember, you’re not out of options yet.
Listen to your Gut – and your Agent When you are in the middle of negotiations with a seller and you get a bad feeling in the pit of your stomach – or you get advice from your agent – indicating that something is wrong, you should listen. Don’t be afraid to walk away from a deal, especially if your agent advises you to do so. If you’ve already made negotiations, don’t want to make any more trades, and the seller won’t budge, sometimes walking away is the best decision to make. It won’t be easy because negotiating is hard and draining, But once those feelings of frustration pass, you’ll be better at negotiating and you’ll realize that you know how to do this.
Pick Up the Cost of the Home Warranty
Sometimes sellers offer prospective buyers a home warranty. This is a plan that covers the cost of repairing major home appliances and systems, like the air conditioner or hot water heater, if they break down within a certain period (typically a year after closing). A basic home warranty costs about $300 to $600 a year, according to Angie’s List. If it seems like waiving the home warranty can sweeten negotiations, but you still want the peace of mind of having one, tell the seller they don’t need to cover it — then buy it yourself. Just keep in mind, whether you or the seller buy the warranty, you’ll need to pay the service fee (typically between $50 and $100) if something does, indeed, need to be repaired while under warranty. Also, FYI: A home warranty is entirely separate from homeowners insurance. Homeowners insurance — the security blanket that covers your home’s structure and possessions in the event of a fire, storm, flood, or other accident — is required if you take out a mortgage. It can cost anywhere from $300 to $1,000 per year.