If you are planning on buying a new home read this blog. Every new homeowner can benefit from the tips on how to negotiate on your new purchase, and where to find the wiggle room.

Buying a new home? How to find the wiggle room

Given that it’s likely to be the most expensive thing that you ever buy take time before buying a new home. It’s natural that you might want to find some space to negotiate when you’re buying a home. Care must be taken when you’re talking about buying prices, especially on homes that have a high demand for them. However, there’s usually some wiggle room to be found. Here, we’re going to look at a few tips on negotiation strategies and how you can find the room you need.

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Have a firm sticking point

The most important thing is not how low you can get the seller to go, but how much you’re willing to pay. You have to be as firm as a rock on this one point if you want negotiations to go well. You need to know how much you’re willing to spend on a new home. Some homes that tick every single one of your boxes can get you to go a little higher than you might like, but you should make sure that you never go beyond that firm line. This means being willing to say no even after a long round of negotiations and even after the seller lets you know that it’s as good as yours if you’re willing to go up just a little bit more.

Do your research on an area

You’re not just buying a property, you’re buying the location that it’s in, as well. To that end, if you’re seriously considering a property and you have the time to do it, then you should look at the sale prices of homes in the same area. If possible, you want to look at homes that have the same attributes, such as size, number of rooms, and so on. There are other aspects that can affect the price, such as timing, condition, and any investments made into the property. However, looking at the recent sale data in the area can help you find a scale that you should be willing to pay within.

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Get all the details you’re missing

You might be able to come to some conclusions about the home yourself after taking a look through it. However, you’re not going to know the truth of its condition or any of the hidden issues that might be lurking underneath the surface without a building survey. A survey can highlight a host of issues that may require repairs. The average buyer who doesn’t get a survey pays over £3k on repairs. As such, uncovering issues in need of work can help you. You can either negotiate on price or can encourage the owner to fix it up before they sell it. 

Know who is selling the home

Who is selling the home does actually make something of a difference to you, or at least, it should. If the owner is selling through an agent, then there might not be too much advantage to gain out of that. However, if they are selling, themselves, then you should bear that in mind. When you sell through an agent, you typically pay up to 3% of the money earned to the agent. However, if they’re selling without an agent, then they don’t have that cost to worry about. As such, you should technically be able to get them to lower the price by up to 3%. If they’re making savings, then it only makes sense that you should, too, right?

When buying a new home consider timing your offer

This can be a risky strategy. Sometimes, a home can be sold quickly even  before you have the chance to act. However, if a home is lingering on the market you might have an advantage in negotiation. The seller may be keen to sell. But if you can wait even longer, you might be able to push this advantage yet further. For instance, Winter is typically a bad time for sellers. There are fewer people willing to go out and look at homes in the Winter. Of course, this means that it’s a good time for you since you have the extra pressure of a home that’s getting even fewer viewers due to the cold, which can help you make your offer more affordable.

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Be an easy buyer

Good negotiation is not just about pressing what advantages you have, or what weaknesses you think the buyer has. Sometimes, if you’re able to make their life easier, that can work in your favour. To that end, being an easy buyer is always a good idea when you find your ideal home. If you’re able to show that you already have a mortgage prepared that you’re just waiting to sign off on, if you have a conveyancer waiting to take over for you, and if you don’t have any other financial chains keeping you down, then you might be able to get them to lower the price for the sheer convenience of it all. Buying in cash can also have much the same effect to an even further degree, but that option is not very likely for most buyers.

Realise when you have no room

Of course, things aren’t always going to be in your favour. Sometimes, you have to accept that the buyer is going to get the price that they want. And be aware, may even get more than that if a bidding war starts. Of course, this is mostly only going to happen to properties that have a lot of interest around them. If that’s the case, then you might have to either get competitive with the others looking at it, try and wait it out and hope the buyers fizzle out, or move on to the next property.

Final word on what to consider when buying a new house

It’s important to always keep in mind the context that you’re negotiating in. Sometimes, there’s not much room to alter the price of a home at all. If you get the right opportunity, however, striking while the iron is hot can get you to lower those prices down by quite a bit.

FURTHER READING FOR HOMEOWNERS & PETOWNERS

At Housesitmatch.com we like to offer useful and practical articles on topics for our readers. In this selection we offer you a number of suitable pieces from our own blog on renovating and decorating a home.

New home construction vs home renovations

Dream home – How to build your own

New home features you didn’t know you would want

Housesitters keep pets safe at home and save money

What a housesitter does – Top 10 responsibilities