Having a great agent is no guarantee that you are going to get the house you’ve always wanted. Lucky for you, we’re here to help. We’ve rounded up a couple of useful negotiation tips for investors and interested home buyers who want to buy New Jersey houses for sale without overpaying.
1. Think With a Clear Mind
As much as you may love the house that you’re looking at right now, don’t let emotions cloud your mind. Write down a list of must-haves and make sure that you stick to them. Don’t let a few additional amenities make you go past your budget. Stick to only what you need, and more importantly, what you can afford.
2. Do Some Digging
The best real estate investors are master investigators. Although you can always ask your Hudson real estate agent for help regarding certain info, it’s best that you know where and how to search for the data you need.
The county property appraiser’s website, for example, is a great start. You can find sales history and construction dates, among others, there. You can also ask your agent to provide you with a Comparative Market Analysis to help give you a better idea about the average prices of properties in the area.
This way, you prevent yourself from making an over that’s far higher than the average price.
3. Find Out Why They Are Selling
While a seller most likely will not tell you just how long they’ve been trying to sell the property, such information is available on the MLS or Zillow. If It’s been months and the price has dropped considerably, you can actually try convincing them to accept a lower offer by promising to buy the house right there and then. Conversely, you can buy a property for a lower price if you can assure the seller that you can buy their house before their “sell-by” date.
People who need to sell right away are more likely to be willing to accept a lower offer.
4. Inspect Thoroughly
This will be your first chance to truly negotiate the house’s price, so make sure that you do it as thoroughly as possible.
Bring an inspector with you, as well as your Hudson real estate agent. Ask for their input all throughout and lay out a plan beforehand about how much you’re going to try to negotiate for a particular type of damage. Remember, some sellers just want to sell the house as fast as possible, so you can always negotiate for a lower sale price if you offer to buy the house without asking them to do any repairs. However, make sure that the cost of repairs is considerably lower than the amount you try to negotiate off of the initial price.
If you really are interested in buying the property, it may be worth it to hire an experienced inspector. Though more expensive to hire, they are more knowledgeable than the typical inspector and can do things such as check what’s behind the walls and the condition of the septic tank, among others.
5. Get a Good Agent
The best agents are the ones that aren’t after a high buying price, but those who go to great lengths to make sure that they can negotiate a house to the lowest price possible. On that note, do try to keep your agent informed whenever you want to or already have tried to negotiate and discuss the terms with the seller.
6. Crunch the Numbers
$10,000 may not seem like a lot, but your monthly dues may show otherwise. Even just a $1,000 difference between prices can change your mortgage considerably. So, before settling for a slightly higher offer than you expected, ask your lender to run the numbers first for you so you know exactly what you’re getting yourself into.
7. Set an Ultimatum
Make it clear that your offer doesn’t stand forever. The seller should know that you’re ready to move on at a moment’s notice if they take too long to decide.
There are plenty of New Jersey houses for sale these days. Perhaps, it’s only natural that you’ll be interested on snatching one up, whether as an investment or to live in. Regardless, make sure that you keep these negotiation tips in mind so you can get the most out of your money.
