Meeting With The Sellers

I hope you’re still hanging in there, getting your list of numbers and calling home sellers. If you are, you have probably found one or two by now and said to yourself, “Self, now what?”.

Now you go to their home, meet them, look around and determine if this is the home you want.

During your inspection, don’t be afraid to ask questions. How old is the roof? The appliances? When was the last time they had a plumber out? How long ago was the deck treated? Look at the paint, in and out. Everyone spruces up a home to sell it but is new paint covering something up that they are trying to hide?

You don’t need to go into your inspection to the utmost degree, but don’t just pass it off as a bother either. After you get a deal signed, you’ll want to hire a professional home inspector to do a thorough inspection to protect yourself. If the home is appealing to you, you really want to get to know as much about it as you can.

OK. You found a home you like and you are with the owners. Now what?

If you followed our earlier advice, you are meeting with a home owner who is really motivated to sell. Not someone who would just like to sell. Right?

They have a problem and need to get out. And they’re hoping you can get them on their way. So you need to find a mutually agreeable price and terms. Please note, price and terms are not the same.

On the phone you asked them what their asking price was and I presume you would not be in the home if the price was not somewhere in your ball park. But keep in mind the asking price is just that; an asking price. It doesn’t mean they really expect to get it. Especially since they have a problem of some kind and need to move.

If their asking price was a real bargain, the house probably would have sold by now. And if they have to settle on selling to an investor, they will probably end up with only 70 per cent at most of what the home is worth.

At this stage, the seller is waiting for you to make an offer or counter to their price offering.

Don’t Do It!

Your First Rule of Negotiation should be: Don’t Make an Offer!

You can ask questions about their price. How they arrived at it, how long they have had their mortgage, what their payments are, etc., but don’t come out an offer a price. As mentioned in my post of 03/23/06 on Subject-2, you might start by asking “Would it help if we just took over your payments?” They might just say “Would you?”.

If they say no, there are several alternatives which we will explore in future posts. Stay tuned!

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