The Insider's Guide To Selling Your Home By Owner- Rocio Fausto I | Page 44
because of the X (insert a unique feature of your town.) Do they
have an X where you live now?"
That will start the conversation about where they are
moving from. You can learn a lot from what they say. It will be
helpful during the negotiations. You would be amazed at what
some people will tell you.
Common Negotiating Mistake #2:
Meeting in the middle.
(This is the most common mistake that novice home sellers
make.) It's the easiest way to sell your home for $5,000 to
$10,000 less than you should. I don't want to come across cocky,
but meeting in the middle is really lame.
It's the most common thing that everyone does and the
problem is that everyone thinks they have to do it. That's a big
mistake. There is no rule book that says you have to "meet in the
middle."
Here is a quick story that illustrates this. A home was on the
market for $240,000. The buyers made an offer for $220,000.
The agent told the seller to reject the offer and told the other
agent that they should come back with a better offer. (The house
had only been on the market for 2 days.)
The buyer came back and "Met in the middle" with a
$230,000 offer. The agent knew they were serious buyers and
really wanted the house.
The seller thought the buyer was being a good person by
"meeting in the middle." He was willing to accept the $230,000
offer.
The agent told him to give a little, but not "meet in the
middle." He recommended that he counter at $237,500 and see
what happened.
The buyers came back with $235,000 and after some more
negotiations the buyer and seller agreed on $237,000. So, what
can you take from this.
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