The Insider's Guide To Selling Your Home By Owner- Rocio Fausto I | Page 46

lower price.
Don't fall for it. You've already made the first move by
setting a price for your home. Tell the buyers that you need to
think it over and get back to them.
Then, ask them what they like about your home. If they tell
you, then you can determine their motivation to buy your home.
After that, ask them what they are thinking of offering on your
home.
The reason this rule is so important is that in some
negotiations you may offer more at the beginning than the
other party is willing to accept.
Here is an example of this. A person I know was trying to
buy something. He had a price in mind that he was willing to pay.
He thought the best price he could get was $1,500, but he was
willing to pay up to $2,000.
He asked the seller what he wanted for the item. The seller
responded that he didn't know what he wanted. He offered the
seller $1,500 and the seller accepted it.
Later on he learned that the seller was desperate. The seller
had a price in mind of $800 to $1,000.
If the seller had mentioned an opening price first, then
he would have saved $500! Instead he lost $500.

Common Negotiating Mistake #5:
Letting your ego get involved.
What is your final goal? You want to sell your property
quickly for top dollar, right? Keep that goal in mind during the
entire negotiation.
I have seen people kill a potential top dollar sale simply
because they didn't like the buyer. Or, the buyer started
negotiations with a lowball offer and the seller got offended.
"I refuse to negotiate with someone who insulted me with
that lowball offer", they said. And a good buyer moved on to buy
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