One of the biggest regrets you’d have after buying a home is you didn’t negotiate. When it comes to a transaction as big as buying a home, negotiation can help you save thousands of dollars. And you will never know whether you can save or not until you open a negotiation. But how to do it in a way without offending the property seller whilst maximizing your chances of winning?
This is where a professional home inspection service can help — negotiating after a home inspection makes sense. Here’s why.
When you order a thorough home inspection, and the report comes through with several defects – that’s your opportunity to break that ‘fixed price quote’ and swing the deal in your favour.
What happens during a home inspection?
It is important to know the nitty-gritty details of a home inspection so you can be fully prepared and confident while striking a negotiation.
A home inspection outlines every minor and major issue about the property, along with the course and cost of fixing them. These include plumbing, electrical, foundational and other structural aspects of the building.
How to open negotiations?
At each end of the deal, there’s a person who tries to frame these structural issues to their advantage. But as a buyer, you have the leading edge because it’s difficult for a seller to use structural defects against you.
Based on facts and findings, you can demand concessions from the seller in lieu of the repairs that will be required before moving in. But this is where most buyers let the other party win by making a rookie mistake.
If you walk up to the seller with a list of issues, both big and small, you are allowing them to trade dollar for pennies. They might come back to you after fixing almost all the minor issues, leaving the expensive ones untouched. This puts them in a position to say, “I have already fixed the majority of issues; now I can’t do any more.”
Don’t shoot yourself in the foot. Let the seller take care of those expensive repairs while you can take credit for fixing the many minor ones. This way, you can pull in a higher concession.
Having leverage is fine, but don’t use it to beat the seller into submission. That never works in such deals, especially when they have a pool of potential buyers ready to buy.
Always keep kind words handy and don’t hesitate to give appreciation where it’s due. This will help you build a strong rapport with the seller and ease them into a deal however you may want to frame.
