Buying property can be exciting, scary and frustrating.
It can happen quickly or it can take months or even years of searching.
If you’re an investor, you crunch the numbers and set your budget, and you’re generally ok with losing out to another buyer if the property ends up out of your price range.
However, if you’re buying a property for your family to live in, it can be a little harder to stay neutral when dealing with a selling agent and submitting offers.
9/10 times a buyer will give away way more information than they need to.
Here’s what not to say to an agent
“I’m a terrible negotiator”.
So are a lot of real estate agents but you’ll never hear them confessing that to you.
You don’t have to be a gun negotiator to purchase a home for a fair price, however, you do have to be smart with the information you share with the selling agent.
Telling them you don’t feel comfortable negotiating and you’re in fact bad at it, will do you no favours.
Any agent that’s worth the money they’re being paid by their client, will use this to their best advantage to play you.
“I’ve missed out on so many properties”.
Don’t let an agent know that you’ve been looking for a while and have missed out on multiple properties.
They will interpret this as you being desperate to buy and there is a high chance they will play on those emotions, which means getting you to pay more.
“I’m cashed up and ready to buy”
Don’t tell an agent that you’re cashed up ready to buy as there is a chance you’ll end up paying more for the property than you need to.
Sometimes people will let their ego take over and boast that they have plenty of money to spend, if these words come out of your mouth I guarantee you will end up paying more than you need to.
“This is exactly what we’ve been looking for”
It’s great to let an agent know you’re serious and we don’t encourage people to play games, but you need to hold your cards a little closer to your chest when negotiating.
Don’t go over the top when saying how much you like the place as you lose any bargaining power you may have had if the agent knows you’re already sold.
“But let me know as I may be able to go a little higher”
If an agent hears that phrase come out of your mouth guess what? You’ll be going a little higher.
Be confident, submit your offer and wait to hear back from the agent.
So next time you’re house hunting and getting ready to submit an offer don’t give away your power by saying things you don’t need to.
