How to negotiate a better sale for the home you want

You've had your eye on it for weeks now. You've toured it, talked to the owners and their agent, discussed it with your agent, compared it to other homes in the area and houses in surrounding areas. You want it, it's perfect! But you also need it to come down to your price range.

With a sharp decline in the home sales market (single-family home values nationwide have fallen almost 12% since 2006 according to Standard & Poor) chances are you can get the listing price down a bit. Yes, even in Utah where we weathered the bust a bit better. SmartMoney Online says you must do five key things before negotiation begins:

Ask if there an outstanding mortgage - They probably won't take an offer lower than what they already still owe

Do your Research - If you haven't already, look up other comparable homes in the area and what they sold for. You can do this easily by going to sites like saltyhomes.com and doing a comparison search.

Find out how long the home has been for sale - This is key. Some sellers will be firm on the price for a very long time, but if it's been up for a while, they've eventually got to come down. But even if they lower the price, the more extended the period the home's been on the market still chips away at a home's value. A general rule, according to Iiona Bray, author of "Nolo's Essential Guide to Buying Your First Home" is if it's been on sale for two to three weeks you can cut the price by 10%. And, if it's been at least three months, deduct 15% to 20%.


Request other financial incentives - If the seller won't budge on asking price, there are still deals to be made, especially now. Requesting that a seller pay for closing costs or split escrow costs, for example, is common among buyers these days. Also, if there are repairs to be made a buyer can ask for cash towards the cost of those repairs.

Take a different tack with new home construction - New home buyers can now get $6000 in grant money from our great state of Utah out of a new bill passed in this last legislative session. This helps because new home builders are usually less willing to budge on asking price. The best way to get a deal out of them is to take them up on other offers such as furnishing the home or a big screen TV. According to SmartMoney, "When builders are selling identical units they would rather throw in incentives and keep the list price up so others buy [the identical units] for the same price."

Want more help on negotiating down that listing price from a pro? You're in luck. I am available. Call Tony Fantis at 801-541-8806 to help you get into that house you've had your eye on today.