Negotiating A Sale FSBO With The Right Attitude

Negotiating the deal is an area where many FSBO home sellers come unstuck. Regardless of whether you are negotiating through an agent, or directly with the buyer, it can prove to be the most costly part of the whole house selling exercise. The wrong attitude or a simple “slip of the tongue” could cost you “big time!”

To negotiate successfully will take patience, skill and most of all, perseverance.

It pays therefore, to start with the right attitude. Some people come unstuck, by what the buyer sees as a “pig-headed”, or “dogmatic” attitude to selling. Sometimes the seller has an inflated opinion of his or her own importance, or of the value of the property, and takes a “take it or leave it” approach. If the buyer is highly motivated, or desperate, they may “take it.” However, there is always the likelihood that the buyer will “leave it” and go on to buy another property instead.

At the other end of the scale is the seller who adopts a rather “laid-back” attitude to the proceedings. Whilst this kind of low-key approach can relax a buyer into believing the seller to be “not a pushy salesperson”, it can work against the seller. Again, the buyer might get the impression that the seller has a “take it or leave it” attitude. Not because the seller is pushy or arrogant (far from it), but because the seller might unwittingly be giving the impression of being disinterested in the sale. No one likes to negotiate with someone who doesn’t seem to care.