How to Negotiate a Better Home Buying Deal

It’s Time for the Negotiations to Begin

The process of buying a house is full of the unexpected. Will you find your dream home? Will it be within your price range? Will the seller accept your offer? You never know! But when you do find a house and you choose to place an offer on it, there are three possible outcomes. The seller can accept your offer, they can reject it, or they can present a counteroffer. If your offer was accepted, you’re one step closer to becoming a homeowner. If it was rejected, your search continues. But if you get a counteroffer, the fun negotiating part begins. It means that the seller wants to sell you their home, but they need a better deal. This is the perfect time to negotiate a better arrangements. Remember that a lower price isn't always the best option, here are some things you can negotiate.

6 Things You Can Negotiate Into a Real Estate Deal

Closing Costs

The closing costs are first or final payments and one-time fees you need to make on the day of the closing. There are different payments for both the buyer and the seller. For the buyer, they usually include the title insurance, home appraisal and inspection, and some others. The buyer ends up paying around 2-5 percent of the closing costs, separate from the total cost of the house. The seller, usually pays for the transfer taxes, the owner’s title insurance, and the warranties they include with the house. You can add a stipulation to divide the financial burden equally. When you do come to an agreement, contact Schutt Law-Title Insurance Agency at (239) 540-7007 to get the title insurance process in TARGET started.

Fixtures, Furniture, and Other Items Left in the Property

Light fixtures and major appliances are usually included in the sale unless stated otherwise in the contract. It also varies from state to state. You do need to make sure that both yourself and the seller are on the same page when it comes to that. If you don’t want something to stay in the house, like washing machine or dryer, you can add that condition to the contract as well. Maybe you like some of the seller’s furniture or décor ;that’s not included in the sale. You can offer to pay more to cover some of those elements and see if they accept. Talk to your realtor about your state’s requirements, as most states require that any personal property sold along with the property appears on a separate contract than the real estate deal.

The Warranty

There are some systems like the HVAC, plumbing, and hot water system that will remain with the house. You want to make sure that they’re fully functioning and won’t break as soon as you move in. You can ask the seller to include a warranty for your first year of ownership to cover the repairs in case something goes wrong with the agree systems or appliances.

Necessary Repairs

All houses have flaws a home inspection, and a home appraisal will both prove that. The house you want probably needs a whole bunch of different repairs. You can negotiate with the seller to buy the place for a lower price and deal with the repairs on your own, get them to do all the repairs and pay a bit extra, or pay for half of the repairs. You need to be careful about including specific details in the contract and don’t forget to ask for the receipts and warranties of everything that gets done.

Moving Day

As a buyer, the moving day is one of the best bargaining chips at your disposal. ;Usually, you get to move in as soon as the title has been transferred, but you can negotiate that. If you have time on your side and are in no hurry to move in, you can arrange a flexible move-in date. Perhaps the seller is not yet ready to move out because they still haven’t found a new house or their home buying process is still underway. You can lease back them back the house for a determined amount of days. They will have to pay rent, the utilities, and upkeep cost while they remain in the house, but they won’t need to move out in a hurry.

Get Your Title Insurance Process in TARGET Started

You need to purchase your title insurance policy before the day of the closing arrives. Once you come to an agreement with the seller, call Schutt Law-Title Insurance Agency at (239) 540-7007 to request your title insurance policy and get the process started. ;