Three tips on how to negotiate better: Robert Klaric

GUEST OBSERVATION

1. Understand the ‘power of the pen’
   
   Most property negotiations take place through the real estate agent, who will usually negotiate over the phone or face to face.
   
   The most powerful negotiation on any property, however, occurs when a buyer presents their offer in writing, in a signed contract, accompanied by a deposit cheque.
   
   This will always have a bigger impact than a verbal offer. It shows the seller that your offer is serious and you’re able to purchase the property.
   
   The faintest ink will always be better than the most retentive memory.
   
   
2. He who speaks first, loses when Negotiating real estate  
   
   The opening stages are the most critical part of any negotiation and, more often than not, whoever speaks first becomes the loser.
   
   If the buyer, who wants to pay as little as possible, submits an offer before ascertaining what the seller is prepared to sell for, they run the real risk of paying too much for the property.
   
   But if the seller, who wants to get as much as they can for the property, indicates what they’re realistically prepared to accept for the property before the purchaser has submitted a formal offer, then they’re likely to sell for a lot less than if they’d waited for the buyer to submit an initial offer first.
   
   
3. You can’t lose a deal you never had?
   
   You’ll only ever have a 100% deal in real estate when you have an unconditional signed contract, exchanged by both the owner and buyer.
   
   Until then, it’s a negotiation, not a deal, so all vendors should remain on the market until they receive confirmation that an unconditional exchange of contracts has taken place.
   
   It’s only when the offer is accepted that a good real estate agent earns his or her money. He or she must be able to manage the process correctly to the point where contracts are exchanged.

ROBERT KLARIC the CEO and founder of The Property Expert International, a Property Advocate and Advisor.

This is an excerpt from Robert s book 'Secrets of the Property Expert’.