Truth be told, selling a house in San Diego can be stressful and overwhelming. From finding ways to market your home to negotiating the price, there are plenty of things you need to prepare for. To help you with that, we’ve devised a list of 6 negotiation tips for San Diego sellers. As this is one of the most critical steps of the selling process, you need to know how to handle it to ensure you get the best possible return for your investment.
Negotiation tips for San Diego sellers
Negotiations are a fundamental part of all real estate deals. If you handle it in the right way, you’ll sell your house at a higher price. Further in this article, you’ll learn to improve your negotiation skills with our 6 simple tips.
1-Work with a real estate agent
Whether you’re buying or selling, hiring a San Diego real estate agent is probably the best negotiation tactic to choose. By letting an experienced professional with solid negotiation skills lead the process, you’ll get the best deal for your home.
No matter how much time you’ve spent in your home, it’s impossible to be objective and not get at least a little bit emotional during the process. On the other hand, as your real estate agent has no attachment to your home, they’ll be able to think and act entirely rationally.
Even if you decide to use an innovative way of home presentation in the form of virtual tours, a good real estate agent will still be indispensable. The negotiation process can be slightly different when you’re trying to close a sale online. Still, you won’t have anything to worry about if you let your agent run the process.
2-Set a realistic asking price
Setting a realistic asking price is one of the best ways to accelerate your home sale. Here are the four most important factors to take into account when setting a price for your home:
- Your home’s location – is your home in a safe area, and is it close to public transport?
- Comparative market analysis (CMA) – if you hire a real estate agent, they will analyze recently closed sales in the San Diego market and compares them to your home. That way, they’ll determine a suitable price.
- Your property’s condition – check if any major repairs are needed and determine if you want to renovate or sell as-is.
- One of the best ways to find out the value of your home is to get familiar with the San Diego market. This way, you’ll be able to decide which selling strategy to use to your advantage.
If you price your San Diego home properly, you’ll attract more buyers. This can potentially lead to a bidding war, which means spending less time negotiating and getting a great price.
3-Encourage competition
One of the best ways to get the best price for your property is to create healthy competition. For instance, you can market your home through several different channels to attract as many potential buyers as possible. Keep in mind that buyers will tend to compete with each other if you price your property at market price. This will, in turn, raise the final price.
4-Don’t be afraid to reject an offer
Although it might seem counterintuitive, rejection can be an excellent negotiation strategy. As you want the potential buyer to stay in the game, you should ask them to make another offer. If they’re seriously interested in your property, they will. Although this is a bit risky, it can give great results.
This move shows buyers that you know how much your property is worth and that you won’t settle for a lower price. If the buyer decides to make a new offer, it will have to be higher than the previous one. The best part about this tactic is that you’re not legally locked into negotiation with the buyer. Although, I would not recommend this type of strategy if you are not in a seller’s market. You could potentially lose a great buyer.
Again, remember that pricing your home at the current market price will most likely get you more than one offer. The buyers will then compete, which will bring you, the seller, a higher selling price.
5-Serve your counteroffer with an expiration date
During the home-selling process, a buyer can submit an offer that you can counter. With this move, you’ll become involved in a legally binding negotiation which means you won’t be able to accept any better offers that might come your way after you counter that buyer.
In many cases, this turns into an endless back and forth with the buyer, which is the last thing you want. This is especially true if you’re in a hurry to sell or are selling and buying a home at the same time. A great way to prevent this from happening is to put an expiration date on your counteroffer. This way, the buyer will need to make a quick decision.
6-Offer to cover closing costs
Lastly, it’s essential not to let your emotions get the best of you during the process. No matter how attached you are to your San Diego home, you need to do your best to keep your feelings under control.
If you start feeling emotional or even overwhelmed, remember why you decided to sell in the first place. By letting your emotions take over, you’re risking ruining the sale. That’s the last thing you want!
Final thoughts
We hope our negotiation tips for San Diego sellers help you get the best possible price and terms for your home. As negotiation can be a tricky process, we strongly recommend contacting an experienced San Diego real estate agent to assist you. They have the necessary knowledge and information about the San Diego market and strong negotiation skills, which is a perfect combination for ensuring the best possible price for your home.