Six Rules of Successful London Property Negotiation

As a general rule of thumb, real estate buyers and sellers get very little practice when it comes to negotiating for what they want. On the other hand, real estate agents are trained to get the best deal possible as they discuss properties with you. Even though this puts you at an immediate disadvantage, you can still avoid some of the more expensive mistakes by keeping a few simple things in mind.

Rule 1: Know When Negotiation Actually Starts

As soon as you begin talking to a real estate agent or property owner, he/she is already working towards getting a higher sale value. Therefore, when you want to be successful at London property negotiation, you need to have plenty of background information before you begin talking to anyone about making a purchase. When you investigate various aspects of the property, you will be coming from a position of strength and knowledge. In many cases, simply knowing some of the historical background related to the property can prevent you from being lost in details that remove your focus from monetary considerations.

Rule 2: Do not Give Away Information

Typically, law enforcement personnel are trained to gain information as opposed to give it away. While you are not investigating a crime when you start learning more about a specific property, you should never divulge everything that you learned. Rather, you will be better served by comparing what you are told to what you found on your own. This will enable you to work with certain pieces of information in a bargaining capacity during various parts of the conversation.

Rule 3: Behaving Like a Buyer

In general, you should try to convey the fact that you are a serious buyer, as well as one that will commit to purchasing the property if you find everything suitable to your needs. You should never let the property owner or real estate agent know that you are desperate to purchase a particular piece of property. Even though you may be certain about your choices, it is best to create a balanced approach that keeps the other party worried that you may look elsewhere for a better deal.

Rule 4: Ask the Right Questions

Rather than ask about mundane maintenance affairs, you should focus on the following questions, as well as others of a similar nature.

• Why does the owner want to sell the property?

• How many others have viewed the property?

• How long have you been trying to sell the property?

• How many people have offered to buy the property?

• What issues have prevented people from making an offer?

• When will the seller be ready to move?

• What is the lowest possible sales price?

• How much do you expect the property to sell for?

• Who set the price ranges for the property?

• How many other agents or appraisers examined the property? What value ranges did they place on the property?

• Do you have similar properties for sale? Are there others in this locality?

• Why haven't you sold this property yet?

• What does this property have to offer beside a good sales price?

Rule 5: Know What Motivates the Sales Process

You will be somewhat surprised to find that money is not the only thing property sellers look for. In some situation, you may find a property owner that is more concerned with making a quick sale. If you know how to leverage this into a lower price, you can save several thousand pounds on London property negotiation.

In many cases, you will not be able to uncover additional motivational factors if you do not ask questions. Never be afraid to go back and ask more questions after the initial interview. Even if you get vague or unsatisfactory answers, you can investigate via other resources to arrive at a more meaningful answer. It is very important to try and uncover all the reasons why the property owner wants to sell. These factors can always be leveraged in your favour if you know how to use them.

Rule 6: Keep Talking Even if You are Not Interested

Even if you have ruled out a particular property, you can still go on talking in order to polish up your negotiation skills. Once you find property that you want to buy, you will be better prepared to succeed at London property negotiation.