How to negotiate?

When buying or selling your house, did you go up/down in specific increments or were you all over the place with how much you came up or down? Did each counter offer make your offer increment decrease? TIA!

Re: How to negotiate?

I don't think there's any set way to do it. I mean, it depends on the seller's and buyer's motivations, how much competition there is for the house, etc. When I am working with a client, I adopt a different strategies to fit the circumstances.

But regardless of how you get there, every seller has a certain amount that they want to net in their pocket, and every buyer has a ceiling in mind that they don't want to (or can't) go over for any particular house. The idea is to figure out if those two numbers (seller's bottom line and buyer's ceiling) can be reconciled. If they can't, even the best negotiating tactics won't get the deal done.

I've had buyers who've lost out on multiple houses in the past who then find another house and just want to come in with their highest, best offer, right off the bat. And I've had very motivated sellers accept my buyer's initial offer without even countering. And then I've had negotiations that have dragged on for over a week where each side inches up or down in tiny increments. The initial offer and the seller's response to that offer usually sets the tone for how the negotiations will proceed.

I think the best way to do it, if you are a buyer, is to hire a buyer's broker who can go over the comps and develop a negotiating strategy with you. As a seller, most of the time you have a listing agent working with you who can strategize with you. Realtors put together successful real estate transactions all the time - we negotiate for a living! -- so it really is useful to get input from a professional.