Negotiation Magic: “1-Liners”
What I’m about to share is the closest thing there is to real magic, as far as real estate negotiation is concerned.
I’m about to show you a little something I like call “1-Liners”.
Basically these are little snippets of verbiage that you can seamlessly bring into your real estate negotiation with sellers. When used correctly, you’ll experience large chunks being knocked away from the asking price.
The idea is to get familiar with these lines, and learn how to smoothly use them at the right time during your real estate negotiation. Once you get to the point of being able to bring these lines into a friendly conversation with an engaged seller, you’ll have a real edge that the overwhelming majority of your competition can’t compete with.
The list below is in no particular order – it’s up to you to know when the time is right in the conversation to employ the best 1-liner for the given situation… sounds tricky, but with a bit of practice, it’s really quite simple. When used correctly, in the right context, and with the right timing, these are very powerful tools in your real estate negotiation arsenal. Use with caution…
1) Used to make sellers re-think their often un-realistic asking prices…
Your Question: How much are you asking for your property again?
Seller Response: *They name their asking price*
Your Response: Holy moly! What are you basing that asking price on!? (With surprise in your voice)
2) To let the seller know that they are competing with foreclosure prices…
“Here’s the thing – I can’t pay more for your house than what I can buy the banks house for right down the road”
3) To get the seller to think of any consequences of passing up on the deal…
“So, what happens if you aren’t able to sell your property?”
4) To get a better feeling of what the least price is they will accept…
Seller Response: “I don’t want to just give my house away.”
Your Reply: “Hey, I don’t want you to either – but, at what price do you consider giving it away, exactly?”
5) To get a better feeling of what the least price is they will accept…
Seller Response: “I can’t sell anywhere near that price.”
Your Reply: “Ok, then what’s the best price we can agree on right now?”
6) Reality check when they claim to have other offers…
“I know all the investors in town, and we all run our numbers about the same way, so we will all be around the same price… Why don’t we go ahead and agree on a price today so we can start the ball rolling towards a purchase?”
7) Let the seller know that they don’t have the only house for sale…
“I’ve got several houses that I’m sizing up right now. I like yours, but I need to make a decision today about what I’m going to buy. Obviously, I can’t buy all of them, but I’d like to commit to yours if we can agree on price today.”
8) To appease the worried / stressed seller…
“It sounds like you are really unhappy with your situation – I know because I talk to so many people who are in similar situations as yours. Why postpone your happiness? Can we get the deal put together so that we can get this thing behind you? I’m going to take care of you, we just need to get the ball rolling.”
9) To get a BIG reduction in price from a motivated seller [3 steps]…
Your 1st Question: “If I pay cash for your house, and close really soon, what is the VERY LEAST you would accept right here, right now?”
Seller Response: (They name a slightly lower number)
Your 2nd Question: “Is that REALLY the very best you can do??”
Seller Response: (The come down a hair more)
Your 3rd Response: “Are you saying that if I came to your house with a briefcase full of $100 bills, you would tell me NO to the offer of ($5000 less than their best price)??”
Seller Response: (They usually drop the price even more)
These real estate negotiation 1-liners can be incredibly helpful to get the price reduced on a deal you are negotiating. However, the biggest thing you have to get good at is using them correctly – which means knowing how to bring them into action 1) within the right context, and 2) with the right timing. The only way you really learn how to do those 2 things correctly is with practice. The other way to make these as powerful as possible, is by chaining them together whenever possible – this give you sort of a 1-2 punch effect that is very powerful.
Alright, well I hope these are useful. I know they will be if you get in the habit of familiarizing yourself with them, and learning when to bring them into action. Read them over, or better yet, print them off and hang them up somewhere visible whenever you are making calls. Start using these, and getting comfortable with bringing them into your real estate negotiation. You’ll be blown away at the reductions you can get just by using the right words at the right time.