LONDON PROPERTY NEGOTIATION – PART 1

The art of successful London property negotiation

THE TYPICAL LONDON PROPERTY BUYER BELIEVES THAT THE NEGOTIATIONS BEGIN WHEN THEY START DISCUSSING THE PRICE.

This is why most buyers are extremely poor negotiators. Fortunately for them most sellers are not particularly good negotiators either. Unfortunately they are represented by the estate agent, who should be a trained negotiator. This places you at an immediate disadvantage. The advice on this and other negotiation pages will give you the advantage in most negotiations and help you avoid making expensive mistakes.

London property negotiation - The Negotiation Starts As Soon As You Speak To The Estate Agent (or owner in the case of a private sale).

One of the most important factors in any London property negotiation is information. The person with the better (and not necessarily the most) information will be in a position of strength. Therefore you need to be very careful about what information you divulge from the outset. It is important that the agent/owner knows that you are a serious buyer, who can act quickly, but you do not need to divulge more information than that. At no stage show that you are desperate to buy a property even if you are.

London property negotiation - How To Source Vital Information

You will have a fantastic opportunity to discover information that could save you tens if not hundreds of thousands of pounds when you view potential properties. The key is to ask the right questions while you are there. Unfortunately most buyers simply ask when the boiler was last serviced or when the roof was last fixed.

Here is a list of questions you should ask:

• Why is the owner selling?
• How long has the property been on the market?
• How many viewings have there been?
• How many offers have you had?
• Why do you think you have had so few?
• When does the vendor need to move?
• What is the minimum price the seller will accept?
• What do you think the property will sell for?
• Who priced the property?
• How many agents valued the property? Who valued it at what price?
• What other homes are there in competition with this property?
• Why do you think it hasn’t sold yet?
• Besides the price what else would make an offer attractive to the vendor?

This is by no means a complete list, but the more you get used to asking these and other similar questions, the better picture you will get of what will make an attractive offer to a vendor.

Too many people believe that price is the only motivating factor, but this is wrong.

Quite often speed, flexibility or any number of other things can be just as important and can save you tens if not hundreds of thousands of pounds in the London property negotiation.
However, you will only find out by asking questions.

So please ask as many questions as you can think of when speaking to the agent or vendor and if you think of another question ten minutes later call the agent back and ask it. Quite simply spending ten minutes asking the right questions could save you a fortune.

However, you must also accept that the answers you may be given might be vague or should be taken with a pinch of salt. You may want to gather information from other sources and always keep your eyes open when viewing the property for clues as to why the owner may be selling.

It is essential you ask these questions even if you think the property is not for you. It will help you gauge what properties are selling for in your target area and will be useful comparables for when you find a property you like.

London property negotiation - Keep Your Cards Close To Your Chest

It is essential that you maintain a poker face on all viewings. I have had occasions where clients have told me that I was brilliant for finding their dream home and that they couldn’t wait to buy it and move in. Although extremely flattering, it is not what I want to hear when in earshot of the estate agent and owner (my clients are advised to beforehand not to do this, but some people are naturally emotional). Unfortunately this put us in a much weaker negotiating position as the owners knew we were keen to buy (Tip: If this happens make sure your husband/wife etc views it and is less effusive. Alternatively arrange a second viewing and be much calmer in your appraisal).

If you would like more information on how to save time, money and stress when buying property in prime central London, please fill in the form below to receive your free copy of our report: “The Seven Biggest Mistakes London Property Buyers Make (... and how to avoid them).”

Confidentiality is essential for our clients. Your details will never be passed on to third parties. Our reputation depends upon it.

 

To the top of "London property negotiation"