Don’t insult the seller. It might feel like you’re an ace wheeler and dealer when you make a low ball offer on a home for sale. Buyers can get bravado, like, “Ha, Seller, you want X? Well, I’m only paying X minus 40% – deal with it.” Or, you might think, “I’ll offer you 40% less, then we’ll go back and forth 7 or 8 times, and I’ll be happy with a 20% discount off the asking price.”

But when those bottom of the barrel offers come in, both agents often detect a novice buyer at work. What they know – that you may not – is these two things. First, many sellers on today’s market don’t even have that much room to negotiate – they’re already selling at a loss or very, very close to what they owe on the place. If they have to write a check to sell it to you, they’d simply rather not sell.

Visit tomorrow for Part 2 of  “Don’t  Insult the Seller”.