Selling a house in a buyer’s market is not an ideal situation, but sometimes a necessary decision. You might be out of work for a while and need to downsize, your family may be growing and your current house is bursting at the seams, or perhaps you can’t wait out the market any longer and are ready to move even if not in the best of circumstances.

Increase Value Before Listing for Sale
Houses that are selling in this buyer’s market are typically the shining stars of the local real estate listings. They are priced right, in excellent condition, and located in preferable neighborhoods. As a seller you can control two of three of these criteria: price and condition.

Price your house right from the start. Many home sellers want to start high, then drop lower. This may sound like an acceptable strategy, but it will hurt you in the end. When a house is fresh on the market it will hit prospective buyers and real estate agents radar and if overpriced, they will most likely move on to the next listing without giving yours another thought. If you drop your price dramatically this may signal distress and those who make offers will do so ferociously. Instead, price your home out of the gate based on the sold prices of comparable properties that have recently sold in your area.

The condition of your house is as equally important as price. Do what you can to make your home sparkle before putting it on the market. Start packing early to declutter your home, give it a good cleaning from top to bottom, and don’t neglect curb appeal. Presenting your home in it’s best light shows prospective buyer’s that you care about your home and you will take the same care during negotiations.

Map Out a Negotiation Plan
Know your bottom line before the offers start rolling. Set this point by looking at recently sold comparable properties in you local area, NOT by how much you owe on the home. Be prepared to sell your home for less that you owe on the mortgage—According to Zillow Inc., 45.7% of mortgaged home in the Chicago metropolitan area have negative equity in the first quarter of 2011.

Compute your total bottom line by taking into consideration potential home repairs, closing costs, realtor’s fees, and final sales price. Work out several scenarios to be prepared for what buyer’s may ask.

When Offers are Made
Have your agent contact the buyer’s agent when an offer comes in to find out as much about the buyer’s plans as possible. Knowing their motivation before the real negotiations start can give you valuable insight.

If an offer comes in at well below asking price, is it because the buyer is at the top of their budget or trying to test the waters? If you offer to pay closing costs, would they be able to increase their offer?

If a buyer is offering asking price, or close to it, are they planning to ask for several home repairs during the inspection? Multiple offers may come in and the one with the highest price is not always the best choice. The rapport that your agent builds with buyer’s agents should help to uncover negotiation strategies.

Don’t sign the contract right away, even if the purchase price is close enough to your asking price to accept. Make them sweat a while so they may rethink negotiating hard for repairs during the inspection process. Usually a seller has 24 hours to 72 hours to respond to a potential buyer. Take the time to look at the offer as a whole.

Good Things Come to Those Who Wait…
Sellers in this market may be anxious to sign off on a deal. Offers may come in well below the asking price and buyers aren’t afraid to play hardball when negotiating. Don’t be tempted to rush through the negotiating process and just get the deal done. This attitude can end up costly you thousands. Don’t put your house “under contract” and take your house off the market before studying recently sold comparables (to ensure their offer is in line with current market conditions), looking at the offer as a whole, and obtaining a buyer’s loan pre-approval letter.

Don’t forget that there is an upside to selling your home in this market—buying your next home. If you plan to buy another home right away, you too will be in a position to play hardball, make aggressive offers, and perhaps even recoup losses during your next home purchase. If you must sell low, then you should buy low. Read more about negotiating the purchase of a home in “5 Tips to Negotiating to Buy a House”.

Some lessons we must learn ourselves. Others can be gleaned from studying those who came before us. Scan this extensive list of famous negotiation quotes and pick up new insights to your negotiation strategy.

“Negotiation in the classic diplomatic sense assumes parties more anxious to agree than to disagree.” Acheson, Dean

“The one sure way to conciliate a tiger is to allow oneself to be devoured.” Acheson, Dean

“Negotiating in the classic diplomatic sense assumes parties more anxious to agree than to disagree.” Adenauer, Konrad

“The most difficult thing in any negotiation, almost, is making sure that you strip it of the emotion and deal with the facts. And there was a considerable challenge to that here and understandably so.” Baker, Howard

“The fellow who says he’ll meet you halfway usually thinks he’s standing on the dividing line.” Battista, Orlando A.

“When a man says that he approves something in principal, it means he hasn’t the slightest intention of putting it in practice.” Bismarck, Otto Von

“The most important trip you may take in life is meeting people half way.” Boyle, Henry

“Grant graciously what you cannot refuse safely and conciliate those you cannot conquer.” Colton, Charles Caleb

“He who has learned to disagree without being disagreeable has discovered the most valuable secret of a diplomat.” Estabrook, Robert

“Most people I ask little from. I try to give them much, and expect nothing in return and I do very well in the bargain.” FeNelon, Francois

“Negotiating means getting the best of your opponent.” Gaye, Marvin

“My father said: “You must never try to make all the money that’s in a deal. Let the other fellow make some money too, because if you have a reputation for always making all the money, you won’t have many deals.” Getty, J. Paul

“It is a trick among the dishonest to offer sacrifices that are not needed, or not possible, to avoid making those that are required.” Goncharov, Ivan

“The correct strategy for Americans negotiating with Japanese or other foreign clients is a Japanese strategy: ask questions. When you think you understand, ask more questions. Carefully feel for pressure points. If an impasse is reached, don’t pressure. Suggest a recess or another meeting.” Graham, John L.

“If you come to a negotiation table saying you have the final truth, that you know nothing but the truth and that is final, you will get nothing.” Holkeri, Harri

“Never cut what you can untie.” Joubert, Joseph

“In business, you don’t get what you deserve, you get what you negotiate.” Karrass, Chester L.

“Prepare by knowing your walk away [conditions] and by building the number of variables you can work with during the negotiation… you need to have a walk away… a combination of price, terms, and deliverables that represents the least you will accept. Without one, you have no negotiating road map.” Keiser

“If I should ever be captured, I want no negotiation – and if I should request a negotiation from captivity they should consider that a sign of duress.” Kissinger, Henry A.

“During a negotiation, it would be wise not to take anything personally. If you leave personalities out of it, you will be able to see opportunities more objectively.” Koslow, Brian

“More and more couples are having this negotiation or discussion, but I’m still amazed at the number who aren’t and where the cultural norm sort of kicks in and they just assume that mom’s got to be the one who stays home, not dad.” Levine, James

“If you are planning on doing business with someone again, don’t be too tough in the negotiations. If you’re going to skin a cat, don’t keep it as a house cat.” Levin, Marvin S.

“Flattery is the infantry of negotiation.” Lord Chandos

“Only free men can negotiate. Prisoners cannot enter into contracts.” Mandela, Nelson

“Either we’re going to solve this by realistic negotiation or there will be blood on the border.” Metzger, Tom

“Never forget the power of silence, that massively disconcerting pause which goes on and on and may at last induce an opponent to babble and backtrack nervously.” Morrow, Lance

“Let us move from the era of confrontation to the era of negotiation.” Nixon, Richard M.

“The lesson of all history warns us that we should negotiate only when our military superiority is so convincing that we can achieve our objective at the conference table, and deny the aggressor theirs.” Nixon, Richard M.

“You’re in a much better position to talk with people when they approach you than when you approach them.” Pilgrim, Peace

“Buying is cheaper than asking.” Proverb, German

“A miser and a liar bargain quickly.” Proverb, Greek

“The go-between wears out a thousand sandals.” Proverb, Japanese

“It is high time that the international community tell Saddam Hussein and his regime that this is not an issue of negotiation with the U.N. about obligations that they undertook in 1991.” Rice, Condoleezza

“We’re eyeball to eyeball and the other fellow just blinked.” Rusk, Dean

“I believe that the purpose for which I and my fellow soldiers entered upon this war should have been so clearly stated as to have made it impossible to change them, and that, had this been done, the objects which actuated us would now be attainable by negotiation.” Sassoon, Siegfried

“You must be fully prepared to lose a great deal in order to make a great deal.” Saying

“There’s no road map on how to raise a family: it’s always an enormous negotiation.” Streep, Meryl

Comcast recently had a great deal, sign up for Triple Play (Phone, Cable with HBO, and Internet) for $100 a month for 2-years. Really a great offer compared to what I was paying. Of course this offer was limited to new customers only. Easy to get around conditions like that.

Here is how I did it:
Negotiation Research: What special offers are the competitors offering? Dish Network is offering a similar deal for new customers. Sure I don’t want to switch and think their service is weaker than Comcast, but Comcast doesn’t know that.

BATNA: What is my Best Alternative to No Agreement? Well I already have Comcast service and I am happy with it, I am just paying a bit too much for it. So really my alternative to having Comcast sign me up for their program is to maintain the Status Quo. It is not like they are going to cancel my service for trying to negotiate with them. I really have nothing to lose. They don’t have to know that I really don’t plan on switching to Dish Network.

Making the Call: 1-800-COM-CAST (I hate mnemonic phone numbers!) and ask for customer service. Once I get a representative I tell them how much I like the new offer and that I am interested in signing up for it. I already know I don’t qualify but I want them to starting trying to help me out. The Customer Service Representative(CSR) tells me that the offer is only for new customers or existing customers that don’t already have all three services. I politely ask if there is anything they can do. Of course the answer is “no”, but hey the first line usually doesn’t have the authority.

Escalation: I then ask who would have the authority to make a change, especially if I am thinking of changing my service provider? The CSR immediately transfers me to a resolution manager. BINGO! Someone who can actually help. Ok so these resolution managers(or whatever they are called) actually get paid to keep you as a customer but also get a commission for not giving in to your demands. If they give in the make a less commission, if they lose you as a customer they make less than if they give in. So their ultimate goals is to keep you at the status quo but give in before losing you as a customer. I start all over with this Resolution Manager. I tell them I really like the offer and ask if I qualify. Again the answer is “No, it is only for new customers.” I then stay really polite but mention the offer from Dish Network. I then ask them “Why shouldn’t I make the switch to the other company?” Ball game changes!

First Offer: They offer me the plan without some of the bells and whistles. The Resolution Manager is at this point trying to hang on to some of her extra commission for not giving totally in to my requests. My goal here is to stay nice and keep her happy with me but be frank about my willingness to leave(not really.) I tell her that I have some friends that really love Dish Network and that their offer is really enticing. I also tell her that I am a long time customer and have always been really happy with the service that Comcast has given me. Hook Set!

Next Offer: She offers me the plan as advertised. BINGO! I have achieved my goal. I thank the rep for her help(Always have your opponent leave happy) and tell her how happy I am to be able to keep Comcast.

Have you ever had to negotiate with your Cable company? What was your experience?

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