The Seller Won’t Negotiate: Time to Move on?
You’ve found your dream home, visited it a few times and reviewed the reports and disclosures. You’ve made an offer — only to discover that the sellers aren’t willing to negotiate. They’re firm on their price, no matter how high it seems relative to the market.
Unlike retail businesses, which price their products based on inventory levels and market conditions, each seller is independent and has different selling motivations.
Here are three strategies to help you move past a home you’re obsessed with.
1. Don’t waste time over-analyzing the seller
It’s easy to obsess over the possible reasons why the sellers rejected your offer. You might spend hours looking up a home’s sales history and tax records and then combine that data with the information you received from the sellers’ agent about their situation or motivations. Like a detective, you’re trying to solve the mystery by examining all the clues.
Don’t do it. Trying to figure out the seller won’t get you anywhere. Worse, the time spent attempting to get inside the head of someone you don’t know is precious time spent away from your home search. If the sellers “just aren’t that into you,” it may be time to move on.
2. Put your best offer on the table
Maybe you haven’t offered the maximum you can afford yet, wanting to keep some room for negotiation. If you find that the sellers aren’t responding positively to your offers so far, it could be a sign that they are not motivated to sell. Just because you’re a real and active buyer wanting to purchase their house doesn’t mean they have to accept your offer. If they’re not responding, or they come back with a not-so-great counteroffer, cut to the chase. Make your maximum offer immediately and put it in writing. Then, if they still don’t respond, start looking elsewhere. If the sellers have a change of heart later, they’ll know how to find you.
3. Put the home behind you
Because purchasing a home can be both personal and emotional, it’s easy for a buyer (particularly a new one) to get hung up on one house and have trouble moving on. But this can only keep you from getting the house you want.
To be a savvy buyer, consider each experience and the lessons learned. Chalk up unrealistic or unmotivated sellers to experience. Use that to your advantage the next time you make an offer.
At the closing table weeks or months down the road, you’ll likely look back on that home you “had to have” and realize that the home you ended up with is much better in the long run. Never forget that, no matter how much you believe this one was meant for you, there will always be another great house.
