You’ve finally found your dream property but the price is quite dreamy as well. As difficult as it is to find the perfect property, getting it at the price that you want can be challenging. Getting a great deal on a property doesn’t come without a great strategy too. There are ways on how you can at least bring down the price or get a better deal with the same price. It’s all a matter of knowing how to haggle and when to do it. Haggling is not about being aggressive on getting what you want but rather, its understanding each other and getting the most out of the negotiation and the deal.

• Know the basics of the real estate market. It all starts even before you talk to your agent. A good buyer is an informed buyer – and with the knowledge of the industry you can make informed decisions and conversations at that, as well. When discussing with your agent, show that you know enough not to be ‘swayed’. If you know about market trends, even a little about it, it shows that you are indeed a serious buyer – and a serious buyer is someone an agent discusses with logically.
• Start the conversation on the right foot. Get into a friendly mood and smile. You would want the agent to be agreeable to you and not the other way around. This early, you do not want him to dislike you or get into a defensive conversation.
• Build on the relationship, not yet on the purchase. Do not discuss immediately about the sale, rather, discuss about lighter things to set a light mood as well. This will set the tone that you will not insist on a very cheap sale; rather, discussions will be logical and acceptable.
• Do not discuss much about the rates, fees and the property cost. Let your agent play around with the numbers; just infuse your ideas and suggestions with the right timing. Do not let your maximum budget slip. Stand by your desired rate and do not be influenced by the agent. He has a commission that he’s also protecting, but some can bend and agree with a fixed rate as long as it can close a sale.

Agents are also interested in sealing a deal, and some are willing to go meet halfway, well, the good ones at least. While they are also ‘skilled’ in getting their way through to a deal favorable to them, they are more receptive to those who are willing to go less but are not really bargaining with them – or rather those who makes it look like they are not bargaining with them.

With these tips in hand, be confident that you can handle negotiations better and soon you may have that dream property under your name.  

With the economy still on a downturn, people are more understanding when it comes to budget constraints, and even the real estate industry can probably bend to your haggling skills.