8 Simple Rules for Negotiating Your Offer and Getting That House

duda • November 10, 2021

In today's hot market, know how to make sure you get the home of your dreams.


By: HouseLogic


You and your agent are going to use everything you’ve learned to seal the deal.

Here’s the dream: Your offer is perfect, you don’t need to negotiate, and you can spend the next few weeks addressing more pressing home-ownership questions, like “Why is it called wainscoting?” and “Do I want a new couch in blush or emerald green?”


And it could happen. Many sellers accept the best offer they receive, and for a variety of reasons.

But sellers are also known to reject offers for a variety of reasons. Or make counteroffers. This is especially likely if you bid low, or when you’re up against multiple competing offers.

If you do receive a counteroffer, it’s up to you to decide whether you want to accept the new contract, negotiate the terms, or walk away.


In cases such as these, look to your agent. He or she is your spirit guide. If you decide you want to negotiate — that is, make a counteroffer to the seller’s counteroffer — your agent will use their negotiating skills to help get you the best deal. This is what agents do every day.


But you’re not just going to sit there. If you understand what negotiating tactics your agent may deploy — they depend on the local market and your position — you can back them up. And cheer them on.


Here are eight rules every buyer should know before they — and their agent — start negotiating:


#1 Act Fast — Like, Now

When you receive a counteroffer, you should respond quickly — ideally within 24 hours. The longer you wait, the more space you leave for another buyer to swoop in and nab the property. Also? If a seller senses hesitation, they may decide to withdraw their counteroffer before you even have a chance to respond.


#2 Raise Your Price (Within Reason)

While you obviously don’t want to overpay for a house, you may have to up the ante — especially if you initially made a lowball offer. Lean on your agent’s expertise to determine how much money you should add to the sales price to make it more enticing to the seller.


Then, through their powers of persuasion, your agent can make the counteroffer look even more attractive by pointing out similarly priced “comps” — recently sold homes in your area that are comparable in terms of square footage and features. 

As your agent negotiates, it can feel like things are escalating quickly. It’s stressful. You may feel a sudden urge to do whatever it takes to win.


Before you go overboard, there are two things you must keep in mind:

  1. You can’t exceed the monetary confines of the pre-approved mortgage you received from your lender. 
  2. You shouldn’t overextend your budget.


Because your counteroffer has to be an amount you’re comfortable spending on a home. You want that new house and to keep living your life. Plus: You’re not out of options yet.


#3 Increase Your Earnest Money Deposit

Increasing your earnest money deposit (EMD) — the sum of money you put down to prove to the seller you’re serious (i.e., “earnest”) about buying the house — is another way to show the seller you have more skin in the game. A standard EMD is typically 1% to 3% of the sales price of the home. Making a counteroffer with a 3% to 4% deposit could be what you need to persuade the seller to side with you.


#4 Demonstrate Patience About Taking Possession

Depending on the seller’s timetable, changing your proposed possession date — the date you take over the property — could butter them up, too. If the seller wants to stay in the home for a few days after closing, try offering a later possession date. You could also draw up a “rent-back” agreement, meaning the seller pays you rent for staying in the home for a set period of time after the closing date.


#5 Let Go of a Few Contingencies — With Care

Want to give your counteroffer an even bigger boost?

Reduce the number of contingencies you’re asking for. It’s your way of saying, “Hey, look, I have fewer ways to back out,” which gives the seller more reassurance that the deal will close.

But be selective: Some contingencies are too important to give up. A home-inspection contingency — the right to have a home inspection and request repairs — gives you an out if you spot major problems with the home (and protects you from buying a total money pit).


You might waive a termite inspection if you’re in a state where the risk is lower.

But ultimately, waiving contingencies depends on your market, your loan program requirements, your risk tolerance, and the circumstances of the house in question. And if you waive contingencies and then you find a problem, the seller isn’t responsible for fixing it.


#6 Ask for Fewer Concessions

At a mortgage settlement, home buyers have to pay closing costs for taxes, lender’s fees, and title company fees. Closing costs vary by location, but you can expect to shell out between 3% and 4% of the home’s sales price. The seller pays an additional 1% to 3%. (Smart Asset and Nerdwallet have simple calculators you can use to get a rough idea of what your closing costs might be.)


When making an initial offer, you have the option to ask the seller for concessions — a settlement paid in cash to help you offset your share of the closing costs. (This move is less feasible if you’re going up against multiple offers.)

Concessions effectively lower the seller’s net proceeds from the sale. Making a counteroffer that removes the concessions you would have otherwise received at settlement puts cash back in the seller’s pocket — and can improve your bid. 


#7 Pick Up the Cost of the Home Warranty

Sometimes sellers offer prospective buyers a home warranty. This is a plan that covers the cost of repairing major home appliances and systems, like the air conditioner or hot water heater, if they break down within a certain period (typically a year after closing).


A basic home warranty costs about $300 to $600 a year, according to Angie’s List. If it seems like waiving the home warranty can sweeten negotiations, but you still want the peace of mind of having one, tell the seller they don’t need to cover it — then buy it yourself.


Just keep in mind, whether you or the seller buy the warranty, you’ll need to pay the service fee (typically between $50 and $100) if something does, indeed, need to be repaired while under warranty.


Also, FYI: A home warranty is entirely separate from homeowners insurance. Homeowners insurance — the security blanket that covers your home’s structure and possessions in the event of a fire, storm, flood, or other accident — is required if you take out a mortgage. It can cost anywhere from $300 to $1,000 per year.


#8 Know When to Walk

When negotiating with a seller, trust your gut — and your agent. If he or she says a deal is bad for you: Listen.

And if you don’t want to make any more trade-offs — and the seller won’t budge — it’s smart to walk. That can be a tough decision to make, and rightfully so! Negotiating is tough. It’s draining. 


And losing something you’ve worked hard to get can be disappointing. But don’t worry. There’s a better deal for you out there. And after those strong feelings of frustration pass, you’ll realize: Now I know how to do this.


A home like this comes on the market once in a decade. It’s spacious, fully renovated and designed to the highest standards.

Easy DIY Home Projects That’ll Make You Say, “Yes I Can!”

By duda • November 10, 2021
A little elbow grease; a big difference! By: Leanne Potts Beautiful you-can-do-it inspirations for easy DIY projects. As anybody who’s been inspired by HGTV can tell you, DIY home projects on TV look amaaaazing. But DIY renovations in real life: kiiiinda the toughest thing ever. And, yet, these rookie craftsmen did beautiful, jaw-dropping work that will totally inspire you. Check out these easy DIY projects for your home: #1 Pinterest-Worthy DIY Window Seat An empty recess in a room is a ripe spot for a DIY project, as home improvement blogger Britt Kingery can tell you. She and her husband, Justin, built a window seat so ridiculously Pinterest-worthy you’ll want to make one for yourself (like, right now). It’s a roomy 10-foot beauty, so you can seat a houseful of guests without dragging chairs all over the place. And (bonus!) there’s storage underneath for stashing lots of stuff out of sight. You can custom-create your own for about $250 if you’ve got a few essential DIY tools. Or you can do an Ikea hack to get the same result. Just attach one of their long, horizontal storage systems to your walls. Then add cushions and preformed molding for the same custom look. The big reveal doesn’t happen overnight, and a renovation almost always looks worse before it looks better. Britt Kingery, home improvement blogger #2 Miracle Makeover With Just Paint, Stain (and Patience) “The Brady Bunch”-orange wall and abused floors in the before photo are homely enough to strike you blind. But what a miracle paint, sanding, and stain can do! Lighter shades on the walls, trim, and floor reflect natural light, making the space so much brighter. And for very little money (about $150). The key to such an amazing transformation, Kingery says, is to be a tortoise, not a hare. Sanding, taping, patching holes, and waiting on stain, paint or polyurethane to dry takes care and patience if you want professional-looking results. “The big reveal doesn’t happen overnight, and a renovation almost always looks worse before it looks better.” #3 Instant Open Floor Plan Cramped, dark kitchens are so very 1981. Sarah Lemp of the “All Things With Purpose” blog turned her dated kitchen into an open, light-filled space that feels and functions like a larger room. The cost? $300. Yep. For less than the cost of a set of countertop canisters at Williams Sonoma, Lemp worked magic. The biggest fix? She just removed a set of overhead cabinets that blocked light and the view into the dining area, making an instant open floor plan. Then she turned to paint, the budget remodeler’s friend. She used a soft griege (designer-speak for grayish beige) for the walls of the kitchen and dining area. She painted the remaining upper cabinets white, and the bottom ones dark gray. “I love the look of white cabinets, but figured a darker color was more kid-friendly,” she says. Lemp skipped the requisite subway tile backsplash and went with peel-and-stick shiplap instead. “It was easier and cheaper,” she says. #4 Brighter Bedroom With Paint and Wood This may be an ugly room, but we’re not sure because it’s so dark all we can see are cheap blinds and a poofy valance that hasn’t been fashionable since the Olsen twins were toddlers. It needed major help. Ashley Rose and Jared Smith of the blog “Sugar and Cloth” pulled off a weekend makeover by painting the walls a lighter color and replacing the window treatments with wispy, white drapes that practically pull sunlight into the room. A pair of wall-mounted reading lamps added a second layer of light, because a lonely overhead fixture can’t light the whole room all by itself. And that wall behind the bed? It’s strips of reclaimed wood with an adhesive backing. Peel, stick, and you’re done. No nails. No glue. And just one tool: a level to make sure you stick the wood strips in a straight line. Awesome. #5 An Easy-Peasy Backyard Patio Dirt’s ugly. It’s also a pain, turning into mud when it rains, dust when it doesn’t, and sneaking into your house on the feet of dogs and kids. Covering it with a paver patio is a great fix. Chelsea Foy of the blog “Lovely Indeed” built this one in a neglected flower bed in just 10 hours. She used patio stones molded to look like several individual bricks, because leveling one large stone is tons easier than leveling a bunch of bricks. Those arcs of large river rocks just off the patio make a natural-looking transition between the factory-perfect pavers and the rest of the yard. They’ll also give you less lawn to mow or flowers to tend. #6 Fancy Wall Molding for a Bargain Price Wall molding makes a room look so custom, so finished, so much better than boring old drywall. But it costs around $25 a square foot just for the materials. Mysha Barton of the blog “Remington Avenue” pulled it off along her stairs for just $30 — total. The secret? She used MDF (medium density fiberboard, aka fake wood) to keep it cheap, and didn’t mount it in the traditional way with board panels on the wall. Instead, she put thinner “chair rail molding” directly on the wall, and painted everything white, including the wall to get that rich look of molding. The toughest part was cutting all those angles, Barton says. She got it done with a miter box and a handsaw. “My advice is to use scrap wood to practice your angled cuts before taking on your expensive molding pieces.” Barton did this project in just eight hours with three small children in the house, so even if 10th-grade geometry made you cry, you can do this. #7 A Space-Saving Workbench A DIY workbench is a gateway project, one that can lead you to harder projects and possibly, a home improvement addiction. Make this workbench your very first project and you’ll have room to do scads of projects — money-saving ones. It’ll fit in a small space because it’s actually a door mounted on door hinges, so you can fold it flat against the wall when you’re not using it. Be sure to buy a solid wood door, not a hollow one, so it’s sturdy enough to stand up to years of projects.

8 Simple Rules for Negotiating Your Offer and Getting That House

By duda • November 10, 2021
In today's hot market, know how to make sure you get the home of your dreams. By: HouseLogic You and your agent are going to use everything you’ve learned to seal the deal. Here’s the dream: Your offer is perfect, you don’t need to negotiate, and you can spend the next few weeks addressing more pressing home-ownership questions, like “Why is it called wainscoting?” and “Do I want a new couch in blush or emerald green?” And it could happen. Many sellers accept the best offer they receive, and for a variety of reasons. But sellers are also known to reject offers for a variety of reasons. Or make counteroffers. This is especially likely if you bid low, or when you’re up against multiple competing offers. If you do receive a counteroffer, it’s up to you to decide whether you want to accept the new contract, negotiate the terms, or walk away. In cases such as these, look to your agent. He or she is your spirit guide. If you decide you want to negotiate — that is, make a counteroffer to the seller’s counteroffer — your agent will use their negotiating skills to help get you the best deal. This is what agents do every day. But you’re not just going to sit there. If you understand what negotiating tactics your agent may deploy — they depend on the local market and your position — you can back them up. And cheer them on. Here are eight rules every buyer should know before they — and their agent — start negotiating: #1 Act Fast — Like, Now When you receive a counteroffer, you should respond quickly — ideally within 24 hours. The longer you wait, the more space you leave for another buyer to swoop in and nab the property. Also? If a seller senses hesitation, they may decide to withdraw their counteroffer before you even have a chance to respond. #2 Raise Your Price (Within Reason) While you obviously don’t want to overpay for a house, you may have to up the ante — especially if you initially made a lowball offer. Lean on your agent’s expertise to determine how much money you should add to the sales price to make it more enticing to the seller. Then, through their powers of persuasion, your agent can make the counteroffer look even more attractive by pointing out similarly priced “comps” — recently sold homes in your area that are comparable in terms of square footage and features. As your agent negotiates, it can feel like things are escalating quickly. It’s stressful. You may feel a sudden urge to do whatever it takes to win. Before you go overboard, there are two things you must keep in mind: You can’t exceed the monetary confines of the pre-approved mortgage you received from your lender. You shouldn’t overextend your budget. Because your counteroffer has to be an amount you’re comfortable spending on a home. You want that new house and to keep living your life. Plus: You’re not out of options yet. #3 Increase Your Earnest Money Deposit Increasing your earnest money deposit (EMD) — the sum of money you put down to prove to the seller you’re serious (i.e., “earnest”) about buying the house — is another way to show the seller you have more skin in the game. A standard EMD is typically 1% to 3% of the sales price of the home. Making a counteroffer with a 3% to 4% deposit could be what you need to persuade the seller to side with you. #4 Demonstrate Patience About Taking Possession Depending on the seller’s timetable, changing your proposed possession date — the date you take over the property — could butter them up, too. If the seller wants to stay in the home for a few days after closing, try offering a later possession date. You could also draw up a “rent-back” agreement, meaning the seller pays you rent for staying in the home for a set period of time after the closing date. #5 Let Go of a Few Contingencies — With Care Want to give your counteroffer an even bigger boost? Reduce the number of contingencies you’re asking for. It’s your way of saying, “Hey, look, I have fewer ways to back out,” which gives the seller more reassurance that the deal will close. But be selective: Some contingencies are too important to give up. A home-inspection contingency — the right to have a home inspection and request repairs — gives you an out if you spot major problems with the home (and protects you from buying a total money pit). You might waive a termite inspection if you’re in a state where the risk is lower. But ultimately, waiving contingencies depends on your market, your loan program requirements, your risk tolerance, and the circumstances of the house in question. And if you waive contingencies and then you find a problem, the seller isn’t responsible for fixing it. #6 Ask for Fewer Concessions At a mortgage settlement, home buyers have to pay closing costs for taxes, lender’s fees, and title company fees. Closing costs vary by location, but you can expect to shell out between 3% and 4% of the home’s sales price. The seller pays an additional 1% to 3%. (Smart Asset and Nerdwallet have simple calculators you can use to get a rough idea of what your closing costs might be.) When making an initial offer, you have the option to ask the seller for concessions — a settlement paid in cash to help you offset your share of the closing costs. (This move is less feasible if you’re going up against multiple offers.) Concessions effectively lower the seller’s net proceeds from the sale. Making a counteroffer that removes the concessions you would have otherwise received at settlement puts cash back in the seller’s pocket — and can improve your bid. #7 Pick Up the Cost of the Home Warranty Sometimes sellers offer prospective buyers a home warranty. This is a plan that covers the cost of repairing major home appliances and systems, like the air conditioner or hot water heater, if they break down within a certain period (typically a year after closing). A basic home warranty costs about $300 to $600 a year, according to Angie’s List. If it seems like waiving the home warranty can sweeten negotiations, but you still want the peace of mind of having one, tell the seller they don’t need to cover it — then buy it yourself. Just keep in mind, whether you or the seller buy the warranty, you’ll need to pay the service fee (typically between $50 and $100) if something does, indeed, need to be repaired while under warranty. Also, FYI: A home warranty is entirely separate from homeowners insurance. Homeowners insurance — the security blanket that covers your home’s structure and possessions in the event of a fire, storm, flood, or other accident — is required if you take out a mortgage. It can cost anywhere from $300 to $1,000 per year. #8 Know When to Walk When negotiating with a seller, trust your gut — and your agent. If he or she says a deal is bad for you: Listen. And if you don’t want to make any more trade-offs — and the seller won’t budge — it’s smart to walk. That can be a tough decision to make, and rightfully so! Negotiating is tough. It’s draining. And losing something you’ve worked hard to get can be disappointing. But don’t worry. There’s a better deal for you out there. And after those strong feelings of frustration pass, you’ll realize: Now I know how to do this.
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