As a first time home buyer, you should know what items you are able to negotiate. Before you get to that step, know what your credit scores are and get pre-approved for a mortgage. If you are pre-approved, you’ll have a good idea of the amount of money you can finance. Finally, check into some of the government programs that are available to first-time home buyers. First time home buying 101 helps you with many tips and tricks to buying a first home.
1. Time Flexibility
One of the things first time home buyers can negotiate is closing dates. In some cases, the buyer may need more time, and in some cases, the seller may need more time. If you’re lucky, you both need more than the typical 30 days to close and will be able to choose a date. In some cases, you may be able to ask for some money off the price of the home if the seller needs to move but you are not able to close right away. In some cases, if you are a seller, you may close and then rent the home back from the buyer for a month or two. If you are a buyer that needs to move in sooner rather than later, you may be able to negotiate that buy helping the current owners with a place to stay, whether it’s in their RV in the back yard, of, if the home has a guest house, letting them stay there.
2. Offer Price Negotiation
One of the best tips for negotiating a house purchase is to know what a home is worth. The value of the home and what it sells for are two different things. If you want to pay for your own appraisal, you will be able to learn if the asking price is in line with the value of the home. Part of knowing the value is doing the research on the house to find out how often it’s been sold and how the home’s value has changed over time. Keep in mind the ups and downs of the real estate market as you are checking.
3. Pending Offers
You should know if there are pending offers on a home. Your real estate agent should be able to give you this information. If you are able to find out what those offers are, you may be able to offer a better deal in the hopes of avoiding a bidding war. And, just because there’s a pending offer, that doesn’t mean that you can’t make an offer.
4. Home Repairs
One of the biggest items to negotiate when buying a house is seller concessions, including repairs. Most buyers are encouraged to get an inspector. If the repairs are minor, the seller is usually not obligated to make the repairs. However, if the repairs are significant, you may negotiate them by having the seller pay for the repairs up front or by deducting them from the cost of the home.
These are only a few of the home price negotiation buying tactics that you may employ when you are looking for your dream home. Before you look at your first home, it helps to make a list of items that you are looking for. Using these and other first time home tips, separate the items into two lists: One that is non-negotiable and the other that is negotiable. Non-negotiable items are things that would make you walk away from a deal. Negotiated items are items you would like to have, but are not a deal breaker.
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