How to Motivate Buyers to Take Action
Selling your own home can definitely be an exercise in frustration. You may have “hooked” a few buyers but they aren’t moving fast enough to suit your needs. It can be very hard to tell how far you can push someone without scaring them away from your home entirely. However, there are a few ways that you can motivate buyers to take that first step and start negotiating with you.
1. Find out how quickly they are planning to move. If the answer is more than 2 months, there is probably not a lot you can do to motivate them to move faster, but you can try a few techniques. Play up the features in your home that other homes in the area do not have. If the school year is going to start soon, play up the qualities of the neighborhood schools. Try to find something that will motivate them to move a little quicker.
If they are planning on buying a home within the next two months, you’ve got a live one on the hook. Here’s how to reel them in without losing them. You’ll need to mention that you have had quite a lot of interest in your home. Mention that you do have another serious buyer coming by later that day to take one last look at the house. That terminology is very important so make sure you stress that they are coming by for a final look.
Humans are naturally competitive at least to some extent. Even the meekest person is not going to want to lose out on a home. By creating this tension, you’ve let them know that you are serious about selling and that you’ve had some serious interest in the home. If they do like your home, this should be enough to get them started in the negotiation process.
2. You may need to initiate the first move in negotiations if you want to start motivating a buyer. Ask them how much they are looking to spend on their home. If it is way below your asking price, you may want to wait for a better buyer to come around. If it’s close, start talking about how many features your home has and how you decided to price it a bit lower than it’s worth to try to get more interest in it. This will get their attention that you are offering them a good deal and that you may be willing to go a little lower on the price.
Remember, taking a little less on your home and getting a sale is better than sticking to a hard and fast price and waiting months for your home to sell. Real estate markets can change rapidly and it’s best to strike while the iron is hot if you do have an interested buyer.
You can also listen to their questions to determine other ways to motivate them. Find out what they like about your home and what they don’t. Try to compromise and offer them a deal that would fulfill their needs and yours.