When you are negotiating on property there are some tactics that you can use that can make your offer more favourable.

Be flexible on settlement date

Ask the Agent if the vendor has a preferred settlement date. They may need a short settlement date, or they might need a long settlement date. I have seen lower offers, and multiple offers, won purely on the settlement date being more favourable to the vendor.

Putting 3 months or sooner by mutual agreement can be a good way to do this, and communicate to the Agent if you can move in quicker and how much quicker.

Give a higher deposit and pay it on acceptance

If you are a first time buyer you may not realise that the Real Estate Agents fees are taken out of the deposit. The deposit also cannot be released until the property is unconditional AND it has been in the trust account for at least 10 working days.

In some cases the vendor will be using the deposit release as a deposit on their next house, so a higher deposit (higher than 10% of purchase price) and paid on acceptance can really help.

Sometimes you can just put a 10% deposit down paid on acceptance, but tell the Agent that if it makes a difference you can pay more.

Get an urgent LIM

Leaving a property with a conditional agreement for 10 working days can be a real issue for some vendors, after 10 working days you have lost a lot of your momentum and it is all riding on you.

Getting an urgent LIM so that your conditions are completed in 5 working days can be very favourable for them. It only costs you an extra $100, but it can make all the difference.

Do a builders report prior to making an offer

You can get a verbal builders report for just $200, doing this prior to making your offer so that you are aware of any issues prior to making your offer also removes any uncertainty from the vendors position.

They then know that you are not going to try and come back and have another bite at the cherry.

Make your offer unconditional

Unconditional offers are the strongest that you can do. Especially if you then incorporate in all the other tactics. I have seen offers that are $30K less than another offer win simply because they were unconditional.

Do you due diligence before making the offer, it will really make your offer stronger.

Be fair on price

Don’t come in and low ball, make a reasonable opening offer and be fair. It will be well received from the vendor. Silly offers that are ridiculously low are never well received.