What Bargaining Chips Do You Have?

When you are selling a home, the haggling is not always limited to price

Prospective purchasers often make offers that include appliances and window coverings, for example, because these items are must-haves that are expensive to purchase new. Occasionally, a bidder also asks for other furnishings, recreational equipment or repairs and painting.

It isn’t just purchasers who use extras as bargaining chips. Sellers sometimes make counter-offers that include appliances and other contents as incentives for the bidder to agree to a higher price. This is an especially useful strategy when demand for homes in your area is weak and prices are low.

If you are selling your home, consider what you are willing to throw in to make a deal work and what items are off limits. It’s best to do this in advance of listing, so you are ready to deal with requests for inclusions and decisive about incentives you will offer.

Here are some of the items you may want to think about as potential bargaining chips:
major appliances, including washer, dryer, fridge, stove, dishwasher, water heater and water softener draperies, curtains, blinds and shutters
custom-built furniture, such as bookcases or shelves that fit a particular spot in the house area rugs that fit a particular room
barbeque
patio furniture, planters, garden benches and ornaments
garden shed
lawnmower, power washer, leaf vacuum or other maintenance equipment
garden or household tools
recreational equipment, such as ping-pong and pool tables, above-ground pools, trampolines, climbers, swing sets and hot tubs
boats, canoes, life vests and safety equipment, if you are selling a waterfront home

When deciding which potential bargaining chips you are willing to part with, you should consider how easy or difficult it will be to move them, how much you will need them and how much it will cost to replace them. You may love your top-of-the-line barbeque and patio furniture, for example, but they may not be worth the fuss and expense of moving them across the country. On the other hand, you may decide you can’t part with a china cabinet that’s been in the family for generations, no matter how much a purchaser wants it and how difficult it will be to move.

Light fixtures and built-ins such as central air conditioning and vacuum system, in-ground pools, water filtration systems, cabinetry and cook-tops are typically considered "includes," rather than extras. They should be factored into the asking price you and your selling agent decide on for your home.

Other requests come out of the blue and may seem downright odd or irritating. It’s hard to understand why a bidder would insist on including a coat of purple paint in a bedroom or a $30 shower curtain and matching bath mat in a deal worth $100,000 or more, but it happens. You can’t anticipate every demand, but as a rule, if it is easy and inexpensive to comply, you’re smart to agree graciously in order to expedite your sale.

For more information about Florence Oregon Real Estate give me a call 541-991-7794 or visit my website www.maureensellsflorence.com