Wondering how to negotiate the best price for a waterfront or beach home? There’s a naturally low supply of waterfront homes, yet these types of properties tend to experience high demand. As a result, you’ll likely face heavy competition from other home buyers.

This gives waterfront home sellers all the leverage in a transaction. Still, it’s possible to negotiate a great deal if you follow the best negotiation tips. In this article, our realtors at Your Home Sold Guaranteed Realty - Florida Waterfront will discuss the best negotiating strategies to get you the best price for your dream home on the water.

Key Takeaways

• Understand the Market. Timing the market, understanding current market trends, and knowing whether buyers or sellers have the upper hand are key factors in a successful negotiation.
• Start with a Reasonable Offer. Don’t purposefully lowball the home seller. Instead, present a reasonable offer that leaves room for negotiation based on data
• Consider Contingencies. Think about adding contingencies to your offer, but be careful of making your offer unappealing to the seller.
• Ask The Seller to Cover Certain Costs Instead. Instead of asking for a lower price, see if the home seller is willing to cover closing costs or the price of repairs.
• Be Willing to Compromise. It’s important to be flexible and realize you may not get your ideal offer. Above all, creating a positive relationship with the seller will go far in getting you a good deal.

Below, learn what elements can be used to potentially justify a lower asking price and why working with a realtor is essential to get you the best price.

5 Tips on How to Negotiate the Best Price

Understand the Market

The first step to a successful negotiation is understanding the local housing market. First, determine whether the market is a buyer’s market or a seller’s market. In a buyer’s market, demand is low and supply is high, which gives buyers all the leverage in a transaction.

In a seller’s market, the opposite is the case: demand is high, but supply is low. Figure out which one your market is experiencing, or whether it’s a neutral market. Your realtor can help you out.

Next, work with your realtor to research the market. Your realtor has the necessary resources to analyze current market trends and evaluate home prices. They’ll take a close look at currently listed and recently sold homes in the area, and compare them to historical market patterns.

Based on their findings, they’ll advise you on how much to make your initial offer. They’ll also discuss how high of an offer you’re willing to make, and at one point you’d walk away from the property.

Your realtor will also discuss timing the market to get the best possible price. If they think you’ll be able to get a lower price by waiting to make an offer, they may advise you to wait or vice versa.

Start with a Reasonable Offer

The first offer you make must be reasonable and based on data. Even if you want to start by making a lower offer, it’s important not to present a drastically lowball offer. Otherwise, the home seller won’t take you seriously.

At best, present an offer just under the seller’s asking price that leaves room for negotiation. Then, make sure to have legitimate reasons behind the lower offer. Aside from market data, you can provide justifications based on the results of a home appraisal or inspection. 

When it comes to waterfront homes, there are a number of issues that could justify asking for a lower price. These include:

• Water quality. The quality of the body of water outside the home, as well as any wells on the property. If the home inspection turns up low-quality water, you could potentially get the seller to agree to a lower price.
• Septic system. If the property has a septic system, check its condition and make sure it follows the area’s septic regulations. 
• Condition of the boat dock. If there’s a boat dock, a home inspector or appraiser might turn up issues with it that could be used as a basis for negotiation.
• Risk of natural disasters. If the property is at particular risk of being affected by natural disasters, you could use it as a reason to ask for a reduced price.

Consider Contingencies

After you decide on an initial offer, consider whether you want to add any contingencies. Most home sellers pass up offers that are attached to contingencies, especially in a seller’s market. But there are a couple of common-sense contingencies based on a successful home appraisal or inspection. 

These contingencies protect your interests as the home buyer, ensuring you end up with a home that’s in good condition. Your realtor can advise you on the best contingencies to ask for.

Ask The Seller to Cover Certain Costs Instead

Instead of asking for a discounted price, see if the home seller is willing to sweeten the deal in other ways. For example, by paying for your closing costs or covering the cost of repairs turned up in the inspection or appraisal.

Sometimes, home sellers may be more willing to cover certain costs rather than lower their asking price. Even if they say no, it doesn’t hurt to ask.

Be Willing to Compromise

Lastly, the key to how to negotiate the best price is to be flexible. You likely won’t get exactly what you want. For this reason, you’ll have to be prepared to compromise or walk away from the negotiating table.

It’ll go a long way with the home seller if you act polite and professional during negotiations. Try putting yourself in the seller’s shoes and see if you can find out their reasons for selling. This could help you see things from their perspective during negotiations. 

For example, if the home seller is under a tight deadline to move out, they likely won’t have the time to take care of additional repairs themselves.

Buy a Waterfront Home in Florida With Our Team

If you need to buy a waterfront home in Florida, our realtors at Your Home Sold Guaranteed Realty - Florida Waterfront can help. We know how to negotiate the best price. Our team specializes in connecting home buyers with the waterfront properties of their dreams. 

We’ve worked with hundreds of clients to help them get the perfect home at the best possible price. Our in-depth knowledge of the market and negotiation skills give us a unique advantage at the negotiating table.

On top of that, we offer several buyer guarantees to protect your interests during the home-buying process. This includes our Buy it Back Guarantee, which gives you the option to return the home to us if you realize it isn’t a good fit.

For more information on how to negotiate the best price for your waterfront home or to work with our team, call 407-307-2617. You can also fill out the form on this page.