You’ve heard of lowball buyers, but others will tell you whatever you want up front.
I’m sure most people reading here have had the experience of going to a car lot. I kind of like the process, but I’m weird. And I negotiate for a living, so it’s kind of like practice.
But for most people, it’s like pulling teeth.
We all know how it goes. You find a car you like and take it for a test drive. Afterwards, the salesman asks this question:
“If I can get you the right price, would you buy the car today?”
Well, sure. Who wouldn’t for the “right price?”
Next step you go in the office, and they ask you for a number. You try to give them a low number, but my experience is most people don’t go low enough. (a good rule of thumb is if you’re not at least a little embarrassed by your initial offer, it’s too high)
Salesman takes the number, acts excited, and says he’s going to go get it signed off on by his boss.
You know what happens next. They can’t do it. You start negotiating, and they use every trick they know to play off your neediness. Including dragging the process out for hours. So you feel like you’ve wasted time if you don’t make a deal.
If they know what they are doing (and they do), you probably end up agreeing to something you regret.
It’s not necessarily that you shouldn’t play the game, it’s that you need to know what the game is before playing.
A similar thing happens in land sales, especially in areas that are ripe for development.
It’s not every buyer, but certain buyers will be very aggressive in trying to get your property under contract. Even if they are pretty sure it won’t work at the number you’re asking.
They say, “what will it take?” You give them a number, they write it up and you sign. And you start counting the days til you can spend the money.
Even more than you expected!
But don’t forget there are contingencies in those contracts. They can get out of the deal, and it doesn’t usually cost them much.
So even if you’re asking too much, they go ahead and sign it up. Worry about that later.
Come back to you a couple months down the line, use every trick they know to get the price down, get more time, whatever. They know you have a bunch of time invested, and it’ll feel wasted if you have to start over.
So you give in more often than not.
Was it a dumb idea? Not necessarily. Sometimes the game is worth playing.
But you have to know what the game is, and what to expect.
PS — Not every buyer works that way, and it doesn’t always mean they’re dishonest. To buy something, you’ve got to get it under contract first, and some are just more aggressive about getting there.
The key is knowing what you’re getting into. If you’re not in the business, it’s hard to know who’s who—but you need to. Or have someone in your corner who does.
Yes, you’ll pay on the back end—but the peace of mind is worth it.
Is it ever a bad time to start a conversation with someone who knows the players and has the integrity to treat you right?
Click below,
Got a lot you might want to sell?
Get a FREE, no obligation report on what it could sell for today.
Get Your Lot Valuation
Own land instead?
Get a report for that here:
Get Your Land Value
Just a glutton for punishment?
Sign up now to get more articles like this in your email.
Sign Up Now