Opinions Regarding the Negotiation Process

[Tommy Nguyen]

Hello, BiggerPockets community,

I am excited to share that my first rental property is under contract! I am requesting the BiggerPockets community's opinion on the following questions:

What items can I negotiate with, such as appraisal and inspection? If so, what are the usual big-ticket items I can negotiate?

Should I expect my negotiation power to decrease, especially in today's market?

Thank you for your time, and I look forward to everyone's opinion!

[Melissa Hartvigsen]

Quote from @Tommy Nguyen:

Hi Melissa,

I appreciate your response. At the time of my offer, the property had only one offer. Also, I believe the appraisal value will be lower compared to the listing price. If that's the case, could I negotiate with the seller to have the purchase price and appraisal value match? Thank you once again!

Hi Tommy,

The lender who is doing your loan will only give you the loan up to the amount of the appraisal value. You should 100% re-negotiate if the value to what it appraised for.  

The other option if for you to bring extra money to closing to make up the difference. Based on the factors you mentioned such as the property needs cosmetic rehab and it was on the market for a month, I would not advise this. If you were in the scenario that Joseph Cornwell mentioned (1 day on the market and 10 offers in addition to yours) then I would recommend considering this as long as your investment projections would still pencil out with the added out of pocket money.

-Melissa