When Negotiating, Tell the Reason Why

[Jackie Lange]

Here's a little tip that will help you make more money...

A few months ago I was negotiating to buy small coffee farm and house in Central America. In this tropical mountain area, coffee is grown all over the place. It’s the perfect altitude, climate, and rainfall for premium coffee. And it is delicious!

We finally came to an agreement on price but I wanted more land. The coffee farm is part of a bigger property. The owners wanted to keep as much land as they could for themselves. I wanted to get as much as I could for my little finca (farm).

We were at a stand-still on the negotiations until…

When I told the seller that I really needed the extra land for a greenhouse and garden area, they were fine with giving me the extra land.

Because I told them the “reason why” and they thought it was reasonable, they said yes.

When I negotiate to buy with seller financing, the only way I'm able to get the monthly payment down, was to tell the sellers that I could only afford to pay them $x because I could only rent it for $y. Plus I had to pay taxes and insurance and needed to be able to make a monthly profit or there was no reason for me to buy the house.

Because I told them the “reason why” I could only pay $x, I was able to get the price down.

The next time you are negotiating to buy a house, either for cash or for terms, explain the reason why you came up with your numbers and the seller will be much more likely to say yes to your offer.