You know us leasehackrs- we negotiate the crap out of our cars- but don’t just stop there.
I’m a little surprised that the young folks nowadays who buy the new builds (namely the tri-levels here in SoCal) are purchasing them at full price. And when I talk to them they told me that their realtor says we can’t negotiate on new builds.
I can tell you - that’s total BS.
This happened with several new home buyers I’ve talked to (darn it- should’ve picked me as your realtor) and some realtors I talk to didn’t even know you can negotiate down the price in the first place.
Here’s one I just locked for a client today (this client was actually with another realtor who told them they can’t negotiate the price down but I was able to prove the price reduction and they went ahead and locked the deal with me right away.)
Happy Hackn’ and negotiate the crap out of EVERYTHING!
Alex, this is a very interesting read. How would this apply to a market like seattle? I’ve heard that the asking price is more of a “starting bid” and then potential buyers will submit their offers and the highest bid gets the house. I’m very clueless about real estate.
We were able to negotiate on our new build 4 years ago in Ballard (we since sold for 140% of what we paid and moved further north). The reason we could was because it wasn’t selling as quickly as the builder had hoped.
Today? I’d say if you’re doing a new build in the suburbs (bothell, kenmore, snohomish county etc) you might have a chance. Seattle proper? No. Because you’ll simply lose in a bidding war.
I’m not too familiar with Seattle but its a very hot market there. But with any offer you instead of a higher bid you can always ask your realtor to work with the lender in creating a “cash like” offer. Including but not limited to shortening the closing date, contingency removal date and allowing the homeowner to stay a few days after close of escrow.
But in regards to the new builds where I am in SoCal- they are priced at a premium and not to mention they are mostly Tri-levels (which are normally less attractive than a 2 story home- so many stairs to walk or you can request to add an elevator for $20k).
Also pay attention to the home upgrades. Sometimes they add these “upgrades” towards the home (type of flooring, island/peninsula, integrated shoe storage at the entry way, etc.) that the builders are unable to remove. If you’re serious about the home and don’t like the upgrade- there could be some incentive there for you. You catch my drift?
Buying a new house is always a great feeling. Make sure you will not lose from your sight important details, also always consider purchasing a good insurance, because the retailer or a owner may not alert you about all the potential risks of exactly this house, or any previous unpleasant experience. When I have relocated with work purposes in another state, I made a long-term rental contract for my current house. As the house looked nice, there were no reasons to check the wiring in the house. This thing could have cost me a huge amount of money (an incident occurred in my bathroom) but I was lucky to insure my house from such cases. I chose my company using this service https://www.moneyexpert.com/home-insurance/ and would recommend it to you, because I chose the best price-quality option and it saved me a lot of money. Good luck!
