Will An Insult Get You A Price Reduction?

One of my seller’s received an offer the other day.

We both got a laugh out of it.

The buyer’s agent had carefully spelled out  the reasons why the buyer didn’t think the property was worth list price.  It included things like: a one car garage, which didn’t suit the buyers needs,  one boiler (meaning the owner pays the heat) and a mention that the heating system was old and sure to die any moment now.

After reading this list of why’s to my seller, I asked if he’d seen the light. Wisely, he just chuckled.

He knew the property only had a single car garage. In fact, he’s been aware of it the entire 20 plus years he’s owned it.

And, while the boiler is older, the seller is an engineer who specializes in heating systems that service everyone from the Marine Corps to NASA.

Need I state the obvious and say the boiler in his property has been impeccably maintained?

Telling sellers your thoughts about what’s wrong with their property won’t result in a price reduction. They are human, after all, and like most of us, they believe in their property and the efforts they’ve put in to it.

Insulting them won’t convince them otherwise.