Do you talk to the agent at an inspection? 

So much information comes out of just talking to the real estate agent. 

Finding out what are they selling for, how long have they held the property for, what type of personal situation they’re in. 

Because if they are in a situation where they’re trying to offload their property to free up debt for their principal place of residence, it makes the negotiation and conversation so different. 

Some people when people go to the open home they say “oh I don’t want to seem too keen or interested” but when you’re interested and you’re having a good conversation, the real estate agent enjoying chatting with you and they start telling you all this information it becomes crucial these little bits of information; who are they, what type of situation the seller is in to form the negotiation. 

A lot of people think the negotiation comes down to the best dollar but it doesn’t always. Sometimes if you can settle quicker, go unconditional straight away, all these different little things you can do outside of price that can also close the deal other than just paying an extra $50k or $100k. 

That’s one of the big things that I always focus on when talking to the real estate agent is finding out what type of situation the seller is in, so that I know how I’m going to negotiate and I know what is actually the motivation, other than price, for the vendor.