Welcome to our Tips for House Buying Negotiation page at Mortgages UK.

Build up a good relationship with the seller and the estate agent. If they like you then it gives the deal a better chance of going through.

Find out all you can about the vendor. If you know they have to move then this can help in price negotiation. Other local estate agents may have viewed the property but didn't get the instruction, so you may get some information from them.

Ask the selling agent to justify the asking price before making your first offer. This can help you form arguments as to why you want to offer less.

If it's a buyers' market, then you may be able to take your time in making an offer and reduce the seller's price expectations.

Ring local estate agents to find out recent sale prices of similar properties in the area. If you find they are lower, this will give you further arguments for a price reduction. Remember to ask for the date when the price was agreed rather than when the deal was completed.

Expect your initial offer to be rejected and plan your offer increases beforehand. As you make further offers, the price increments should decrease, e.g. your first increased offer adds £4,000, the next £2,000, the next £1,000 etc. You may be able to request that further fixtures and fittings are included in return for your increased offer.

If your offer is not accepted, always ask for a counteroffer. Don't rush to make a revised offer, keep the seller guessing.

You may be able to bring the move timetable into negotiations too. For example, you might make a lower offer in return for the seller being able to stay in their house for longer.

If you are stuck in a chain, try to help obtain price reductions throughout the chain. If necessary, suggest to the selling agents that they reduce their commission to free the chain up.

Thanks for visiting our Tips for House Buying Negotiation page. We hope it helped find what you were looking for.