How To Give Your Home Buyers an Incentive: Tips for Offering Real Estate Incentives

When it comes to selling your home, an incentive is a bonus that you give to the buyer as part of their final deal. Incentives are appealing because they don’t cost you anything upfront. Instead, an incentive gives the buyers something that they want and prompts them to act sooner. The biggest benefit of offering real estate incentives is that they don’t cost you anything upfront. They can be used as negotiating tools when working with real estate agents or other potential buyers and directly impact the final sale price for everyone involved.

What is a Real Estate Incentive?

An incentive is any extra money or benefits that you give to home buyers if they purchase your house. Incentives come in many forms and can include cash, assistance with closing costs, or other benefits. The most common real estate incentives include: - Closing cost assistance - Help to pay closing costs and other fees associated with buying the house. - Escrow assistance - Paying the buyer’s portion of the closing costs. - Seller financing - Letting the buyer take the house “subject to” a mortgage that you hold. You remain the owner and they make payments to you. - Existing mortgage payoff - Paying off your current mortgage so you can walk away from the house. - Home improvements - Paying for repairs, renovations, or improvements on your house. - Moving assistance - Providing free services or items to help the buyer move. - Price reduction - Reducing the purchase price of your house. - Promotional incentives - Offering free services or products as part of your sale.

Should You Offer a Real Estate Incentive?

Before offering real estate incentives, ask yourself if you can afford to give up the money. Incentives are only effective if the buyer thinks theyre worth it. That means you need to consider the following factors: - Buyer psychology - The buyer needs to want and value the incentive, or they won’t be prompted to act. - Buyer demographics - You want to make sure the incentive appeals to the right demographic. - Condition of your house - Incentives are most effective when they improve the desirability of your house.

Negotiating Strategies for Real Estate Incentives

If you negotiate real estate incentives, make sure you cover the following points: - Make it easy to take the incentive - The buyer may or may not take the incentive, but the process should be easy. For example, the terms of the closing cost assistance should be clear and easy to understand. - Offer multiple incentives - The buyer may value different incentives, and you should be prepared to offer different options. - Offer incentives on both ends - The incentive should be greater than the profit from the sale, so it’s worthwhile for the buyer. - Limit the time frame for taking the incentive - The buyer has to take the incentive now, or you walk away with a higher profit.

Bottom Line

Real estate incentives can help increase the sales price of your home, but they aren’t appropriate for every situation. Before offering incentives, make sure you have the room in your budget and that the incentives are appropriate for your buyers. If you can do that, offering real estate incentives can be an effective way to speed up the sales process and get your house sold faster.