getting owners to pay closing fees

Great question, Kenny. I hope you have all the information you need now.

Good luck!

We do it everyday in our office, it's a matter of negotiating with the seller so they see the advantage.

Most sellers care more about the amount they are going to net than if they are paying closing costs. It may be necessary to submit an offer for above list price if it's in a neighborhood that will support the price. You may be at a disadvantage if there are multiple offers. Generally the seller will choose the offer with the least risk of an issue with financing. It can be accomplished though. Best of luck!

You know it depends, everything is negotiable. Does the seller need some extra time before you go to closing? Your agent needs to find out as much information - as he/she can in order to know what the seller might be willing to give a buyer. Are there repairs needed from the home inspection that maybe you could let slide if the seller was willing to help you with the closing cost?

I certainly hope you're working with a buyer's agent to assist you in submitting a favorable offer. Since we are in a seller's market, it's not uncommon for sellers to receive more than one offer.

Nevertheless, some home sellers may be able to pay some closing costs. It all depends on how motivated they are to sell their home, as well as how much equity they have on their home mortgage.

Best of luck on your home buying.

Great answer Catherine. In a normal buyers market the buyers are get concessions and in a normal sellers market you see fewer concessions in offers. However, we are in a very strange market. We still have many homeowners who may not be upside down on their mortgage, but they are on the borderline and don't have the funds to provide seller concessions or even repairs. Even when they want to, they just can't. As stated above, it's all negotiable. Ask for what you need and work with what you get. A good Realtor knows many ways to help a buyer get what they need, with or without seller concessions. Good luck to you!

Whether or not a seller will pay for a portion of buyer closing costs is really dependent on the specific situation and definitely negotiable. Your realtor will be able to advise you how to present a strong offer even in requesting contributions.

However, typically in a seller's market it is less common due to the low inventory, especially in a multiple offer situation (all other factors being the same), since an offer not requesting contributions is a stronger offer. Of course other things are considered.

Another thing to consider is that while home prices are rising the market value as assessed by an appraiser take time to catch up since it is based on the actual sales price and not current list prices. If you are considering offering over asking with the addition of contributions keep in mind that the house may or may not appraise for the full amount. For more information feel free to contact me. When own an appraisal company and I can provide more information.

Darby
Keller Williams Realty
darby@darbygrimmett.com
936-827-9217

Its not a matter of being hard, all you have to do is have your agent include it into the offer, from there its all about negotiation. If the seller is not willing to pay all of the closing cost, your agent may be willing to negotiate a portion of it.

Not hard at all to request closing cost from the seller in this market, It's a business transaction that you can negotiate. The best way to approach the seller for closing cost in this market, is to first agree on the purchase price for the home. Then, go back to the seller and ask to raise the purchase price by the amount of your closing costs, and to give you a credit for the closing costs. This negotiation tactic separates the emotion of the purchase price from the decision to pay closing costs!