Seven tactics wealthy buyers use to get a cheaper property (and how you can copy them)

Jo Eccles is the founder and Managing Director of Eccord, which specialises in acquiring and managing residential properties in prime central London. For 17 years she has sourced and acquired prime and super prime properties on behalf of private individuals and families, and her firm also oversees £1.5bn of residential property on behalf of one-off and portfolio landlords.

Described as a “superstar woman in property”, Jo is one of the leading authorities on the luxury residential market and is consistently recognised as one of London’s top Property Advisors. 

The current property market is incredibly fragmented and there are lots of mixed messages, with certain reports and price indices showing price rises, others showing falls and some experts formally calling the bottom of the market.

Many buyers are entering the market with an expectation that they will be able to secure a significant discount. This is being met by a large proportion of sellers who are discretionary and don’t need to sell, or they are refusing to accept that their home may be worth less than what they paid for it. 

What we’re left with is a pricing stand-off between buyers and sellers – with huge sensitivity on both sides – and bridging the gap can be very hard for buyers to navigate.

Having successfully represented hundreds of clients in property negotiations over the past 17 years, I believe that while every situation is different, there are certain tactics you can apply to help secure a property even if there are higher offers on the table or the seller is holding firm.

Ask the right questions

Asking the right questions is important for fact finding, which will have a significant impact on your negotiation strategy. Find out as much as you can about the sellers – why they are selling, how long the property has been on sale and whether there have been any offers. 

Those moving for a new job or school place or a seller who has not yet found an onward purchase, may be more driven by timescales and logistics than price alone. 

We were recently in a competitive bidding situation on a large family house and, by asking the right questions, we learned that the sellers ideally didn’t want to move until their children had finished exams. 

As part of our clients’ bid we offered a six-month delayed completion, which secured the house for us at a lower price as the other higher bidders all wanted to move in quickly and hadn’t thought to offer flexibility.

Make the right impression

Every impression you make will consciously (or subconsciously) affect how you are perceived as a buyer, which impacts how any offer you submit is received. 

If you arrive adorned with designer labels and expensive jewellery, the seller might be less convinced when you insist you’ve reached your price limit. 

One client of ours had reached the top of her budget and we needed to convey the message that she couldn’t increase any further, but she had a habit of turning up to viewings looking a million dollars. 

After pulling her aside and politely suggesting that dressing down a little might work in her favour, she arrived at the next meeting looking much more low key, and we eventually managed to convince the seller she couldn’t go a penny higher.

Appeal to the seller’s priorities

Your buying approach should be adapted to the seller’s profile. In cases where the seller is less emotionally attached to the property – such as if it is a distressed sale or you are negotiating with third parties, such as family offices or beneficiaries – taking a purely numbers driven, no-nonsense approach with ultimatums can yield excellent results. 

But you must be committed to your approach and be able to follow through.

As an example, we were bidding on a new penthouse for a wealthy entrepreneur’s daughter and, while she absolutely loved it, her father wasn’t as emotionally invested. 

We used this to our advantage; we made it clear to the developer that we would proceed but only at a certain price and if it wasn’t acceptable, we would simply move on to the next property on our shortlist. The development sales team didn’t want to lose such a good buyer and reluctantly accepted.

Developers who are coming up to month or year-end may be more motivated to accept an offer. If you can’t get the price down as much as you’d like, you could try to secure other benefits instead, such as an upgrade on the specification or a parking space.

Emotional seller? Be on your best behaviour

If the sale situation is more emotional, you will likely need to take a different approach. How you conduct yourself during viewings and negotiations will have a significant impact on your success. 

An authentic, straightforward buyer who is transparent about their intentions will always be favoured by an estate agent and their client, compared to a buyer who is rude or difficult to read. 

During viewings, remember that you’re a guest in someone else’s home. With so many properties today fitted with cameras, remember to keep your opinions on the owner’s interior design choices to yourself until you’ve safely departed. 

If the owner is present, popping your head round the door and saying “Thank you for having us” goes a long way. 

Do your sums, but leave your ego at the door 

Do your research carefully to ensure you’re informed and realistic about what the property you want to buy is worth. 

You want to negotiate smartly, but avoid going in so low that you risk offending the seller or losing credibility with the agent. If a property is priced competitively, you want to recognise that and pounce on it quickly.

A recent banker client of ours was so fixated on being seen as an aggressive negotiator by his colleagues on the trading floor that when the perfect flat came on to the market in Belgravia for a very compelling asking price – it had been priced to sell quickly following a divorce – he couldn’t bring himself to pay it. 

He openly said if the property had been listed £100,000 higher he would have offered, so he could have felt he was getting a bargain. Someone savvier snapped up the property within 24 hours.

Buying a property isn’t an opportunity to impress friends and colleagues with your negotiating prowess, it’s about understanding what it’s worth in the market and deciding what it’s worth to you. 

Keep your emotions in check

Over the years we have represented clients who are some of the most exceptional negotiators in their professional field, but they can underestimate the emotional element that is quite unique to property transactions. 

Even some of the most experienced property professionals I know have handled their own personal property purchases terribly, as emotions kicked in and outweighed rationale and objectivity. 

This is one of the reasons buying agents are usually able to negotiate more effectively for their clients, as they can remain objective. 

Commit to the property

In addition to giving a good impression at viewings, you’ll need to continue selling yourself when submitting your offer in writing. You need to strategically present yourself in the best possible light. 

As well as, of course, confirming how much you are offering and any fixtures and fittings to be included, it’s a good idea to provide a summary of yourself and why you like the property. 

Sellers are favouring credible buyers over higher offers in the current market, so the more they identify with you and understand why you want to buy their property in particular, the more comfortable they will be accepting your bid, even if it’s not the highest. 

As a seller, there is a big difference between receiving an offer from a buyer confirming a price they will pay, compared to receiving one accompanied by information about the buyers’ particular circumstances, their occupation, sharing that they grew up locally, and explaining that they are looking to move back to the area and particularly love this location as it’s part of their favourite running route. 

For our own clients, we have won 85pc of the competitive bidding situations we have entered into, even though in 65pc of those cases our clients weren’t the strongest or higher bidders. 

This shows the power of a detailed offer in terms of providing the seller with a sense of reassurance and commitment. They need to be convinced that you will stay the course as a buyer – which is important as transactions are taking longer and more goodwill is needed.

Property negotiations aren’t just about the price, but rather the whole package. 

If you present yourself impeccably, have taken the time to understand what’s important to the seller, you’re smart with your numbers and are open and transparent about your intentions, you stand an excellent chance of beating a higher offer or persuading the seller to part with their property for less.