Costly Mistakes
One of the costliest mistakes you can make is letting the seller know how much you love his or her condo. Once you've let it slip, you can just about forget about negotiating the price-the other side knows how motivated you are. In fact, a seller may see this as an opportunity to squeeze a little more money out of you even when you've made a good offer to start with; no matter how wonderful a home is, keep it to yourself. Keep your own situation to yourself as well. Information can be used against you. How much you're willing to spend, the size of mortgage you can afford, your move-in deadline-it all can be used to extract more money out of your pocket. Be sure to tell your agent everything he or she needs to know to be effective on your behalf-whether you plan to pay cash or the size of the mortgage you can afford, etc. However, keep your personal circumstances and timeline to yourself. Other signs of a motivated seller include a vacant unit, or a condo that's been on the market for several months with reductions in the asking price.