Seller Pressure in Signing the PSA and Due Diligence

[Ian Appold]

With the market starting to shift I have started to notice more sellers starting to get more nervous about getting their initial price and completing the deal. In some instances this has resulted with them putting more pressure on the buyer with either signing the purchase agreement or during their due diligence period. I wanted to share a bluff that I think is pretty common among sellers for some rookies, that when I first started I usually bit on but now over the past couple years and after a few deals done its pretty easy to see. 

The bluff is this in some form: "I have been getting a bunch a calls on this" or "I can put this back on the market and ill have a couple new offers the next day" or my personal favorite "There's a guy/company in California that has offered way above asking price for this" 

Now this is not always a bluff but in my experience its usually bluffing 90% of the time. They may have had a few people casually ask them about the deal but its usually nothing serious more often then not they probably just want information. The truth is if they did indeed have a better offer they would be actively trying to kill the deal not speed it up. Or in the case of signing a PSA they would just stop talking to you and pursue the other buyer. 

The point here is take your time make sure its a good deal before moving forward and don't be afraid to ask for more of a haircut before closing.