Rich Harvey

But the key is to know what it should reasonably sell for.

Your assessment of what it's worth is the first step.

So if you find that the seller is holding firm to that value and they're not really paying attention to what's happening in the market, you just got to walk away.

Determining that real value takes a lot of skill and you've got to be able to really do that and put aside your emotion and just weigh up the pros and cons.

To your question, what should be your first offer price?

Well, the simple answer is there's no one size fits all solution here.

The typical strategy that most buyers use is to offer something significantly below their maximum offer price and gradually work their way up.

Craig, the problem with that strategy is that the size of your incremental offers after you've made that first offer might be too large or too small to get the agent interested and they might think you're a time waster.

Well, the problem with that putting in a really low offer to start and then working your way up is that then the size of your incremental offers might be too big or too small to actually get the agent's interest to think that you're a genuine buyer and they might just think you're a time waster.

What I've done, Craig, in some cases is I've gone in and I've actually presented what I call a best and final offer straight off the bat.

I'll say to the agent, I'm going to offer you a really top price, but I won't be coming back and giving you a subsequent offer.

And here's my reasons why.

And I list all of the sales that are relevant in comparison, put it in writing.

And I say to the agent, I'm not coming back for a second buyer.

If you find another buyer, good luck to you.

But here it is.

Here's my offer.

Take it or leave it by 5 p.m.

tomorrow.

Otherwise, we're moving on.