Speak Less at the Table

Sellers most often weaken their own position at a viewing by answering every friendly question in full. Why are you selling, have you found somewhere else, when do you need to be out. Each one sounds like small talk, and each honest, chatty answer tells the buyer something about how much room the seller has.

A remark that the new job in Gauteng starts next month, and that the bond on the next house has already gone through, is heard very differently on the other side of the room. It means two bond repayments soon and a move that cannot wait. The first offer will be pitched with that in mind, and so will the reply to any counter offer. Buyers do the same thing to themselves when they mention that the children have already chosen bedrooms and the lease on their rental ends soon.

Keeping answers short is a different thing from hiding things. Known defects still have to be disclosed, and questions about the house deserve full answers. Questions about a person's own deadlines are another matter, and a polite, brief reply covers them. Plenty of deals were priced at the front door before anyone wrote a figure down.