Before you make an offer, ask these questions.

A Buyers Agent is your best friend when it comes to negotiating a price for a property, but if you have decided to do it yourself, there are a few key things to keep in mind.

You have hopefully looked at a lot of properties if you are ready to get to the negotiation table, so you will be well aware of what similar houses are selling for in the same area.

Remember, the key number here is the final sale price, NOT the asking price.

It is fairly common that an agent will list a house 5-10% more than what the vendor will settle for, so keep that in mind when you are heading to the table. This means that the asking price is really just the starting point! The final sale price could be quite a bit different.

So before you barge on through to the negotiating ring, here are a few questions to consider:

1 - Do you know how the vendor came to their asking price?

Sometimes a vendor will take on their agents advice and list their property appropriately, others will have their heart set on a particular price and will-not-budge, no matter what their agent says. This will be a tough vendor to negotiate with.

2 - Have there been other offers made? 

If so, you will then know what the competition is like for this property. A lot of competition means the final sale price won't be as low as you would like.

3 - Is the property new to the market?

If it's been on the market for a long time the vendor may be more willing to negotiate. If it's just gone onto the market, then the vendor may be willing to wait around and cherry pick an offer.

4 - What is the reason for the sale?

If you know their personal circumstances - divorce, a death in the family a move across country, then you know they may be willing to settle quickly (aka willing to negotiate). Which may provide you with opportunity to buy it quickly.

5 - What's been going on with the price?

Has the price of the property been reduced since it's been on the market? If it has, you are probably going to have a vendor who just wants to sell it.

What do you think, are there other questions that you should ask?