What is “The Nibble”?

Webster’s Dictionary would define the word “nibble” as “a small bite”, but to the person buying something, a nibble is a bit different.  To a buyer, a nibble is a conscious or unconscious effort to get the seller to take less, and is usually the last effort to get just a little bit more taken off of the asking price.

When done by a person skilled in negotiations, it’s very effective.  But like most negotiation tactics, knowing when and how to ask are critical.

As a home seller, you can limit the effectiveness by being aware of this tactic and taking steps ahead of time to shut it down.

So the question is, “What steps should you take?”

First, you need to make sure that the Buyer contingencies are very clear.

The inspection contingency is the most critical.  Having a pre-selling home inspection will, in the end, likely save you much more than the cost of the inspection itself. You see, buyers having the inspection done after making an offer and having it accepted (usually at a lesser price than the asking price), will often find from the inspection some things that they were not aware of.  Now with inspection in hand and the price of your home at the purchase agreement price rather than the asking price, some buyers use the inspection as a last negotiation tactic. They will tell the seller that they will complete the transaction only if the Seller will allow $xxxx.xx to cover the problems revealed in the inspection.

Having a Pre-Sell Inspection will often serve as a deterrent, as most buyers will not have a second inspection done when provided with a copy of your Pre-Selling Inspection and being told you took the issues revealed into consideration before arriving at an asking price and/or having had corrected some of those issues.

Be prepared and avoid the nibble tactic!