Handling awkward questions from buyers

I've taught for most of my adult life, and I love to provide lengthy answers to questions. But when selling my own FSBO properties, I try to restrain myself. You should always be truthful and freely disclose any problems with the house, of course, but there are some questions you should handle with care:

• "By how much will you come down on the price?"

Don't ever say anything that will reveal how much you're willing to come down. When buyers ask this, I laugh engagingly and say we haven't made up our minds yet. I then say we'll consider all reasonable offers.

• "Why are you selling?"

It's okay to answer this but don't reveal how eager you are to sell or dwell on problems with the house. Don't say, "I got a job back east that starts in a week." Say, "We plan to move back east." Don't say, "We've made an offer on this house that we absolutely ADORE but we have to sell this one first." Say, "We plan to move into a larger house in the area." Don't say, "We can't stand our neighbors." Say, "We hope to move into a house that's better suited to our needs."

• "Will you call me if you get an offer from someone else?"

Here's how I'd respond: "If you plan to make an offer within the next few days, I'd be happy to let you know if another one comes in. Otherwise, no. I don't think it would be fair to whoever's making the offer for me to go out and solicit other buyers." Handling the question this way encourages the prospective buyer to take action and make an offer soon, or risk losing the house to someone else.

Note that this is what I'd say, not what I'd do.  If an offer came in, I'd call anyone who'd expressed an interest in the property and invite them to make rival offers.

• "Have you had any offers yet?"

If you have gotten offers, you might answer "Yes, but the buyer wasn't able to get a loan." or "Yes, but the deal fell through." If you haven’t, try dodging the question with “We don’t have any pending offers right now.” If the buyer wants a more specific answer, say “Sorry, I don’t want to disclose that.”

• "May I ask what your other offer was?"

I'd just laugh and say, "I don't think I'm supposed to answer that one."