If you think these offers smack of desperation, well, you're right. With home prices nationwide expected to tumble nearly 6 percent this year and inventories of unsold houses at near record levels, sellers have good reason to feel a little frantic. The incentive that should be at the top of your list isn't a landscaping allowance or plane tickets or a flat-screen TV.
What you should press for first is that timeless, ever-popular classic: a lower purchase price. In New Jersey, a builder is trying to entice prospects to purchase condominiums and attached homes with a free two-year lease on a Mercedes-Benz. In Seattle, a homeowner is offering round-trip airplane tickets to anywhere in the world, plus a six-night stay at a Four Seasons hotel to anyone who will just, please, buy the house he has on the market.
Generally, the more money you put down in cash, the more incentives you can get. No matter how crafty a bargainer you are, there's a limit to the value of the incentives you can get without creating more complications for yourself. Don't let incentives draw you into a lousy deal. The freebies won't amount to the proverbial hill of beans if you're not happy with the house and the financing. So if either is not exactly what you want, keep shopping. News from yahoo.