16 Best Books on Real Estate Negotiation

PUBLISHED ON SEP. 4, 2019 | 18 MIN READ

Experts in body language say that 90% of communication is nonverbal. This may be striking to many in believing that most communication only comes from a verbal form. However, understanding the power of negotiation and the ability to interpret and read body language offers an enormous advantage. When experts say that 90% of communication is nonverbal, they also teach that the body does not lie. If you have the ability to interpret and read nonverbal cues over verbal talk, what is more trustworthy? Obviously, the body! By reading and studying the best books on real estate negotiation, you will develop a competitive advantage that can potentially save you more money, close more deals, and earn you more profits!

What are the Best Books on Real Estate Negotiation?

The list does not attempt to compile every book that has been written on the real estate negotiations. Instead, the author attempts to include a well-rounded list of the subject, including books not directly associated with real estate. The best books on real estate negotiation are only valuable to the reader if a full investment is committed in the study of it. Books on shelves may look in appearance to satisfy the psyche of a well-read mind, however, success is what determines the value of the information from within.

Best Books on Real Estate Negotiation: The List

1 – The Book on Negotiation Real Estate | By J Scott and Mark Ferguson

The Book on Negotiation Real Estate: Expert Strategies for Getting the Best Deals When Buying & Selling Investment Property written by J Scott and Mark Ferguson teaches fundamental strategies of negotiating real estate. Written for real estate agents to real estate investors and anyone in between, the authors demonstrate key principles in all aspects of the real estate negotiation process. Starting from the first interaction, to the renegotiating the contract after unexpected problems arise, and to the very last-minute talks at closing.

The books not only cover negotiation tips, tricks, and all aspects of negotiation real estate but gives real-life scenarios and highlights the results of each. In this book, you’ll discover the successful principles behind negotiations, the psychological build of relationships in how to negotiate leverage. Also, the authors teach how to overcome the challenges that real estate agents have when dealing with offers. Further, you’ll learn the steps of using concessions to take your deal to completion. You’ll also learn tactics for overcoming objections, and many more strategies when it comes to buying a property and making deals.

2 – Trump: The Art of the Deal | By Donald J. Trump and Tony Schwartz

Trump: The Art of the Deal is written by Donald Trump and Tony Schwartz, a book that shows and demonstrates how Donald Trump ran his organization and even how he runs his life. Without getting into political rhetoric and where you stand on the political spectrum with President Donald Trump. It is quite evident that Donald Trump ran an extremely successful life. The questions that must be asked by any serious investor, entrepreneur or businessman, is the how’s, what’s, and where’s. That is, how did Trump do it? What did Trump do? And where did Trump do it?

This book is as interesting as its namesake author. Way before “You’re fired!” ever hit the popular lexicon. Donald Trump was piecing real estate deals like a child pieces Legos. The book includes a diary of Trump’s typical week in the late 1980s. His friendly conversation with radio personality Don Imus, hostile takeover of Holiday Inn, meets with top New York banker who begs Donald for business, and so forth.

In addition, in this book the reader can experience lessons from Trump in that you must protect your downside, make your worst-case scenario your best possible. Learn to think big and focus your mind on trying to accomplish that. Understand that real estate values move in cycles, therefore, it’s better to wait than pay for an overpriced property. Learn to use leverage and always negotiation from a position of strength. When you feel like someone is taking advantage of you, always fight back and fight back hard. Learn to share the risk! And always keep your options open.

Regardless of what you think today of the POTUS, he knows how to earn his billions! It’d be wise for anyone to learn from those who succeeded as much as failed before us.

3 – Create a Great Deal | By Tim Burrell

Tim Burrell’s Create a Great Deal: The Art of Real Estate Negotiating is a practical guide of negotiating real estate transactions and deal-making. The buying and selling are based more on the emotional side than the logic side. Each transaction faces enormous pressure that affects not just the legal buyer or seller but other people who are also involved. Burrell teaches that you must develop your talent in dealing with the emotional side, the high-pressure situations. By this, you can improve both your own lives and your client’s lives. This book demonstrates how you can negotiate better for you and for your clients.

In this book, you’ll learn the types of negotiation, e.g. win-lose negotiation, win-win negotiation, creating value through trades, etc. You’ll understand that knowledge is power, how the internet is used for knowledge, chatting for knowledge, knowing the market, knowing the parties involved, knowing the personality, etc. You’ll learn how to structure negotiations, i.e. how to use negotiation structure to your advantage. Furthermore, you’ll discover the principles of negotiation, e.g. negotiating with silence, negotiate by walking away, understanding partners, obeying the law and your gut. You’ll also learn the rules of negotiation and the tools of negotiating the trade, e.g. legitimacy, deadlines, low ball offer, bad behavior, humor, being nice, etc.

Burrell even gives your tricks and tips, e.g. splitting the difference, set aside, nibble, the decoy, the reverse offer, etc. He’ll show you how to negotiate with multiple offers, and much more!

4 – Real Estate Dealmaking | By George Donohue

George Donohue’s Real Estate Dealmaking: A Property Investor’s Guide to Negotiating is a practical guide on negotiating deals in real estate investing. The truth of the matter is negotiating deals just may be one of the most intimidating parts of real estate investing. Having strong negotiation skills will set you apart from the competitor and outnumber the possibilities in how it helps you close deals.

In Real Estate Dealmaking: A Property Investor’s Guide to Negotiating, you’ll learn practical insights for those interested in solidifying and improving their negotiating skills.

Donohue teaches and prepares you for any economic cycle and how to negotiate with any type of property and obtain responses from any kind of negotiation style. Donohue uses real-life scenarios, worksheets, checklist, and other methods to teach this foundation knowledge of success in improving negotiation skills.

In this book, you’ll learn what negotiation versus successful negotiation is and the importance of being prepared. You’ll learn the strategies, methods, and expertise of your negotiation plan and what the fundamentals of negotiation are. Donohue also breaks down each negotiation strategy to each type of person you may be dealing with, for instance, negotiating with partners, negotiating with bankers, negotiating with brokers, negotiating with lawyers, negotiating with sellers, negotiating with contractors, negotiating with property managers, negotiating with tenants, negotiating with buyers, etc. Donohue always gives samples of the layout of these negotiation strategies.

5 – Supremacy Negotiating Real Estate Deals | By Phil Jones and Dave Bradley

This profit negotiation manual will allow you to succeed making more money through the power of negotiations. In Supremacy Negotiating Real Estate Deals the authors Phil Jones and Dave Bradley develop strategies and methods that build relationships, breakthrough blockages, deploy innovative solutions, leverage advanced techniques and increase profits.

In this book, you’ll learn 18 strategies to test your opponents through negotiation techniques. 19 tips on formulating a negotiation battle plan. 47 techniques that prepare to use negotiation that will give you a potent edge. 42 tricks that allow you to gain leverage, control, and power to win at the negotiation game in tactics through real estate investing. 14 ways that allows people to lower their barriers so you can build bridges. 31 ways that allows you to master people’s personalities. The authors also clearly use fax and email negotiation tools and teach on telephone negotiation.

6 – The Altman Close | By Josh Altman

Josh Altman’s The Altman Close: Million-Dollar Negotiating Tactics from America’s Top-Selling Real Estate Agent is a practical guide for real estate professionals on negotiations tactics. Altman has sold over $3 billion in real estate, including the most expensive one-bedroom house in history. Altman is considered one of the top agents in America. In this book, whether it be for yourself or for a client, is one of the most important books that any real estate agent can read. Altman demands solid emotional intelligence and negotiation skills as he teaches these strategies in his book.

In this book, you’ll learn how to work the deal, close, open and repeat through negotiation. You’ll learn to market and build our reputation that allows you to create more opportunities. Altman also teaches how to develop traits of a “closer” that is in you. Altman teaches his readers how to drive the deal forward to get the best price for your real estate property by creating a hunger, demand, and scarcity.

7 – Tips & Traps for Negotiating Real Estate | By Robert Irwin

Robert Irwin’s Tips & Traps for Negotiating Real Estate is written by a real estate investor, real estate broker, and author. Irwin has over 35 books on many areas of real estate. This book does a fundamental and practical breakdown of negotiating real estate when it comes to buying and selling. This is an easy to read guide that will help investors and homeowners to maximize profits and to avoid the pitfalls when it comes to real estate investing deals. This guide will give the reader tools and techniques for the reader.

In this book, you can expect to learn how to get a better price in a low market, how to negotiate for a quick sale, how to deal with lenders, how to negotiate in foreclosure, and how to negotiate with sellers. You’ll also learn that negotiation is strictly business and that knowledge is power. You will investigate the psychological power of negotiation and the rules of time.

8 – Never Split the Difference | By Chris Voss

real estate specific, however, Never Split the Difference is considered a very popular book on negotiation and needs not to be overlooked.

It is a fundamental principle that understanding how to get what you want and need from others is a necessity to your happiness. Yet most people avoid confrontation, fear conflict, and discourage themselves from bargaining. Chris Voss’s Never Split the Difference: Negotiating as if Your Life Depended on It is written by a former FBI hostage negotiator. Voss teaches negotiating techniques that include active listening, tactical empathy, and calibrated questioning. Voss will show you how to manage these negotiation situations at work, home, and any situation.

In this book, you’ll learn that effective negotiations are critical to emotional intelligence and psychological skill. Mirroring and isopraxism enable negotiators to solidify rapport. You’ll learn how to pay attention to body language, nonverbal clues, and speech inflections. You’ll also learn that negotiators use three basic styles; analyst, accommodator, and assertive.

Key Quotes Include;

“Every negotiation, every conversation, every moment of life is a series of small conflicts that, managed well, can rise to create beauty.”

“Prepare, prepare, prepare. When the pressure is on, you don’t rise to the occasion; you fall to your highest level of preparation.”

“The language of negotiation is primarily a language of conversation and rapport: a way of quickly establishing relationships and getting people to talk and think together.”

“When the negotiation is over for one side, it’s over for the other, too.”

9 – Trump Style Negotiation | George Ross

Style Negotiation: Powerful Strategies and Tactics for Mastering Every Deal is written by George Ross, who is best known for Donald Trump’s partner on The Apprentice television show. But Ross worked Manhattan’s real estate market for decades, and at one time creating deals weekly. Ross’s real-estate stories alone make it a good reading.

In this book, you’ll learn that accurate information is critical. And a good negotiator understands and uses their strengths and knows their weaknesses. You’ll also learn that to reach compromise, you’ll need to understand your negotiating partner as to what they will accept, and that people prefer easy solutions. You’ll finally learn that nothing is final under everything, and every one is signed on the dotted line.

Key quotes include;

“A big part of Trump’s style involves playing up your strengths and delegating your weaknesses.”

“People will change things, make promises, and play underhanded with you.”

“The power you gain by being thoroughly prepared is magnified by the extent of the other side’s lack of preparation.”

“Never talk about your weaknesses but compensate for them.”

10 – You Can Negotiate Anything | By Herb Cohen

Another negotiation book not solely focused on real estate; however, this book reached the #1 bestseller list and is highly recommended. Cohen advised presidents from hostage crises to domestic policy. Herb Cohen’s You Can Negotiate Anything is a book proven for dealing with people, your boss, your mate, your insurance company,  your credit card company, your lawyer, your friends, and even yourself.

In this book, you’ll learn the three important steps to success. How to identify the other side’s negotiation style and to deal with it. You’ll discover the win-win technique and how using the time to your advantage. You’ll also learn the power of attitude, persuasion, and persistence. There is much more to this book that Cohen teaches and its recommended for anyone who desires to win deals.

11- The Real Estate Negotiating Bible | By Kris Haskins

Kris Haskins’s The Real Estate Negotiating Bible: Sneaky Words and Phrases for Real Estate Investors to Program the Minds of Home Owners Into Taking Your Discounted Offers is a fundamental practical guide on getting a seller to accept those crazy low ball offers. This book will teach you to never be afraid of the seller again and brings out all the hidden mysteries of negotiation any deal. Haskins teaches his readers that each seller is unique and different, and you must learn to adapt to their personalities.

In this book, you’ll learn ice-breaking techniques and how to build rapport when you meet your seller. You’ll learn the negotiating equation! And to never offend the seller or their house. You’ll also learn how to deal with negotiating tricks and tips on paying for repairs, hazardous building materials, city codes, etc. You’ll learn to always put your offer in writing and to use magic words in ‘subject to’ deals. Further, you’ll learn to how to prevent a seller from backing out of your signed contracts and how to get over your fear making an offer 65% value of the real estate property.

This book gives 31 practical and useful tips on negotiating real estate.

12 – How to Win Friends and Influence People | By Dale Carnegie

Dale Carnegie’s How to Win Friends and Influence People is a classic book not so much on negotiations but simply the fundamentals of dealing with people and becoming a leader. And its included in the Best Books on Real Estate Negotiation list for this purpose.

Carnegie implemented these principles from people he learned who persuaded, such as Abraham Lincoln. Carnegie wrote this book in 1935, although, many of his examples and scenarios are outdated and obsolete, the principles remain the same and are timeless. If you put these principles to memory and practice them, it’s likely that you will develop the fundamentals of How to Win Friends and Influence People.

In this book, you’ll learn how to be genuinely interested in people and encourage people to talk about themselves and why it’s important. You’ll learn not to criticize or complain about people and before criticizing someone else, if you do, be sure to criticize yourself and point out your own mistakes. Also, if you do make a mistake, acknowledge it, if you want to change others you must start with yourself. Furthermore, there are other key principles that Carnegie teaches in this book.

Key Quotes;

“Criticisms are like homing pigeons. They always return home.”

“Remember that a person’s name is to that person the sweetest and most important sound in any language.”

“Make the other person feel important and do it sincerely.”

“The only way to get the best of an argument is to avoid it.”

13 – Negotiation Genius | By Deepak Malhotra and Max Bazerman

In Negotiation Genius: How to Overcome Obstacles and Achieve Brilliant Results at the Bargaining Table and Beyond is a strong book on negotiation that offers many new and valuable methods. The authors both Deepak Malhotra and Max Bazerman are realistic. They understand how people can run into autopilot when negotiating and how they can miss important opportunities. This book provides fine tools, strategies, practical advice and author insights in real-world examples of negotiations. The authors believe it takes an enormous amount of humility to admit your biases and teaches you to correct them. If you are willing to take that kind of work, this book will fundamentally improve your ability to negotiate.

In this book, you’ll learn that negotiation is a skill that can be developed by working systematically from your experiences. You’ll learn how to identify your “best alternative to a negotiated agreement” and “reservation value.” You’ll also learn to rather than just making a deal, you’ll develop how to claim more value as possible. The authors also teach that most people don’t mean to be irrational or dishonest but what you see is hidden constraints, motives, social pressure, and egocentrism. You’ll learn how to frame your offers to take advantage of the “psychology of influence.”

Key Quotes:

“You can see genius in the way a person thinks about, prepares for an executes negotiation strategy.”

“Many people believe that you can either get a great deal for yourself, or you can play nice and make the other side happy. As it turns out, this is not the way it works.”

“Egocentrism is not only common, but also robust and resilient. It can also be extremely costly.”

“Genius, then, is sometimes nothing more than taking the time to see that to which others have turned a blind eye.”

14 – Myers Barnes’ Secrets of New Homes Sales Negotiation | By Myers Barnes

In Myers Barnes’ Secrets of New Home Sales Negotiation: How to Achieve “Yes!” Every Time is an innovative playbook for success in home sales. Barnes provides great insights and delivers a fresh, transformational approach that slices through the obstacles for home sales negotiations. In this book, you’ll learn how to concede your position by applying field-tested strategies with the toughest buyer.

Barnes’ teaches how to vaccinate yourself against every known objection. Also, how to power past price resistance and overcome those pesky competitors. You’ll learn how to apply killer persuasion strategies at closings.

15 – Negotiation | By Roy Lewicki, Bruce Barry, and David Saunders

Negotiation is an important skillset for an impactful manager. In Negotiation: Readings, Exercises, and Cases the authors take an experiential approach to explore the major themes, theories, and psychological methods of negotiations from an academic perspective. Negotiation is an important skill to master, not only for management students but in all aspects of role perspectives, e.g. human resources, industrial relations, business, etc. This book is structured into seven key sections: negotiation fundamentals, negotiation subprocesses, negotiation contexts, individual differences, negotiation across cultures, resolving differences, and the summary.

In this book, you’ll understand the definition of negotiation and the key elements of the negotiation process. You’ll explore how people use negotiation to manage different situations. You’ll gain an understanding of the basic elements of a distributive bargaining situation and you’ll learn strategic impact positions during the negotiation. You’ll understand basic elements of an integrative negotiation situation. Also, you’ll understand the importance of setting goals for an upcoming negotiation and explore the major elements for selecting a negotiation strategy and how to execute that strategy.

16 – Body Language Secrets to Win More Negotiations | By Greg Williams, Pat Lyer

In Body Language Secrets to Win More Negotiations: How to Read Any Opponent and Get What You Want is a book that shows you how to use body language as an arbitration tool. Experts say that 90% of communication is nonverbal. Having the ability to interpret and read body language can give you a competitive edge. Detecting conflict between people’s words and actions, learn to trust their body language because the body doesn’t lie. Williams explains that “microexpressions” tells you how to identify psychological blocks, “hot buttons” and “triggers.” Williams’ instructions help any negotiator interpret body language to anyone and anything.

This book will teach you to effectively interpret opponents’ body language that provides clues to their emotions and thoughts. You’ll learn that “microexpression” is a glimpse of emotion that lasts no more than one second. You’ll learn how to read the “seven universal microexpressions:” sadness, happiness, contempt, anger, disgust, surprise, and fear. You’ll discover negotiation tactics that include “social proof, scarcity, persuasion, urgency, and influence.” And much more!

Key Quotes:

“Be astutely aware of all…gestures and clusters of gestures. They will indicate more accurately the other negotiator’s thoughts.”

“Get the proper amount of rest before a negotiation. When you are tired, you’re likely to make mistakes that you otherwise would not make.”

“As a good negotiator you never ever want to negotiate unless you’re prepared. When you’re in a negotiation and your opponent uses an unexpected tactical strategy, back off.”

“When you use body language, not only do you have to be astutely aware of why you’re doing it, you also have to be very aware of how you are being perceived.”

Final Thoughts on the Best Books on Real Estate Negotiation

The best books on real estate negotiation is a list that is compiled based on the author’s opinion. The list is compiled with much research, study, and thought before the creation of the list. However, a list will not help the reader unless the reader is willing to do the work, study, and practice in real estate negotiations. In other words, there may be other books that are better, but regardless of the reader does not put in the effort into the book itself, the value of the list is futile. Therefore, happy reading, studying and developing those real estate negotiation skills.