{"id":20196,"date":"2025-05-07T04:56:40","date_gmt":"2025-05-07T04:56:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.americamortgages.com\/?p=20196"},"modified":"2025-05-23T05:34:38","modified_gmt":"2025-05-23T05:34:38","slug":"the-monterrey-maneuver-a-negotiation-strategy-for-commercial-real-estate-deals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.americamortgages.com\/the-monterrey-maneuver-a-negotiation-strategy-for-commercial-real-estate-deals\/","title":{"rendered":"The Monterrey Maneuver: A Negotiation Strategy for Commercial Real Estate Deals"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

While working as a commercial real estate broker in Texas, I had the pleasure of working with many Mexican clients. They were some of the nicest, most honorable people I\u2019ve ever done business with\u2014and many remain close friends today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One client, a prominent developer from Monterrey, once shared a negotiation tactic with me while we were working on a deal. It worked brilliantly then, and I\u2019ve since used this strategy many times to save clients (and myself) hundreds of thousands of dollars. To this day, I\u2019ve never seen it written in a book or heard it from anyone else. In his honor, I call it\u00a0The Monterrey Maneuver.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Traditional Approach<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s say a property is listed at $12.5M<\/strong>.
You offer $9M<\/strong>.
The seller counters at $11.5M<\/strong>.
You counter with your \u201cfinal offer\u201d of $10M<\/strong>.
The seller counters again at $11M<\/strong>.
You finally suggest splitting the difference at $10.5M, and the deal closes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s the traditional dance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Monterrey Maneuver Version<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Same property. Asking: $12.5M<\/strong>
You offer: $9M<\/strong>
Seller counters: $11.5M<\/strong>
You really<\/em> want to close at $10M<\/strong>, but instead of continuing the back-and-forth\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You call your agent a few days later and have them speak with the seller\u2019s agent. Here\u2019s the script:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy client is very firm at $9M and has said he\u2019s not increasing his offer. But, if your client is open to accepting $10M<\/strong>, I\u2019ll do everything I can to convince my client to move. I just don\u2019t want to push him up to $10M if he\u2019s going to be countered again\u2014that will frustrate him, and he may walk away. So please check quietly if $10M is acceptable. If it is, I\u2019ll try to move my client.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most seller\u2019s agents will come back with:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOkay. My client said he\u2019d take $10M if you can get your buyer there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now your agent says:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGreat, thanks. Give me a day or two\u2014my client\u2019s still tough on this, but I\u2019ll try.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You wait a day or so, then \u201creluctantly\u201d increase your offer to $10M, which is accepted immediately.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Result:<\/strong> You got the property for $500K less than the likely outcome with traditional negotiation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

?<\/strong> Why It Works<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n