Choosing a company to buy your structured settlement: How to negotiate your best deal

If you choose the right company to buy your structured settlement, and you have done your due diligence and received at least three quotes to compare, then there should not be a lot of negotiating left to do – you should know that you are being offered a fair price. However, there are some things to consider as you strive to get the most out of the transaction.

Be Sure You know the Details

They say that the devil is in the details, and this is usually true. Be sure that you know, in writing, that with your structured settlement buyout paying out of pocket will not happen – there should be no out of pocket fees. And be certain that you are very clear on exactly how many payments you are selling, which payments they are, and how much money you will be given. If at any point you have a question or something is unclear be sure to ask. And if the company you are selling to is unwilling to answer your questions then try another company who will give you the answers that you deserve.

Negotiations

There is some level of negotiating that you can do when trying to get the most from a company who wants to buy your structured settlement payments. The most important tool that you have will be other quotes.

Begin by getting quotes from three different companies. Tell each company that you are getting other quotes – this way they are more likely to give you their better offers. However, do not tell them who has quoted you or how much they have quoted. Force each company to give you a blind quote, where they don’t know what other quotes you have received.

Once you have these three quotes, start with the highest quote on the list and call them again. Tell them the other two quotes and see if they will beat them. Get the offer in writing, even just an email.

Then, call the next highest quoted company and tell them the two quotes that you have from the other companies – see if they can beat them and buy your structured settlement for more. Go around like this until every company refuses to go lower. Now, you know that you have each company’s lowest bids. And, what’s more, you have experience working with each company. You can use this experience to choose the company that you will sell to. Or, you can call Strategic Capital first and know that you will get the best price the first time you call.

Don’t be afraid to negotiate!

Some companies will make you a low offer, expecting you to come back with a counter offer and leaving some room for them to seemingly give in to you. At Strategic Capital we will give you our best, most reasonable offer up front. No games. Don’t be afraid to try and negotiate a better deal with some companies. But also do not be upset if Strategic Capital tells you that our first offer is our best offer – it usually is, and that says something about the honesty of our company. Compare our quotes to those of other companies to see how we stack up.

Choosing a Company

But, you think, I should simply choose the lowest quote, right? Not necessarily. At this point you should have three quotes that are pretty similar. But you also know what each company is like to deal with: how fast they return your calls or emails, how helpful they are, if they are pleasant, who you are dealing with, etc. And, if you don’t choose carefully you could put yourself in a position to simply get turned down. When it comes to structured settlements John Darer, an advocate for sellers and structured settlement watchdog, mentions in his blog how Peachtree has publically suggested that people sell their settlements to retire or take a vacation. As Darer points out, in this case it is fortunate that the court would have final approval to avoid such frivolous sales.

But let’s say you have a good reason to sell; do you choose based complete on cost?

No. You should make an educated decision about which company you allow to buy your structured settlement based on a variety of factors. If one company is treating you poorly but they offer you $600 more, is it worth it? You may be working with this company for weeks, even a couple months – is $600 worth the worry and stress of working with a company that you don’t feel comfortable with? You must decide. On the other hand, you can call Strategic Capital for a quote and know that you will get the best service and the best price right away, with one easy call.