Most offers to purchase your house will require some level of negotiating to come to a win-win agreement. It is critical that you be well versed on the legalities of the real estate contract used in your area. And of course, I can be of immense help in this arena, having done it so many times before from both sides of the table.
In addition to legal issues, you will need to understand contract basics, including what each contract clause means to you and your buyer, what you will net from the sale of your home, and what areas in the contract lend themselves easiest to negotiation. Some of the things that you may have to negotiate on are:
• The price
• Financing
• Closing costs
• Repairs that need to be done
• Appliances and fixtures
• Landscaping
• Painting
• Occupancy time frame
To really gain some insight into why potential buyers are pursuing the purchase of your house and how they might proceed in the negotiations, it is important to know as much about the buyer as possible, especially their motivation for buying. Once both parties have reached a point where the deal is acceptable, you must be certain that you have a legally executable contract.
Very seldom will an initial contract, proposed by the buyers, be fully acceptable. There is almost always something that Buyers will propose or want that you may not approve of immediately, or ever. The purpose of negotiation is to establish a contract that is acceptable to both parties. If it isn’t, there will most certainly be problems later. The following is a list of things to keep in mind while we “horse-trade” back and forth with the buyers:
• Never accept ANY proposal immediately, no matter how good it may sound!
• Never negotiate with yourself. You’ll furnish the other side with ammunition they might never have gotten by themselves. Don’t raise a bid or lower an offer without first getting a response.
• We never cut a deal with someone who has to “go back and get the boss’s approval.” That gives the other side two bites of the apple to your one.
• If you can’t say yes, it’s no. Just because a deal can be done, doesn’t mean it should be done. No one ever went broke saying “no” too often.
• Just because it may look non-negotiable, doesn’t mean it is.
• We will do our homework before we deal. Learn as much as you can about the other side. Instincts are no match for information or preparation.
• Beware the late dealer. Feigning indifference or casually disregarding timetables is often just a negotiator’s way of trying to make you believe he/she doesn’t care if you make the deal or not.
• A deal can always be made when both parties see their own benefit in making it.
• Don’t discuss your business where it can be overheard by others.
• No one is going to show you all their cards, nor the one that means the most to them immediately. You generally have to figure out what they really want. Clue: Since the given reason is often not the real reason, you can usually eliminate the given reason.
• Always let the other side talk first. Their first counter offer could surprise you and be better than you ever expected.