Tips & Trends for the Flagstaff Real Estate Market:
Past Articles [August 2005]
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Negotiating a Real Estate Transaction
A situation that is dear to my heart is to have all parties happy when their real estate transaction closes. This can be achieved when both the buyer and seller are willing to give a little when the other party makes a request.
Negotiating a purchase agreement is perhaps the trickiest aspect of any real estate transaction. Most home buyers and home sellers want to arrive at a win-win agreement. Successful negotiating encompasses the ability to use certain skills and techniques to bring about win-win results.
Start with a fair price and a fair offer. There's no question that significantly overpricing your home even in this hot market will turn off potential buyers. Likewise, making an offer that's far lower than the asking price is practically guaranteed to alienate the sellers. Asking and offering prices should be based on recent sales prices of comparable homes.
Respect the other side's priorities. Be prepared to compromise. 'Win-Win’ doesn't mean both the buyer and the seller will get everything they want. It means both sides will win some and give some. Rather than approaching negotiations from an adversarial winner-take-all perspective, focus on your top priorities and don't let your emotions overrule your better judgment. If need be, meet in the middle. Splitting the difference is a time-honored and often successful negotiation strategy.
The most important advice to remember is to ask your real estate agent! Don’t ask your agent to make decisions for you, but request that he or she help guide you through the decision making process. Successful agents tend to be experienced negotiators. They have seen what works and what doesn't in numerous real estate transactions, and they have an established track-record of bringing buyers and sellers together.
To quote Dr. Steven Covey’s fourth habit of highly successful people “THINK WIN WIN” and your transaction will go smoothly.
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