Negotiate the Commission: Will You Get What You Pay For? At the onset, it’s important to keep track of what you want out of listing your house with an agent. While, of course, you want to pay as little as you can, on the other hand you also want to sell your property as soon … Read more
Negotiate the Commission I have a good friend who to this day is fond of recalling the first time he ever listed a house with an agent. “She came in, we talked a little while, and then she said she wanted a 7 percent commission. I was flabbergasted. I knew that other agents in the … Read more
Walk Away a Winner: Sellers – Stick to Your Guns In a hot market, as a seller you want to get the highest price you can. That means using a variety of strategies, some sound . . . some not so sound. First off, however, you need to know just what your home is worth. … Read more
Walk Away a Winner – Buyers – Look for Fixers As a buyer, one way to sometimes get a lower price is to find a lesser quality house. Just as not all peaches are created equal, neither are all properties. Ripe, round peaches with a fresh aroma and a perfect skin (no bruises) will command … Read more
Walk Away a Winner – Negotiating in a Hot Market If you’re a buyer in a very hot market, here are some tactics you can use to get the house you want. Act Quickly. It’s the early bird that gets the worm in a hot market. Often if your offer gets there before others, particularly … Read more
Walk Away a Winner – How Do I Handle a Bidding War? In very hot markets it may turn out that even though you act as quickly as you can, other buyers arc doing the same thing. Thus, suddenly you find that there are multiple offers on the very property you want. If that happens, … Read more
How to Win a Bidding War: Buyers – Load Your Weapons If you’re a buyer in a hot seller’s market, you need to arm yourself for negotiating warfare. You have four weapons at your disposal, and all of them must be ready. Market Knowledge: What Should the Home Sell For? In order to be competitive … Read more
Walk Away a Winner – Walking Away a Winner Is No Baloney The gospel of negotiators has always been that a good deal means that both sides win. I get what I want and you get what you want. However, this does not mean that each side comes away with what they wanted at the … Read more
Walk Away a Winner – Remember That Some Deals Can’t Be Made – No Matter What I’ve been asked why I included this in a list of rules for successful negotiations. The reason is that unless you recognize in the back of your mind that sometimes the deal can’t be made, you will miss out … Read more
Walk Away a Winner – Don’t Stick to the “Pie” Analogy or “Bottom Line” Reasoning Sometime in the distant past there was an unlucky baker who said, “I’ve only got so many pieces of pie to sell and when they’re gone, I’ll close for the day.” Soon after, “pie charts” came into existence for demonstrating … Read more
