Play the Players: Never Offend the Buyer/Seller It’s often been said that in real estate the three most important words in determining price are, “Location, location, location!” When negotiating, the three most important words are, “Don’t get personal!” I’ve seen this rule violated more times than I want to remember. Typically it occurs in a … Read more
What You Can Do to Have a Better Negotiating Posture Keep in touch. Immediately reply to any calls or letters from the lender, no matter when they come. Never let calls go unanswered. Try to get out from under the mortgage by selling the property. Clearly show the lender that your financial condition is such … Read more
What You Can Negotiate from a Lender Lenders may be willing to do one or more of the following: Restructure the mortgage by extending the term so that you have lower payments, so long as the lender does not ultimately lose any interest Temporarily allow you to miss payments until you get back on your … Read more
The Key to Negotiating Out of Foreclosure The single most important point to understand in this example is that Jerry and Pat constantly communicated with the lender. Communication was the key to their ability to get payments delayed and then get an alternative to foreclosure. Consider that if Jerry had never called the lender, had … Read more
A “Deed in Lieu of Foreclosure” While offering a “deed in lieu of foreclosure” is much better, from a credit perspective, than having a foreclosure on the records, it’s still not wonderful. Jerry’s credit record still noted months of non payment. And today many mortgage lenders ask in their application if a would-be borrower has … Read more
What Can You Do When You’re in Default? Most of us today know of someone who has lost his or her house to foreclosure in the not too distant past. It has become that common. However, here’s a story that’s been told less often. Jerry and Pat had just bought a comfortable upscale home in … Read more
What Is the Foreclosure Procedure? The foreclosure process varies from state to state. But in general it always involves a period of time during which the borrower can make up back payments and correct any default. {Default is a technical term that means that the borrower has failed to meet, or has defaulted, on the … Read more
How Do You Negotiate Financing? The final deal point we’ll consider is the financing. It’s important to remember that the very best institutional financing in the real estate world goes to owner-occupants of single-family homes. When you’re working with an investment property, the financing is much less available and usually at a higher price. For … Read more
How Do You Negotiate over Deposits? Deposits, the cleaning and security kind that tenants give to land lords to hold during the tenancy, may seem like small potatoes. But in recent years they have become increasingly important. In fact, in some cases they are the deal point around which a sale hinges. How can this … Read more
How Do You “Negotiate” the Rents? What should be obvious is that the value depends on at least two things: recent sales prices and the current rent from the property in question. While accurate recent sales prices of comparables should be fairly easy to obtain (call a few agents who deal in income property), determining … Read more
