Gary White FlexIt Realty~Real Estate & Updates, Grand Rapids & West Michigan

Negotiating Your Homes Sale, Step #12

 Is one of the finale steps before you meet at the title company or lawyers office, depending on your state and method of completing your homes sale.

This steps requires some diplomacy and nerve to hold your ground on issues that will not kill the sale, yet will not cost your thousands of dollars.

Before inspections in most cases, before the value appraisal comes the purchase agreement to buy your home.

Real estate agents have very little contract negotiation training.  Agents bring

Real Estate agents often do not have Negotiation Skills, they are learned on the job, representing home owners.

what negotiation skills they have, from other industries, or learn how as a result of client representation on the job as real estate agents.  This is why real estate agent selection is so important.  Real estate selling agents do have some formal negotiation training, learning the basics along with legal terms, during pre-licensed training.  This can be only a few hours and for test purposes, not under real sales contracts or situations that can make or break a home sale.  Real Estate brokers will provide new agents with direct supervision and/or offer in-house training classes.

Negotiation Guideline List:

1. Sell Price, what price is your bottom line after calculated expenses?
2. How much are you willing to spend on repairs?  Many times a buyer agent will ask for repairs to be completed by a licensed contractor.
3. Possession date, when will you get the buyer access to your property after the sale?  Will you give immediate possession or some date in the future?  If it is some acceptable date in the future will your buyer give you those extra days, for living in their home, free?  Negotiate your possession dates.
4. Appraisal, if the appraisal comes in lower than the agreed upon sell price what will the buyer do?  Will the buyer ask you to lower the price?  Will the buyer pay the difference in the agreed sell price, paying more?  Can you split the difference?  Know this information upfront, if you can.  Have a alternative home selling plan ready, should this happen.  “Make sure you ask for a copy of the appraisal.”  now you know why.  Put this in writing along with every clause, exception, addition and term changes make.  In real estate like many other areas of life, if it isn’t written it is not legally bidding to either party.  Consult an attorney
5. Closing costs, do you split costs based on actual costs of seller and buyer normal fees?  Is the buyer asking you to contribute to their buying or loan costs?  Can you maintain your selling price without any discount or lower price if you include these costs in the sale?
6. Before we get to the negotiations, it is likely the buyer will have a home inspection.  We discussed repairs when you were preparing the outside and inside of your home for sale.  Now is the time when those repairs pay off.  If the home inspector finds repairs needed, and they will, you can negotiate to fix the problems or split costs of the repairs with the buyer.  A word of caution here.  If
   

   Selling Your Home using Professional Real Estate Selling Skills can help you seal your home selling deal with a smile.

   the repair is deemed to be required for the buyer to get their loan approved, you will probably have to do the repair out of your pocket.  Deciding not to do the repair means that the buyer can not get the loan and will terminate the purchase agreement.  In most cases the earnest deposit will be required to be refunded to the buyer.

Likely Required Repairs:

1. Railings, most common is stair railings, to upper and lower levels.  Outdoor porch rails may be required, in some cases.
2. Electrical, circuit issues such as “double taps”, lose wires, plugs or missing face plates.
3. Ground Fault Circuit Breaker plugs by sinks, in kitchens and bathrooms within 6 feet of faucets, also called GFI’s (other names depending on area and state).  Basically GFI’s stop people from being electrocuted if they drop something with an active (plug-in) electrical attachment into water.  Hair dryer, frying pans, curling iron etc.
4. Rotted wood can cause structure issues, if you have or had a leak around toilet bowls and plumbing areas that have gone unnoticed.
5. Roof condition, not having enough acceptable service life left on the roof.   Roof leaks or shingles or tiles are missing.  Roof pitch has also been an issue at times, but less often.
6. Basement leak, if you have a basement.  Many times this is poor drainage or not have downspouts installed.

Many more things can come up during inspections, you get the idea, your sale can be derailed if an inspector finds a problem.  If you are unwilling to fix or pay for a requested repair and the buyer will not or can not negotiate with you because of the conditions of the loan, your sale can fall through.

Home Loan Appraisal, you have made it through inspections, now comes the appraisal value of your home.  How much value does the buyers lender place on your home?  Very important, try to negotiate to see a copy of your homes appraisal value by the appraiser.  You mush have the buyers permission to see the appraisal.  Agents can many times get permission to see limited areas of the appraisal.  You can offer to split the cost if the appraisal comes in low.  Most buyers want your home or they would not have made the offer to purchase.  Offer them half is a win-win for both of you.  When writing the purchase agreement make sure you ask to see this document.  When negotiations are all smiles is the time to get yourself in the information sharing position.

If you missed any of the Home Selling Steps I have placed active links below.