Nearly forty years ago I saw a beautiful young woman hurrying down the street while I was on my way to an important appointment. I was late. Could I muster up the courage to talk to her? I pulled my little Datsun pickup over to the side of the curb and asked her to go with me to the appointment. That decision has directly influenced the rest of life in a way I never could have dreamed.
I had spent much of the previous eight months thinking about that young woman. Her delight in the simple joys of life, her wit, her command of the English language, and her soft shiny skin were most attractive.
Why did it take most of my sophomore year in college to gather the gumption to pursue a relationship with this charming freshman? Lack of courage and low self esteem are high on the list. Just a few days before, my college choir director, Lou Kelly, had counseled me, "Don't let the opportunity slip away ." I often think about how the 1970 opportunity had such a huge impact on my life. Morphing from a bashful North Idaho farm boy to a real estate consultant that finds joy and fulfillment in the negotiating process can be traced back to that defining moment.
The encouragement of a college professor sparked an action that precipitated marriage to a wonderful woman who helped transform a "country bumpkin" into a professional educator and now a successful real estate consultant. As I mull over the important things in my life there are two things that jump out at me. The first is how much I have been influenced by other people. The second is how blessed I am to have experienced successful relationships that have really changed my perception of myself.
Successful negotiation requires the ability to push aside much of one's own pride. As a young college student the pride of self, which is really the foundation of low self esteem, almost deprived me of a life changing encounter.
Here are some pointers for home buyers. Work with a real estate consultant that you can trust! Trusting your consultant to negotiate your contract and follow up on the myriad of details necessary is most important. If you have an issue of pride when it comes to spending your money, get out of the way. In the current market most buyers expect to get "a great deal" and realtors like me work hard to get you "a great deal." However, there are numerous great deals out there a buyer can mess up if he/she makes false assumptions.
Here are four assumptions buyers make that can impede and even kill the opportunity to buy a home.
•1) "Every home is overpriced and you should get a huge discount." This past three weeks I have seen several homes sell in less than ten days for full price because they were priced correctly. Even in this slow market if the house is priced correctly it will sell for the full asking price.
•2) "Sellers are greedy." Sellers are usually emotionally attached to their homes. Most of them are just like you. Let your real estate consultant work with the listing agent and trust your agent to do their very best to build a relationship that will help you get your dream home. Sellers want a fair price and often they need time to adjust emotionally. The banks are extremely careful about the homes they finance in this market. This has affected appraisals and if you are willing to buy a home for the appraisal it is likely you are getting a good price. I know of several people who have not been able to sell or refinance their homes because the appraisal came in much lower than they had expected. The deal I just finished today came together because the seller agreed to renegotiate if the appraisal was too low. Insisting the seller comes down often will not work. If their home does not appraise for their desired amount they will not be able to sell unless the buyers puts up the extra cash. How likely is that?
•3) "I can keep looking until I find the perfect home at the perfect price." Experience shows that only a few homes could really be a "dream home." Should a buyer push a "dream home" aside because it isn't a perfect price? I think not. The buyer's "price ego" shouldn't be a barrier to pursuing the dream home. If the house appraises for the negotiated price, buy it. Otherwise opportunity slips too easily away.
•4) I can just look at homes by myself and deal with the listing agent when I am ready. Yes, you can! You also can fix your own car and diagnose your own illnesses. You will save a lot of time, headaches, heartaches and money if you will find a buyer's agent that you trust and let them do the work for you. Realtors are trained to take care of the hundreds of details and they will do the hard work of negotiating the best price for their buyers. They are insured for mistakes and they can lose their licenses and careers if they do not work honestly and ethically.
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