Selling Your Crescent City Home - Part 2 - Negotiating on Offer
Congratulations. You properly priced your home and now you have at least one offer on your Crescent City home. Yippee!
What, the offer is asking you to pay up to 3% of the buyer's loan fees and closing costs? You already took it on the chin in pricing your home to sell in a timely manner and now they want you to take 3% less and PAY their fees? What's that all about.
Remember, the Crescent City real estate market is a BUYERS MARKET. You already know that if you read my blog and subscribe to my market reports. You would also know the predominant form of financing in the Crescent City real estate market is the USDA Guaranteed Rural Housing Program. The GRH program is designed to put low to moderate income families in homes in rural areas and thankfully, ALL of Del Norte County is considered rural for this program. GRH is 100% financing, however, there are loan fees that the buyer frequently asks the seller to pay for. I counsel ALL MY SELLERS that more than likely any offer they receive will ask for a seller's contribution or seller's concession of at least 3-5%. My seller's are prepared for this and therefore have already worked this mentally into their net profit . If my sellers receive an offer that does not ask for a concession then that's gravy and they are really happy.
So, Crescent City home seller, do not be surprised if you are asked to pick-up the tab for your buyers loan fees. Be thankful you have this offer to negotiate and do your best to work it out because offers are few and far between. You will be asked to pay for a pest inspection, well and septic if applicable, maybe a roof and in Del Norte County traditionally you will split the title/escrow fees. If the buyer wants a home inspection they generally will pay for that out of their own pocket, but everything is negotiable.
It would be a shame to come this far and not walk away with an open escrow, so remember, negotiations aren't personal and a reflection of what the buyer thinks of your home. The buyers goal of purchasing your home for the lowest price possible is diametrically opposed to your efforts at selling for the highest price possible. Stay unemotional and look at your bottom line. Your agent has a wonderful form called the sellers net sheet that he/she should use when presenting any offers. It takes into account the costs associated with the offer and shows your net profit. Keep your eye on the net and off the fees. Remember, the net is why you're selling your home so don't get distracted by having to pay for the buyers home warranty if you are netting what you hoped for.
There is one more thing to consider when negotiating an offer and it's a biggy these days, what if your home does not appraise for the sale price? Better read part 3 of this series because that is a real possibility.
If you would like to talk to an experienced, full-time agent regarding selling your Crescent City home, give me a call and I would be happy to do a free market analysis for you using up-to-the-minute market data. Please subscribe to my monthly market report for an indepth look at the Crescent City/Del Norte County real estate market and how it affects you.
Don't miss:
Selling Your Crescent City Home - Part 1 - Proper Pricing
Selling Your Crescent City Home - Part 3 - You're in Escrow
Thank you for stopping by. Your comments on this post are welcomed and appreciated.
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