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If You Ask for Everything, You May Get Nothing

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Services for Real Estate Pros with Personal SEO - Website SEO and Real Estate Marketing

home inspectionsEver said that to a buyer before? If not, it's a good saying to keep in your pocket when informing buyers about the upcoming inspection.

"If you ask for everything, you may get nothing"

Let's face it, buyers certainly have the upper hand in this market but it doesn't mean they can get away with murder. Sellers still have the product buyers want and can refuse to give it to them should they present themselves unreasonable.  In my last blog about sellers being too emotional I mentioned that sellers often get overly attached to their home and feel offended when a buyer asks for the moon. Well, here we talk about the opposite side of that equation and when buyers really DO want the moon, and the stars and the seller to pay for it all.

 

My mentor once said, "If you ask for everything, you may get nothing." I have always remembered it and used it on every one of my buyers. This is basically telling the buyer that if they ask for every minor detail on a home inspection, they may get more of a ticked off seller than anything.

doing home repair on your own

I would tell buyers on a lengthy inspection to sit down and go over the issues that are a real safety concern. If there are exposed wires, faulty plumbing and mold damage that could cause serious health problems, these are issues definitely to address on the inspection contingency.

But when a buyer wants every nail hole filled, marks on the wall washed or oven cleaned  then we are just getting too nit picky for most sellers. Albeit, there are sellers out there right now that will probably do everything on an inspection list just to get the deal closed but would most buyers risk that? Who knows. It all goes back to peaceful negotiations. (Yes, I am sure there is such a thing) Where buyer and seller must come to an agreement and find balance in the terms, price and work agreed upon. 

I tell buyers, would a nail hole really kill the deal for you? What could you do on your own once you had the house? Is it really worth fighting over minor repairs? Focus on the larger picture of safety and hazards and keep the small stuff to yourself.

Buying a home can be a stressful time but my associate in Sierra Vista real estate from Arizona helps buyers all the time get into the home of their dreams for less then they ever expected. Feel free to visit his Buying Sierra Vista homes page for more tips.

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Personal SEO Tim and Tammy Emineth

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Tim and Tammy Emineth have owned Personal SEO since 2004. We focus on SEO first whether it's blogging, images, website design, IDX solutions and calls to action. We operate with a Storybrand philosophy to encourage more traffic to your site, more eyes on your content and more leads to your business. Call us or email us for a free website audit.

Tim: 425-443-8372  Tammy: 425-344-0677

Comments (9)

Paul Walker
Equity Fifty Five Realty, LLC - Scott AFB, IL
Scott AFB IL Area Realtor

Nice post! Buyers are sure asking for the moon more often than not these days it seems. If they would put themselves in the other parties shoes, they may realize they are asking for a bit much.
Safety and structural concerns sure, but asking for cosmetics, after already seeing the house for what it is, then that is going over the line.

Nov 30, 2010 10:51 AM
Roger Johnson
Hickory, NC

This is so true, Tammy!  I've seen buyers that have offended the seller so much that the seller responded with a "I don't care if they offer me 10 times what I'm asking I'm not selling to them!"  And in most cases, the buyers are distraught about 'losing' the home.

Nov 30, 2010 11:21 AM
Jacqueline Phan
Alliance Group - San Diego, CA

I completely agree!  We need to remind the buyers to look at the big picture from time to time.

Nov 30, 2010 12:00 PM
Sam Fischer
Lloyd Pans - Coeur d'Alene, ID
Better Life Through Better Food

I noticed this when I sold my house in 2005, he wanted this, he wanted that and I gave it to him.! The final straw was when he insisted on having my pots and pans hanging from the ceiling rack. I made him give me cash! That's how bad he wanted them. He could have saved a buck by just buying them at Costco like I did.

Dec 01, 2010 01:59 AM
Tammy Emineth
Personal SEO - Website SEO and Real Estate Marketing - Frenchtown, MT
Content Marketer, SEO Teacher, Website Fixer

Sam - sheesh! He wanted your kitchen pans? Thats gutsy. Buyers can really get out of hand.

Paul - Yes, buyers think they have the upper hand so much they can get away with asking for everything. Not every seller can give it all away though and they may just loose out on a great home.

Roger - you know a seller has had it when they refuse to sell to a buyer.

Jacquline - everyone needs to step into the other shoes once in a while.

Thanks for the comments!

Dec 01, 2010 02:17 AM
Not a real person
San Diego, CA

Hey, Tammy. I left a surprise for you in my blog post this morning. Let me know when you find it. What? You thought I was going to tell you exactly where it is? Ha! This comment is a clue, though.

Happy Saturday!

Nov 19, 2011 01:52 AM
Sharon Tara
Sharon Tara Transformations - Portsmouth, NH
Retired New Hampshire Home Stager

What a great post!  This is a good line for agents to remember to snap their buyers into reality.  It's really wrong what some buyers are greedy enough to ask for sometimes.

Nov 19, 2011 08:10 AM
Jill Sackler
Charles Rutenberg Realty Inc. 516-575-7500 - Long Beach, NY
LI South Shore Real Estate - Broker Associate

That couldn't be more true. Buyers have so much to choose from, they feel within their rights to ask for every single little thing. It's like they're doing the seller a huge favor by choosing their home.

Nov 19, 2011 10:13 AM
Donne Knudsen
Los Angeles & Ventura Counties in CA - Simi Valley, CA
CalState Realty Services

Tammy - This is such an example of how truly local real estate is.  As an MLO here in Los Angeles & Ventura counties, most of my borrowers don't have the luxury of asking for every single thing on the inspection list.  Having just won out a fierce bidding war with multiple offers, escrow transactions are precarious and inevitably there is always multiple back-up offers just waiting for the escrow to fall-out.

Like you though, I just advise my borrowers to just focus on the health & safety hazards, structural damage and unpermitted issues because these are the things that an appraiser will make note of.  Furthermore, they also need to really consider any seriously deferred maintenance issues that they can't afford to repair after the COE. 

Nov 19, 2011 11:59 AM