When selecting your Realtor to represent you in the purchase or sale of a home in Northern Virginia there are several criteria that you may look for in terms of that agent's skills:

• Knowledgeable about the area and your selected neighborhood
• Understands and can explain the real estate purchase or sales process
• Connected to and can recommend other local service providers such as lenders and inspectors

But, above all, you should look for an agent who is skilled in negotiations.

According to a survey by the National Association of Realtors, today's home buyers and home sellers want a real estate agent who can skillfully negotiate better terms and price for the sale.  This is the number one thing that people want in their agents.  Yet according to the same 2006 survey, only 36% of home buyers noted that their agent helped them negotiate better sales contract terms and only 29% said their agent helped negotiate a better price.

Negotiation is defined as "a discussion intended to produce an agreement."  

In the process of purchasing or selling a home, there are numerous instances when negotiations occur. 

First, negotiations are involved before an offer is even submitted on a home to determine a strategy for offering price and terms.  Next, there may be negotiations regarding counter-offers.  Once a contract is ratified by both parties, there may still be negotiations based on items that turn up in a home inspection, home appraisal results, termite and radon inspections,, and other issues that may arise from time to time.  Almost every clause in the real estate sales agreement can be separately negotiated.

This is why it is crucial to hire a Realtor to represent you who has been trained with good negotiating skills and has experience with successful negotiations.  

Any Realtor worth their salt can put a home listing on the MLS and place a sign in the yard.  Similarly with today's modern GPS systems, very few Realtors will get lost on the road on the way to finding you your next home.  But, the one thing that can really distinguish one agent from the next is their skill and knowledge of negotiation strategy.

In Northern Virginia, an area where even the smallest condo costs over $200,000, and the average home price is around half a million dollars, negotiations are very important. 

Before hiring your next Realtor, please ask them the following two questions:

"When is the last time you took a course on negotiating?"

and

"What books about negotiation have your read in the last 6 months?"

Here are my answers:

As part of my training as a Certified Residential Specialist (CRS), the most elite designation awarded to less than 4% of Realtors, I participated in an intense two day course entirely on negotiating skills at the end of January 2007.  This course taught the art of friendly persuasion and effective negotiating strategies.  Ed Hatch, the teacher, has trained over 100 audiences a year for the last 17 years and spoken on negotiations internationally throughout the U.S., Brazil, Canada, South Africa, Sweden and the U.K.

Additionally, as an attorney, I am classically trained in negotiating skills, both in law school and through practice in court, mediation, arbitrations, and client settlements.  I bring this expertise from the legal field to my work in real estate.

Over the last 6 months, I have studied the following books on negotiation:

"Getting to Yes" -- this is the seminal piece on negotiating skills by Roger Fisher, William Ury, and Bruce Patton.  This book presents the concept of the "Win Win" Negotiation which helps to ensure that both parties walk away feeling like they won and are happy with the results. Negotiation is NOT manipulation.  This is key to understand.

"You Can Negotiate Anything" --  this classic book by successful lawyer and negotiating expert Herb Cohen is a must read for anyone involved in any form of negotiations whether in business or in life.  The fact is that we are negotiating almost every moment of every day without even realizing it in our business and personal lives.  This book helps to distill the key strategies of achieving the results that you want.

"Getting Past No" -- another book authored by William Ury provides further information on how to negotiate with difficult people without losing your cool and getting flustered and still achieving a positive outcome.

Currently, I am reading sales expert Jeffrey Gitomer's "Little Green Book of Getting Your Way" which teaches the power of persuasion in the fun, easy-to-read and digest format for which Gitomer has become known.

If you ask your agent these two questions and they don't have a satisfactory answer, start stuttering, or can't remember the last time they read something on negotiations, it may be time to run the other way and find an agent who can successfully negotiate on your behalf for one of the largest financial transactions you may ever have in your life.