Back to the Basics: Buyers Checklist - What's Negotiable?
by John Occhi, Hemet CA REALTOR
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"Back to the Basics" is my way of re-educating myself on the basics of real estate. Yes there have been some great changes in the time I have been selling real estate in Hemet and San Jacinto and throughout Riverside County, the Inland Empire and the rest of Southern California. The truth though is very little has changed when we talk about the basics and the basics are what made many REALTORS® successful in the first place and if REALTORS® are going to weather the current market, then as REALTORS®, we need to refresh ourselves and go Back to the Basics.
Just What is the Buyer Willing to Do?
From my last article, Back to the Basics: Buyers Checklist - Let's Write an Offer we know that when we write a good offer to purchase a Hemet home for sale that we are not giving the seller everything we've got, typically. In today's market, we have to hold back a bit, in case the negotiations become a game of give and take.
As the REALTOR® representing a Hemet home buyer, I need to know just what the buyer is willing to do, before I enter the actual negotiation process. Personally, I prefer to meet face to face with the home seller and their agent to present my offer as opposed to faxing it to some anonymous fax machine in some anonymous office somewhere.
Allow me to digress for a moment and emphasize that I am not "old school" on too many issues, but a sales offer that will results in hundreds of thousands of dollars exchanging hands warrants the respect that only a personal presentation can provide - regardless of the product.
This is definitely one of the areas I need to work on in refining my basic skill set. I can look back with complete satisfaction in knowing that every offer I ever personally presented to the home seller was accepted and my clients now own those homes. I can also look back and not remember a single buyer's agent ever wanting to personally present an offer to my clients. That's NEVER!
What Do I Need to Know?
There are always limits as to what a buyer can or will do to secure a particular home for sale. If I know these limits, then I can negotiate from a position of knowledge...and knowledge in negotiations is POWER.
1) Price - The very first thing I must know about my negotiations is the price my client is willing to pay for their Hemet home for sale and what the maximum the lender says they are qualified to buy their Hemet home for.
2) Negotiating Points - In my last article, Back to the Basics: Buyers Checklist - Let's Write an Offer we explored many of the finer points of writing an offer. Perhaps we asked for the moon and the stars and have to settle for just the moon. After all, the seller has their own ideas of what a good transaction will look like and they may not be willing to give in on everything...and then again, they may be holding back to have more cards to play if the negotiations continue for more than one round.
So it is important for me to know, when I am representing a Hemet home buyer as to what issues are negotiable and what they are worth to the Hemet home buyer, if negotiated away.
3) When Will the Buyers Walk? When negotiating any transaction, it is important to know at what point there is no longer a deal to discuss. A smart buyer will remain emotionally unattached during the negotiation process and prepare themselves to have me walk away from the table. I need to know when to stop and move on...and I need to know when to continue to fight for my clients, if I am within the realm of my clients reality.
4) Contingencies - Every standard Residential Purchase agreement written in California has standard contingency language. There are contingencies for inspection, for appraisal, for the sale of the buyer's current residence, termite work and even loan conditions. In order to successfully negotiate an acceptable offer on behalf of my Hemet buyer clients, I need to know what contingencies they absolutely must have; what time restraints the contingencies must have as a minimum; and which contingencies are able to be negotiated away as bargaining chips in the process.
5) Time - Does time have an impact on the transaction? Do I have a client that absolutely must move into a home within 45 days but the seller's new home is not scheduled for completion for another 60 days? Is this critical? Are there any other issues regarding time that I MUT know about in order to successfully negotiate a successful purchase of a Hemet home for sale?
With a properly written purchase agreement a successful REALTOR® should always be prepared to sit down at the negotiating table and earn their money. Many times negotiations can go back and forth, tit-for-tat across the table without the need of multiple counter offers being exchanged by fax across town. I would much rather invest the time at the table then reviewing and preparing counter-offers without having any idea of who I am dealing with. Call me "old school" if you like, but call me successful!
Please make sure you check back often for more articles on Back to the Basics to hone your real estate skills.
So, Until Next Time,
Have a Blessed Day,
by John Occhi, Hemet REALTOR®
All Content Copyright Protected © 2007 - John Occhi, Hemet CA REALTOR®
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