Residential Real Estate Negotiation

Anticipating an Offer that any home buyer will make is virtually impossible.

So, understanding how today’s home buyer’s negotiate is critical.

Understanding Today’s Home Buyers:

Today’s buyers come better prepared with far greater knowledge and access to information about your house than ever before.

They understand financing better, and can be fairly certain of the final transaction costs of buying, for example, your four bedroom colonial in Vienna.

Resources that they rely on include Zillow estimates, their “buyer agent”, the mortgage company, publicly available County tax records, and any recent experience making offers on other homes.

That recent experience may include being outbid on a home or having a friend in the neighborhood.

People still relocate to Northern Virginia all the time, and these buyers are often working on tight schedules. These home buyers don’t have the luxury of waiting for another nice house to pop up but need to make decisions today. (This one example of why digital signatures are strategically important.)

In most residential sales, buyers will include contingencies:

Home Inspection
Radon Inspection
Appraisal

Many of today’s home buyers have high expectations and factor in the condition of your home when determining value, such as:

Windows
HVAC Systems
Kitchen
Kitchen Appliances
Wall paper and paint
Hardwood Floors
Carpet
Bathrooms

Sometimes emotions influence negotiations

Not everyone is emotionally tied to their house, but I see it happen… primarily with sellers.

My recommendation is to shift your thinking from an owner to a professional seller.

You may have plans for a bigger house, retiring to a place near a beach, the kids are married, or you might be downsizing to a hip urban setting where you can walk everywhere. A massive paradigm shift may need to happen, but that is how you are going to move on to the next phase in life.

Responding to Offers & Counter Offers

A reasonable time frame for responding back to a home buyer is within 24 hours, but I recommend as soon as possible because it is always the best strategy.

A really great deal can get withdrawn when a buyer feels they aren’t being treated well. I have seen home buyers get cold feet especially when another house pops up on the market and their Zillow App sends them an alert. “Ding!”

You don’t want your buyer to get distracted!

Responding to Counter-Offers or a Home Inspection Addendum quickly typically yields a positive outcome, leaving all parties knowing they negotiated professionally rather than emotionally.

In Summary

Any real estate negotiation involves some compromise. The process a seller goes through is far different than the journey most home buyers undertake.

Understand the buyer, understand the offer, and understand that there are many hurdles ahead before your property is finally sold.