Many sellers are a bit nervous when their first offers come in to buy
their home. They�re not always as high as a seller may have hoped.
However, it�s important to remember your negotiating power. Any real
estate contract can be discussed.
You can counter the offer by asking for what you want. The real estate
agent is required by law to submit to you any offers which may come into
their office. Agents have to show all offers despite what they think of
them. You may not like some of the offers you see. This is fine. At
least there are interested parties. The time to get scared is when there
are no offers.
Let's say you are offering your home for $745,000. The market analysis
showed that this was a similar price for your neighborhood. The buyer
has given an offer of $725,000 and has asked for certain things. They
want you to pay the closing costs and three points. This is not really a
great offer. It could be worse, but it is not one you should say yes to.
It is also not one you should just rip up and run away from either.
Stop and think about it for a moment. You know you have someone who is
interested in your home. This is a good sign. You need to find a way to
save the deal and make everyone happy.
You already knew you would look at offers under the asking price. You
also knew you would accept the first one which offered $739,000. Time to
get your agent�s professional opinion prior to countering the offer. You
may agree to pay the closing costs and the points if the buyer will
agree to the full price.
The buyer may walk away from the deal. He may also decide this is
perfect and accept it. You can only see what the outcome is. The buyer
may also decide to oppose the offer again. This is how the negotiations
work with a real estate deal.
You may also believe you are bound by just the paperwork of the original
contract. This is not true. You can add an addendum to make sure
everything you and the buyer have agreed upon is in writing. By adding
an addendum you know exactly what is predetermined between both parties.
This means there is less confusion. Each party involved knows what is
happening. No one can claim they did not understand the contract.
You must understand while the paperwork is under negotiations, it is an
agreement. Once everything has been discussed and agreed upon with
signatures from all the parties involved, it becomes a contract. This
contract is upheld by the courts. This is why negotiations are crucial.
You want to make sure everything you want, need, or expect to be done is
worded in the agreement so everyone understands. After the negotiations,
you are bound by the contract.
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