Go Ahead and Insult Me...My Job Starts When the Offer Is Made!   

Make an offer and don't worry about "insulting" me or the seller?

There have been offers rejected but many more  have been negotiated and gone to settlement.

No seller wants to 'give their house away.'  But they do want to sell.   Does the seller have to accept a "too low" offer? Of course not but it might start  negotiations.

 

A contract should not be viewed as an insult.  It demonstrates the buyer's interest  in making a purchase.  It takes time to obtain a qualifying letter,  show proof of funds, produce an earnest money deposit, sign the 42 page offer, figure out closing dates, home inspections etc.

We have all gotten this question: "Will the seller take such and such for the house?"

How would I know?  This question is NOT an offer!  It must be in writing.  Have you heard this statement?  "I don't want to waste time with an offer that will not work."  Whose time are you wasting? Not mine. That's my job.

Until you put it in writing,  there is nothing to talk about.

This is where a seasoned agent is worth their weight in gold...or maybe just a full commission.

Once a formal offer is presented, the agent now has something to work with and can  prepare and present net sheets showing what the proceeds to the seller will be. 

The first net is labeled  "In a perfect world" - this one has a full list price, 30-day cash settlement and no contingencies.

The second net sheet is labeled "In the real world" - this is the actual offer in hand. This one includes a summary with price, date, contingencies, financing - in other words, the good and not so good points, but it is what we have to work with. 

Remember you have only 2 choices... accept it or reject it. But what about a counter offer? A counter is a rejection and gives the buyer the opportunity to walk. 

If you decide to counter...The third, fourth, fifth etc net sheets  will have various examples ways to negotiate. Sometimes it is price alone, sometimes it is terms, sometimes it is possession, sometimes it is repairs, sometimes it is exclusions, but most times it is a mixture of all these. Now you're ready to negotiate, but it can't start until someone makes an offer.

 

Go Ahead and Insult Me...My Job Starts When the Offer Is Made.                          

Firm...Final Offer...But Are You Sure?

Careful while negotiating!

Had an agent leave me a message late  last  night with a counter offer saying this number was firm  along with a list of reasons why the buyers  would not go any higher.
                                                    

In the mean time, another offer has arrived... and it is better than the first offer.   I call the first  agent and thank her for leaving me a message with her final offer. I also wanted her to know that IF this was her buyer's final offer ...we had no place to go. She thanked me and I thought that was the end.

This morning, quite early, my phone rings.  It was the agent with the first buyers ...they now admit they love the house and do not want to lose it. Well guess what...it may be too late!!

Do you say it is a best and final offer in order give the impression of being a "strong" negotiator?

Are you following your client's wishes and not your own.
Firm...Final Offer...But Are You Sure?

Can Donkeys Fly? Changing My Approach to Short Sale Education

Can Donkeys Fly? Changing My Approach to Short Sale Education

I have read and benefited greatly from both of Tim's books!.

"..it does not matter how many contracts you get signed, it matters how many sales you close...After all, it takes at least as much time to work a short sale that does not get the bank's approval as it does to work on one that closes"

Tim has a way of making everything so simple and easy to understand. I will be checking out http://www.ShortSaleNegotiatingSpecialist.com

Via Tim Burrell (RE/MAX):

Learn Negotiating Skills So You Don't Negotiate Like This!

It took me 17 years of doing short sales to realize that I needed to change how I taught short sales to Realtors and their assistants. I teach a class approved by the North Carolina Real Estate Commission for continuing education credit, and I have written a book endorsed by the Council of Residential Specialists (CRS) of the National Association of Realtors called Create A Short Sale, Your Guide Through the Short Sale Maze. I believe that Realtors are going to rescue America by doing more short sales, thereby decreasing foreclosures with the result that the sellers, buyers and the neighborhoods are all better off. Short sales are better for everyone in Real Estate, but they are very hard on Realtors.

Many of the courses that teach Realtors how to do short sales are good and a lot of the members of ActiveRain participate in making short sales better. Thank you for your good work. However, I realized that there is a critical part of short sale education that is not getting enough attention. I also wrote Create A Great Deal, the Art of Real Estate Negotiating, which CRS also endorses, so my emphasis is teaching negotiating skills.

Many of the courses teach you how to get short sale listings, get contracts signed and submit short sale packages, which is good. However, it does not matter how many contracts you get signed, it matters how many sales you close. I have been able to close all but one of my short sales in 17 years. So, I realized that the part of short sales that needs more instruction is negotiating with the banks and having the right people for that job.

Most Realtors are great at dealing with people and putting deals together, with appropriate personality types. Most of them are not good at detail work, persistent follow through and repetitively calling banks. In other words, they do not have the attrributes to succeed at an essential part of the short sale process: negotiating with banks and closing the sale. I have been trying to teach Realtors how to do the entire process of a short sale, which is like teaching a donkey to fly. You can get them off the ground with a lot of energy but they are not constituted to stay with it to complete the course, and the landing is not pretty.

So, my new course teaches negotiating techniques that work gracefully with the bank, emphasizing collaborative negotiating where you work together with the loss mitigation negotiatior to come to a Win-win result. Also, I teach team members and virtual assistants to do the detail work that they do much better than most Realtors. So, my version of short sale success is a team sport.

If you would like to learn more about this different portion of short sale education, go to http://www.ShortSaleNegotiatingSpecialist.com . This niche of short sale education can change your success rate for short sales dramatically, so you can close them all.

After all, it takes at least as much time to work a short sale that does not get the bank's approval as it does to work on one that closes --- and the ones that close pay much better.