Negotiating the Real Estate Contract

Written by Roselind Hejl


Continued from page 1

The value of trust in a negotiation cannot be overstated. Most people are fair minded and reasonable. They respond well to respectful treatment and to having their concerns heard. Ifrepparttar seller feels thatrepparttar 112558 buyer and agent are acting with integrity, their attitude will be much more cooperative. Contract negotiation is a sensitive area, and anxiety can be high. The buyers may have had an unpleasant past experience with buying a home. The seller may be under pressure, with future plans at stake. Acting with integrity does not mean that all "cards have to be put onrepparttar 112559 table." It is not proper to discuss personal issues that affectrepparttar 112560 buyer, such as your financial ability or urgency to move in. It is valuable to develop rapport because trust increases your leverage. Here are ways:

Listen and understand whatrepparttar 112561 seller has to say.

Express appreciation forrepparttar 112562 seller's home, gardens, decorating.

Respond within a reasonable time to counter offers.

Reassurerepparttar 112563 seller of your ability to close.

Reveal some personal information about yourselves.

Finding common ground withrepparttar 112564 seller can be a very powerful tool inrepparttar 112565 event of multiple offers. I can think of several instances in which sellers selected their contract for very personal reasons. (The family reminded them of themselves when they moved in with young children years before. Or, they were both ofrepparttar 112566 same religion. Or,repparttar 112567 new owners would care for their gardens.)

Understanding your leverage

The more we can find out aboutrepparttar 112568 seller's needs,repparttar 112569 better chance we have to find solutions to negotiation hurdles. We will be able to offer information or concessions that appeal torepparttar 112570 seller's deepest concerns. Obviously, ifrepparttar 112571 house has been onrepparttar 112572 market for 300 days, you have a lot more leverage than you would with a brand new listing. If their time frame is immediate, and you can meet it, you have some leverage. If they have multiple offers, you have very little leverage!

How much under list price should you offer?

Buyers usually offer less than list price, unless it is a strong sellers market. There is no standard percentage "under list price" that can be used. A market analysis will show recent sales forrepparttar 112573 neighborhood, which isrepparttar 112574 best way to establishrepparttar 112575 offer price.

It is usually counter-productive to offer so low thatrepparttar 112576 seller will automatically rejectrepparttar 112577 offer. This will set a negative tone, and may result in an emotional response fromrepparttar 112578 seller.

What if we have a multiple offer situation?

Occasionallyrepparttar 112579 seller receives more than one offer on their property. The Austin Board of REALTORS® has a policy that allows two options: disclosure to all parties that multiple offers have been received, or disclosure to no one that there are multiple offers. We prefer disclosure to all parties. However,repparttar 112580 listing agent and seller will makerepparttar 112581 decision as to how they will handle offers. By simply disclosing that there are multiple offers, they are not "shopping" your contract. Shopping occurs whenrepparttar 112582 seller disclosesrepparttar 112583 terms of an offer to induce a buyer to submit a better offer. This can result in major distrust ofrepparttar 112584 process byrepparttar 112585 parties, andrepparttar 112586 likelihood of loss ofrepparttar 112587 buyers.

Usuallyrepparttar 112588 procedure is to notify each party that multiple offers have been received. Each party is then givenrepparttar 112589 opportunity to raise or adjust his offer by a certain time. After that time,repparttar 112590 seller is free to review all offers and choose one to work with. They are not obligated to chooserepparttar 112591 "first" offer that came in. The selected offer may be countered, or accepted as is.

By: Roselind Hejl www.weloveaustin.com

CRS Top 25 Agents in Austin Texas - Austin Business Journal


Inflation affects more than your money!

Written by Kurt Larsson


Continued from page 1

It may also be interesting to look atrepparttar the loss of personal freedom compared torepparttar 112557 escalation of violence in our society while rememberingrepparttar 112558 old adage “obligation breeds resentment”. How much conscious choice and how much freedom do you really have left? More importantly, how often do you exercise it?

The opportunity, “You never go sightseeing in your own town”. For those of us that see this inflationary trend as a struggle for maintaining our human dignity, we offer a suggestion as torepparttar 112559 most powerful and vulnerable (NOT weakest) place to start, yourself! Withrepparttar 112560 risk of becoming more monotonous thanrepparttar 112561 “human doings” that seem to be multiplying around us, we invite you to do an inventory of your own qualities and values to monitorrepparttar 112562 inflation going on in your own backyard. For instance: • How solid are your ethics and morals? • How clean is your language? • What isrepparttar 112563 value of your word? • How “close” are you to your family? What isrepparttar 112564 quality of those relationships? • How is your health, weight, stress level, etc? • How many people do you really trust? How many trust you? • How much peace of mind can you muster before craving something to do?

In Swedish,repparttar 112565 word for behaviour patterns is beteende mönster, we invite you to ask yourself how many of your beteende mönster are really inflated beteende monsters? We hoperepparttar 112566 message is clear enough, if you don’t maintain values, in these inflationary times, they will erode.

"So what" you ask? Our answer: How is your quality of life? How is it compared to what you expected when you dreamed of it so many years ago? If you are like most of us there is probably been a certain amount of price inflation since you first dreamed about how it would be. It also seems thatrepparttar 112567 price for many of us is finally beginning to show its ugly face. Sick leave is increasing drastically, stress is an epidemic and we just keep working more. If you watchrepparttar 112568 news, you are probably seeing inflation’s effect onrepparttar 112569 world around you. If you are trying to raise children you are probably feeling its effect close to home. Now ask yourself what isrepparttar 112570 direction ofrepparttar 112571 trend?

Living your life in a Spreadsheet We are in danger of becoming a society of individuals living in a spreadsheet; and don’t forget that each box on a spreadsheet is called a “cell”. The more we allow our values to deterioraterepparttar 112572 more desensitized we become. For instance, what is your reaction torepparttar 112573 level of violence on TV? Has it degraded overrepparttar 112574 last 20 years? What aboutrepparttar 112575 inflation of democracy compared torepparttar 112576 power of lobbyists? Some have likenedrepparttar 112577 degradation inrepparttar 112578 process of voting to a legal form of monetary "mob rule". What do you think?

Your "human being" use it or lose it. We think it is past time to address this inflation/degradation process of what makes us human. Regardless if you believe in a great conspiracy, plain old chaos or nothing at all;repparttar 112579 result might just turn out to berepparttar 112580 same. We may be losing our dignity as humans even faster than we collectively seem to be losing our wealth. Trust, respect and confidence are in danger of become relics ofrepparttar 112581 past. Has your child been assaulted in school yet?

Hope through action As grim as it may seem,repparttar 112582 solution to this personal form of inflation maybe so simple that it defies logic which may, ironically, be justrepparttar 112583 point. What ifrepparttar 112584 leverage point to lower inflation starts with being present and expressing your true emotions? Observe what happens in your world if you: * Choose to be consciously friendly towards others * Make someone’s day by just acknowledging them * Say or do something that really “moves” someone * Just breathe more... do you know whererepparttar 112585 word inspired comes from?

If these questions interest you also and if you see a connection betweenrepparttar 112586 quality of your life andrepparttar 112587 depth with which you dare to answer them, then we would like to hear from you! Inflation can be beaten, but you have to feel it first!

Kurt's curiosity for learning has kept him a student of money, investing and finance for over 30 years. With each investment failure he has gained more insight into why "free markets" do not act free. When not losing money at investing, he coaches people to healthier, more loyal and more prosperous relationships.


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