When negotiating a residential real estate contract, there are
typically 4 items we "fight" over. Those are; 1) price 2) terms 3)
possession 4) personal property.
Buyers and sellers should
consider these items and rank them according to importance. Sometimes
the best transactions occur when we find the buyer and seller have
matching needs. For instance a seller may not want to close until a
date in the future, but is willing to take less for the house, just so
he doesn’t have to move twice. If the buyer is price sensitive but has
the time to wait, this could be a win-win situation.
Terms
include seller concessions to the buyer. This could be in the form of
paying closing costs, prepaids or even buying down a point. Buyers who
are "cash poor" but well employed welcome and need a seller’s
concession to make the transaction workable.
Personal
property should never become an issue in a contract negotiation. If a
seller wants to exclude personal property, i.e. a light fixture, it
should be replaced prior to a buyer seeing it. Many real estate
transactions have gone sour, due to the disposition of personal
property. A wonderful divorce attorney once advised me not to fight
over the toaster, since paying him by the hour was much more expensive
than buying a toaster! Same holds true in real estate, don’t be
fighting over the curtains. For want of curtains you can lose the
whole house!
Sometimes learning the position of the other side is
difficult. Oftentimes it doesn’t matter when you do, but frequently it
makes out for a very smooth and delightful real estate transaction.
About the Author
Kristal Kraft
Kristal has been helping buyers and sellers in Colorado since 1984. She enjoys sharing her knowledge of the Metro Denver Real Estate market via blogging and in person while driving around the beautiful Rocky Mountain town of Denver! For fun, Kristal enjoys shooting things with a Canon. Visit Denver Photo Blog
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