Flat Fee Real Estate Commissions

List Your Home & Save Thousands

 

Chuck Marunde, J.D., Broker, Attorney (Ret.) Text: 360-775-5424

  • Home
  • Map Search
  • Market Reports
    • Market Reports NWMLS Areas
    • Market Reports North Olympic Peninsula
    • Market Reports San Juan Islands
    • Market Reports Western Washington Beaches
    • Market Reports Seattle Area
    • Market Reports North of Seattle
    • Market Reports South of Seattle
    • Market Reports East of Seattle
  • Buyer’s Agent
    • Your Buyer’s Agent
    • Chuck Marunde (Video)
    • Chuck’s Real Estate Books
    • Chuck’s Youtube Channel
    • Application to Hire Chuck
  • List Your Home
    • List Your Home Step 1 (Flat Commission w/Audio)
    • List Your Home Step 2 (7 Myths & Why a Flat Fee)
    • List Your Home Step 3 (Your Listing Broker)
    • List Your Home Step 4 (The Listing Application)
    • List Your Home Step 5 (Signing)
    • FAQ Flat Fee Listing

How do I negotiate price and terms?

July 30, 2022 by Chuck Marunde Leave a Comment

The following is from an article I wrote in 2019 on my Real Estate Blog:

I’ve written on this real estate blog about negotiating price and the importance of knowing what you’re doing when you draft an offer and negotiate the price. Not only can it mean the difference between reaching mutual acceptance with a seller or killing the deal, it can also mean tens of thousands of dollars to you. 

Negotiating – Mistakes People Make

Experienced negotiators have seen many patterns of behavior over the years, and they learn all the nuances of negotiating. Amateurs think in simple terms, like take the listing price and offer 5% less. Or amateurs assume if a listing has been on the market for 100 days that the home is overpriced, and its time to make a low ball offer. There are a hundred immature negotiating approaches I have seen people and their agents take over the last four decades. The crazy thing is they are totally confident they know what they’re doing. That’s the problem with knowing just enough to be dangerous, and it can cost you a lot of money.

Today I’ll share one example of what I’m talking about. Realize that this is one of hundreds of examples, so you will see why I say negotiating is not for amateurs. I represented a buyer who spent a lifetime working as an engineer. The seller who was represented by another agent was a very creative artist. So when we went into the negotiations what did I know, and what could I anticipate?

Negotiating: Engineer v. Artist

An engineer thinks like an engineer. Do you know what I mean? A trained engineer is logical, calculated, unemotional, and cautious in making a final decision. An engineer wants to look at hard data when determining what price to offer, and he knows in advance what price range still comports with the prices of comps and the replacement cost approach. An engineer can be a great client, but can also go to extremes in analysis. 

The seller was super creative and quite an artist in life on several levels. A creative seller does not think like an engineer. An artist thinks not about mathematical comparisons, but about the design contributions she has made to her home since she has owned it, and those designs have great artistic value to her, and deep emotional connections. Her home became an extension of her inner self, and she loved her home. The value of her home cannot be adequately represented by the cost approach or a comparative market analysis. 

Both of these people are good people and are exactly who they were meant to be. But negotiating without an understanding of their differences and how they approach negotiating can be a recipe for disaster. This is especially true if the creative artist’s own real estate agent is also a creative type of person. Going into this negotiation, I knew a creative artist type will often make unreasonable demands that have no basis in a careful real estate analysis, and I knew my engineer would walk rather than agree to a price propped up by a seller’s intense emotions. Our entire approach needed to address each party’s special concerns and feelings. We did reach mutual acceptance, and in the end everyone was very pleased.  Imagine not understanding this going into the negotiations. This is why buyers and their agents often get frustrated and angry and walk away.

Negotiating is part science and part art, but negotiating is definitely not for amateurs when tens of thousands of dollars are at stake.

Filed Under: Listing Tagged With: Flat Fee Commission

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

About iRealty Virtual Brokers

iRealty Virtual Brokers reaches out to buyers around the United States with thousands of online articles, MLS sites, apps, real estate books, videos, and much more specifically to help buyers find all the answers to their questions. We also now offer a flat fee commission listing service that saves sellers tens of thousands of dollars.


iRealty Virtual Brokers
125 Olympic Ranch Ln, Sequim, WA 98382
360-775-5424

7 Myths of Selling Your Home
Sequim Real Estate A Buyers Guide

Your Sequim Buyer’s Agent

Call Chuck Marunde at 360-775-5424.

Mortgage Calculator

Current Mortgage Rates

Washington Mortgage Rates

RSS The Largest Real Estate Blog in Washington

  • Massive Upgrades to Sequim Real Estate Blog August 12, 2022
  • How Do I Subscribe to This Real Estate Blog? August 11, 2022
  • Is Sequim Always Sunny? August 11, 2022
  • Transformer Shortage Stops Building New Homes August 9, 2022
  • The 4 Most Powerful Real Estate Resources Packaged August 6, 2022
  • Real Estate Bubble Popped August 3, 2022
  • Flat Fee Listing Service Now in Washington July 28, 2022
  • Sequim Real Estate Market Turns Down July 13, 2022
  • Port Townsend Video Tour June 6, 2021
  • Sequim Horse Property June 4, 2021
  • Are Buyers Competing to Bid Prices Up? May 23, 2021
  • Sequim Real Estate Videos Organized in an EBook May 11, 2021
  • Diversify Investments Before The Crash April 29, 2021


Northwest MLS Sitemap

Copyright © 2014-2021 All Rights Reserved by iRealty Virtual Brokers

Turn Key Theme

Flat Fee Real Estate Commissions