6. Negotiating to Sell
Most offers to purchase your house will require some level of negotiating to come to a win-win agreement. It is critical that you be well versed on the legalities of the real estate contract used in your area. In addition to legal issues, you will need to understand contract basics, including what each contract clause means to you and your buyer, what you will net from the sale of your home, and what areas in the contract lend themselves easiest to negotiation. Some of the things that you may have to negotiate on are:
- The price
- Financing
- Closing costs
- Repairs that need to be done
- Appliances and fixtures
- Landscaping
- Painting
- Occupancy time frame
To really gain some insight into why potential buyers are pursuing the purchase of your house and how they might proceed in the negotiations, it is important to know as much about the buyer as possible, especially their motivation for buying. Once both parties have reached a point where the deal is acceptable, you must be certain that you have a legally executable contract.
Your agent can save you time and money by making sure that the offer is presented to you by a qualified buyer. There is no reason to review an offer if the person(s) making it will not be able to actually buy your home. Your agent will also be available to review the written offer to make sure that it is written in a proper way and covers the necessary areas.