Real Estate Protocall

This is an important area that deserves discussion for sellers.

What we've found is that many sellers seem to think everything is negotiable. Well.. in the world of real estate there are some things that are pretty much a given that are either buyer paid costs or seller paid costs. If you ignore this rule you risk blowing your deal.

When you get an offer:

  • Commission: This is not negotiable period. The only reason you as a seller have the offer is because you agreed to pay the commission in the first place so never try to negotiate the buyer's agent's fee down. It makes you as the seller look "Cheap". It also makes our company look cheap and leaves a bad taste in the buyer's agents mouth so to say making our company look bad.  We tell everyone, "Our program saves you half of the commission already". So, if you attempt to get of commission it really makes you look cheap and is in poor taste period.
  • Negotiating during an offer:  As a seller you will have various items that are your costs as does the buyer. Attempting to have the buyer pay for your costs again makes you as a seller look bad basically as seller related closingn costs are your costs. These are: commission if any to buyer's agent, transfer tax on deed ($8.60 per $1,000 of sales price & title insurance for the buyer).
  • Inspection:  With every sale the home is in "As is" condition. However, at the inspection, sometimes issues arise that need to be addressed. Sometimes it's mold, Radon or repairing of various items like windows or a leaky roof.  Remember, this is your home as a seller, not the buyer's yet so in most cases if there are items that are found that neither party knew about like say Radon or leaky basement or roof then this is typically a seller related item to pay. I mean, it's not the buyer's fault.