When the Buyer of Your Property Becomes You Friend



Many people might find it harsh to say the sale and purchase of real estate is an adversarial process, but it is. The seller has one goal in mind ? to get the most money possible. The buyer, on the other hand, wants to the get the best price for a quality piece of property. These goals conflict, which makes the process adversarial. To prove it, we need look no farther than the offer, counter-offer, counter-counter-offer process. If that is not an adversarial process, nothing is!

The somewhat odd thing about real estate transactions is they tend to become emotional events. Sellers are easily outraged by low bids and what they think are unwarranted demands from buyers. Buyers, on the other hand, get the sneaking suspicion the seller is hiding something or trying to pull one over on them. By the time of closing, this can lead to an atmosphere that makes a nasty divorce seem like a tea party.

What many sellers fail to realize is there is a point in the transaction when a buyer should be helped. Yes, helped! As a seller, your goal is to sell the property for as much as possible. An important part of this goal is the word ?sell.? Once you have negotiated the details of the transaction, done the home inspection and fought over repairs, there is really nothing left to do but receive the cash at the closing. This is where you need to be flexible.

Purchasing a home is a taxing event for just about every buyer. Even if they are moving up from a previous home, the expenses involved in buying a home are significant. If you doubt this, think back to the stress you experienced when buying the very home you are selling. To ensure that the sale actually closes, you would be wise to consider helping out your buyer if they need it.

Seller concessions refer to a little trick that can give a buyer the ability to quickly and easily close on your property. A seller concession is simply a situation where you and the buyer agree to a slightly higher sales price, to wit, five to ten thousand dollars. You then kick this money back to the buyer at closing to help them pay the numerous closing costs that arise. Yes, this is legal. Yes, the buyer's lender knows you are doing this. No, it is not fraud. Most lenders actually account for it in their home loans and allow seller concessions of three to six percent.

At the end of the day, you want to sell your property. To make sure that happens, you might want to consider turning your adversarial relationship with the buyer into a friendly one.