1. The buyer will be fighting tooth and nail to get the best deal they can. Everyone does. Everyone tries to save money and get the most bang for their buck. Negotiating a Win-Win deal for everyone can mean the difference between selling it or having it on the market.2. Most buyers will use a buyer's agent. That agent is going to negotiate the homeowner for a commission. Homeowners need to be prepared for this and know up front that most buyers agents get paid by the seller, even though they're in a written agreement to work for the buyer's best interest. And, of all the homes on the market, they're bringing the buyer to the transaction and deserve to be paid. How and who pays can be negotiated!
3. Homeowners may have to negotiate with the buyer's attorney as well. Many homeowners contribute to buyer's closing costs, but don't actually know what that means. Negotiating these fees with the buyer's attorney, as well as closing date could save money in the long run.
4. Buyers should get inspections on the home- home inspection, septic inspection, heat/air inspection, etc. This is a normal part of a buyer's due diligence, however, the findings of the inspections may require homeowners to negotiate costs, repairs or replacements with the buyer or buyer's agent.
5. Many homeowners are asked to have pest inspections performed for the buyer. Homeowners need to know which inspections to get and why they are necessary. The relevance and costs of some of these can be negotiated as well.
6. Depending on the mortgage program the buyer chooses, some costs associated can be reduced or eliminated. This will require the homeowner to understand the mortgage program and process and negotiate with the buyer's lender.
7. Appraisals often determine the final sale price. This is one of the reasons why knowing market value will be important when pricing your home for sale. In the event it comes in lower, homeowners may be required to negotiate and work with the appraiser to adjust the value.
8. Sometimes title companies find errors before closing. Errors can be something as simple as a misspelled name on a deed to something like a mortgage not being released during a previous refinance. These are issues that homeowners will need to address and fix before a title company can clear a buyer to close.
9. Occasionally permitting issues can arise. For instance, if there was an improvement done on the house and no permit on record for it, or a small business located in an area zoned for residential would require a variance from the local municipality.
10. Buyer contingencies. If the buyer is waiting on someone else to sell their home and that transaction has hiccups, negotiating better terms, or assisting the buyer with negotiating better terms for their sale might be necessary.
11. Lien Holder. In the event of a short sale, the homeowner will need to negotiate costs, terms of the deficiency and the contract with their lender. This can be an arduous task and very lengthy, and usually requires extensive short sale process knowledge.
For many homeowners, this list can be very daunting. Selling a home can be one of the biggest financial undertakings a homeowner can experience. Who would you want to negotiate for you? Someone with no experience, or someone who wants to put food on their table?
