06.24.09 The "unusual" property you have is finally in escrow. The seller, who said they would never accept less came down about 8%. In fact, you are even surprised that you got so much! The buyers

[Elaine Stucy]

have been very reasonable.

The buyers ask for one item on inspection. The seller proactively begins the repairs, but then, before he even agrees in writing to fix it, realizes that the fix is going to cost much more that he expected. Now he is in rage again. "They are stealing the house"..."we should just wait....in 5 years it will be worth a fortune..." "I don't think I will agree to do these repairs"

How do you handle this?

[Tracy King]

Is it an option for you to stay here for another 5 years?

Do you want to try negotiating with the buyer on the cost of this repair?

if the buyer walks, are you ok with that?

[Susan Smeltzer]

Can you really see yourself keeping this house for another five years?

What if the market continues to fall? What will you do in five years if the market has only come back up to the level we are at now?

What are you willing to do about the repair?

If this buyer walks away, and in another month we get a lower offer, what will you do?

This repair will be a disclosure from this point forward. If we get another buyer, and they want the same repair, what will you do then?

[john steiner]

So are you saying that after all this you have changed your mind and no longer want to sell? Is that really what you want? Is there no middle way here?

[Donald McVicar]

Too late!!

But really....

I can't promise you that they will agree, but if we can share the cost with the buyers, will that be acceptable?
"yes"
Great

"no" I can't believe I said I'd do this.

I understand, and it's very admirable that you were willing to agree. It takes unselfish moves like this in order to close escrows. This may seem like a big ordeal now, but once we close, I know you will be relieved so you can move forward, which is what you truly want, correct?
"yes" just that i can't believe how much this will be, and we're giving the house away now

I understand, and it's frustrating, but I don't believe you are giving it away. They have only asked for this one repair. Are you really ready to wait another five years? Keep in mind, if this is worth a fortune, the other house you want to buy will have gone up just as much.

I know, I'm just over all this negotiation stuff.

I understand. But how will you feel once this is complete and you are at your new house?

It will be great,

Ok, are you open to finishing this one repair, and moving forward?

[Gary Price]

Have you had a change of heart about selling?
What are you wanting to do about the repair?
Do you want to attempt splitting the cost of this repair with the buyer?
If the buyer says no to splitting the repair, are you okay if buyer decides to walkaway from the sale?
Do you really want to keep the property for another 5 years or do you want to move on with your life and sell now?

[Renee Ferjo]

3 things:
1. Is it really an option for you to stay here another 5 years?
2. You haven't agreed to the repair yet. In light of the cost of this repair, what will you do towards it?
3. If consequently, the buyer doesn't accept your response and walks because of this repair, are you okay with that?

(koodos to Tracy King's inspiration.)

[Josef Szigeti]

In a year or so, if the property will be valued 10% less, would you be OK with not selling today?

[Salma Basravi]

So, what I am hearing is that you feel you are giving your house away, first the price and then the repair, I understand where you are coming from.

Let me ask you, If we respond back with a 'no' and the buyer walks, are you able to maintain and live in this
home for the next 4-5 years? On the calendar that would mean 1,460 - 1,825 days!

Lets switch roles and pretend that you are the buyer, and the seller said 'no' in this market with such a high inventory, do you think you can go else where and find another home maybe with lesser repair?

Lets focus on you and your goals, where do you really want to be? Is this compromise worth it to you or not in lieu of achieving your goal?

[Salma Basravi]

So, what I am hearing is that you feel you are giving your house away, first the price and then the repair, I understand where you are coming from.

Let me ask you, If we respond back with a 'no' and the buyer walks, are you able to maintain and live in this
home for the next 4-5 years? On the calendar that would mean 1,460 - 1,825 days!

Lets switch roles and pretend that you are the buyer, and the seller said 'no' in this market with such a high inventory, do you think you can go else where and find another home maybe with lesser repair?

Lets focus on you and your goals, where do you really want to be? Is this compromise worth it to you or not in lieu of achieving your goal?

[Gene Bush]

It's taken us so long to get into escrow, what are you going to do when the next buyer asks for the same thing?

This is a situation that is not going away, are you open to dealing with this problem now and getting your house sold so you can move on?

[Yancy Whittaker]

...and you don't have to. I’ll point that out to the buyer’s agent that you don't have to do anything at all if you don't want to...and they’ll understand. It's even written into the contract that this home is being sold "as is" and that the seller is not obligated to perform any buyers request to repair…although buyers have the right and are advised to perform a home inspection and other inspection according to disclosures received…a problem seems to arise out of the buyer’s right to inspect and that some how fuels some sort of unwritten law that buyer request for repairs somehow must be accomplished by sellers or the buyer walks away.
Understanding this, I’ve developed an attitude and a successful, effective ability to dialogue persuasively with buyer’s in negotiating buyers request for repairs…but you’ll need to give just a little…however I highly suggest you be open to selecting any 4 of the nine items and compromise…then I’ll negotiate them to do the rest to the best of my ability… that’s fair isn’t it???

[Reedy and Bruno Acalinas]

Agent: Let's stop. Step back... and evaluate our situation.... and I have to commend you on starting this work right away. You really wanted to do the right thing and here it blows up into a big repair. I'd be really frustrated at this point. However, let's look really look at this - how much will this repair cost? Seller: $6000!!! Agent: Ok! I see your point. Are there any short cuts to this repair that wouldn't cost as much? Seller: No, it's pretty much cut and dry - 6 grand! Agent: So to give the buyer a clean and properly repaired home, done right - it's $6000? So we have to ask ourselves is it worth giving up the home we are moving to for 6k? Seller: At this point, yes! Agent: Would it be ok with Mrs Seller to lose her new home for 6k? Seller: Hmmm ... Agent: I don't have a crystal ball but what if this house is not worth a fortune in 5 years? Let's put this in perspective: you can wait 5 years but you will still have to do this repair now whether you sell now or in 5 years because you would not live here without doing the repair right? So really the repair probably should have been done years ago and has only gotten worse because you didn't know about it. This is really just deferred maintenance that has finally caught up to you. Are you getting a good deal on your new home? Let's see if we can credit the buyers in escrow for this amount and you won't have to do any of this work and risk discovering something even bigger! Seller: Whose side are you on anyway? Agent: Your side, I am always looking out for you and your best interest. And it is going to feel a whole lot better when you're in your new home with Mrs Seller having breakfast and knowing you did the right thing here.