This is my 20th anniversary as a Tri-Cities real estate agent. I’ve learned a lot in those two decades! Throughout the year, I’ll be sharing some of the lessons I’ve learned from my time in real estate.
Anyone who knows me well knows that I wear my heart on my sleeve, put my cards on the table, and am as transparent as can be. I’m not a good bluffer or pretender around friends and loved ones.
But when it’s not about me — when it’s about my clients and what is best for them? I will hold my cards as close as the top poker players in the world! 😅
Earlier this year, I was representing a seller who had already moved out of state. He had just found his dream home in the new state. Meanwhile, his home here was under contract. We had to get his Tri-Cities home through to closing so he could buy the house he loved in his new hometown.
Negotiation #1: The home inspection
The home inspection came back and identified several things that my seller would need to fix.
The day after we received the buyers’ repair requests, my seller and I spoke a few times. At one point, he said, “What would be best for me is to give them money at closing so they can fix things themselves.”
Before agreeing to that, I told him we could be his boots on the ground here and arrange for tradespeople to get in and out of the empty house — that we could coordinate the fixes for him. But he said he’d rather not worry, and he asked me to ask the buyers’ agent if the buyers would be okay with money instead of repairs.
I did, and they said they were!
Negotiation #2: How much to offer
My seller gave me an amount that he was willing to pay instead of making the repairs.
I brought that amount down a bit when I spoke with the buyers’ agent. The buyers’ agent said she would talk to her clients and we would hear back the next day.
At 9:30 AM that next day, my seller asked via text if I’d heard anything. I said no and reminded him that it was only 9:30 here in the Tri-Cities. It was also the day after a holiday, so it would probably be a while until we heard back.
At 11:30 AM, he texted again and added, “Tell them we’re willing to offer them more.”
I picked up the phone and called him. When he answered, I said, “Remind me to play poker against you sometime! You’re showing your entire hand!” He laughed, and we discussed it further.
Turns out, he didn’t want to lose the new house. The sellers there were willing to sign his offer, but they wouldn’t do it until the negotiations on his Tri-Cities house were wrapped up. My seller said, “I know you want me to play my cards close to my chest, and I appreciate that. That’s your job, and why we hired you. But I can’t think about anything other than getting this other house.”
When he said that, I was reminded of a critical component of real estate: Buying is emotional, and selling is logical. My seller’s emotions are all tied up in how his life will look in the house he’s buying.
Meanwhile, the systems I have in place to make sure my sellers get their homes sold quickly and with a good net amount to them? He didn’t care! His buyer-side emotions were running away with him.
We talked some more, and he authorized me to tell the buyers’ agent we were willing to sacrifice money for time. He needed an answer, and he needed it now.
Fortunately, the other agent is one I know well — a great agent. When I called her and explained our situation, she promised to work on it as quickly as she and her buyers’ schedules allowed.
In the end, our negotiating worked. The buyers accepted our offer of money at closing to handle the repairs themselves, and my seller client was able to submit a great offer on his new home out of state.
In my personal life, I usually show my cards in all sorts of situations. But real estate requires a different approach. I love situations when I get to holds my cards closely and negotiate so my clients get exactly what they want.
(Playing cards photo by Esteban López on Unsplash.)