One of my favorite things about being a real estate broker/agent is helping my buyer clients to negotiate the best deal on the home they have chosen. Having represented hundreds of buyers over my 13-year career, I've found that each situation is unique, and that's part of what I enjoy. The mental challenge makes it....fun? That may be too strong a word to describe it, but the strategy part is intriguing to me.
I have a bit of advice that I wanted to share with home buyers with regard to making offers:
- Yes, it really is possible to offend someone so badly that they won't sell to you. No, it's not common.
- If you make an offer that's below the asking price and it gets accepted, don't start second-guessing yourself and wondering if you could have offered less. Many times, it's possible to hit the sellers' sweet spot, meaning the number they had in mind in the first place.
- If you make an offer that is well below the price suggested by your Realtor, don't be surprised if you get a firm counteroffer, or even a counteroffer of full price. This doesn't mean that they don't want to sell. It means, "Please get serious and try again."
- Just because a home has been on the market a long time doesn't mean that the seller will reduce the price a lot. They may be unable to do so, and that is reflected in the days on market. Truthfully, that home could end up as a short sale later, but you might be wasting your time to pursue it now.
- If a home has been sharply reduced, this also doesn't mean that you will be able to steal the house. They may be bottomed out and near the price that they can reasonably accept.
- If a property has been on the market for less than one week, the chances of negotiating the seller down very much are slim indeed. Why would they want to come off of the price so quickly? If you were in their shoes, would you?
While we're at it, I also have a bit of perspective to share with buyer's agents:
- Don't be afraid to write up an offer well below the asking price, as long as it seems halfway reasonable. You might be surprised by the reaction. Then again, don't be shocked to get a pseudo-offended response, followed by a solid (meaning viable) counteroffer. Some listing agents like to act upset on behalf of their clients, THEN they present the offer.
- Tell your clients the truth as you see it. If you think a home will go at or above the asking price, tell them so.
- As I see it (and it's just an opinion, mind you), your job is to help your clients get the home they really want/need at the best price possible. This doesn't mean you have to squeeze every dime out of the transaction when negotiating, as long as it's a solid purchase/investment.
- You probably won't win any big points with a listing agent by sending over a CMA or other justification for your price. Just tell them that this is what your clients were comfortable paying, and leave it at that. If you can say it honestly, you have leverage. There's no need to be pushy.
- If you have to chip in a little bit of your own commission to make the deal work, do it, but only do it if you have no choice. I once gave up $3,000 toward repairs after we hit a stalemate. My commission check on that sale was $84,000. "No brainer" for me, right? Think about your priorities and don't let your pride get in the way.
- While I don't think being overly prideful is the way to build your business, you CAN gently remind your clients of the work you have done for them (e.g. "I think this was a productive day of showings." or "I think that technique/idea I had worked well, and I'm happy to see the deal you got on this place.").
Whether you are in the real estate business or not, I hope you found this to be helpful. I don't mind sharing what has worked for me. Feel free to share your own ideas below.
Thanks for reading!
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Jason, this is great advice to buyers and buyer brokers alike.
Great post my friend and...3K off 84K is a no brain-er for me too. You've made excellent post about a number of issues here and this is a well written primer of reminders.
Actually if I am negotiating anything off my commission which is rare it's in numbers NOT percentages. That way folks realize we are talking about Dollars and not some abstract amount!
The #1 rule of negotiating was taught to me by the late, great real estate investing legend Barney Zick:
"The person who wins in any negotiation is the one who's willing to walk away from the deal."
Of course, if both sides are, it's a lot easier to get "win-win". But when sellers get desperate for cash or buyers get locked into "this is absolutely the one and only house for me", they're immediately at a disadvantage in the negotiation.
We had this situation buying a car once. All the paperwork was done, but a sticking point over the extended warranty kind of threw a wrench in things. I was prepared to concede the issue, but my wife just got up, walked out, and said, "Come on, Scott, let's go." I was stunned, but I followed her. They chased us down, at the front door, and we got the car. That willingness to walk away from the deal saved us about $2,000, once you figure the interest over five years!
I once had a buyer hit my seller with such a lowball number, that we responded with a counter offer that was HIGHER than our listing price (for impact).
It had that desired impact, as the buyer's agent said "But wait, you're going to wrong direction!!" to which I responded, "so is your client".
Their next counter was much more reasonable, and we eventually negotiated to a mutually beneficial resolution.
Jason, thanks for sharing your advice and experience......good stuff here!
Great points, Jason. That first offer is critical. Not so low that you don't get a counter, and not so high that you have no wiggle room. I love Alan's tactic. That must have been fun.
Jason,
Forgive me?
What negotiating? When the buyer's agent faxesan offer to the seller's agent and then sits on his... until he receivers a response there is no negotiating! This is more accurately a silent auction.
Your advice though is excellent bidding strategy, whether is applied to bidding or the lost negotiating!
I know I'm tilting at another windmill, it's unlikely there are many of your readers that have actually presented an offer to a seller and his agent.
Bill
Very solid advice Jason. if a buyer is just going to low ball an offer, then they're not really taking the advice they hired us for in the first place. This is why we run comps for our buyers...so they can make informed decisions.
Jason - all great points. It is sometimes hard to convince buyers that even in today's market that sellers have a bottom that they won't cross. I have to refrain from smart ass comments sometimes when a buyer makes a ridiculously low offer, against my advice and when the seller responds in kind, the buyer gets insulted. Have to bite my tongue.
Jason: You make a lot of good points. I will never, for the life of me, understand a seller that wads up an offer because it's insulting. At minimum, a full price counter makes the point and keeps the conversation between the parties going.
Jason, these are some great points, I don't reblog very often but i think is headed in that direction...
Jason, I'm with Gerry. This is an ideal re-blog as each point has tremendous merit. Thanks
Jason...great info for buyers. I have been on both ends of the low offer being offensive. Even in today's market I have seen it.
Jason - The only feedback I want is an offer...no matter what the beginning price is. Just a great post.
Great advice. When I think I've done especially well in coaching buyers in negotiations, I always congratulate them and tell them that I think they did a great job. Then they say it back!
Great advice! Really enjoyed reading it.
Hi Jason... great advice. So often, not knowing the things you have shared results in a doomed transaction or a failure to launch!
Jason,
Good points for both sides and worth a reread.
Well, we clearly disagree on the issue of:
"You probably won't win any big points with a listing agent by sending over a CMA or other justification for your price. Just tell them that this is what your clients were comfortable paying, and leave it at that. If you can say it honestly, you have leverage. There's no need to be pushy."
For goodness sakes, we've all been out with people who feel "comfortable" paying 60% of list price because they thought that's what they should get...or they're not going to buy. I don't think "honesty" has anything to do with it. Great presentations aren't pushy....simply doing your job.
If a home is buyable and desireable but overpriced, the best favor you can do the listing agent and her seller is a decent price analysis. A good lisitng agent will present any and all offers, and one that has an irrefutable price justification is a gift. The days of the listing agent as the snarling gatekeeper are over.
Leslie - Wow - I was a little taken aback by your visceral reaction to that point. I find this particular negotiating technique pushy and awkward in the extreme, and it hasn't ever worked in negotiations I've been a part of. If it works for you, perhaps your market is just different than mine.
Are you saying that as a listing agent you enjoy having a buyer's agent attempt to justify a low price with elaborate documentation and you find it helpful somehow? Recently, I helped back-to-back clients negotiate phenomenal deals - one went from $599K to $480K, the other went from $440K to $375K, and we bought it for $340K. In both cases, I expressed what I said in the post - this was the most that my clients were willing to pay, and they truthfully had other options and were willing to walk away. I didn't have to send a CMA to either listing agent - I just spoke the truth and we had leverage because there weren't other buyers beating down the door.
You said, "Great presentations aren't pushy....simply doing your job." If you're implying that I'm not doing my job correctly, we'll just agree to disagree and leave it at that.
Hi Jason-
I loved your sensible and well-balanced tips and gracious manner of self -promotion. On the self-promotion: I'm proud to work hard for nice people and the most successful people I know feel the same. The public often doesn't understand how much work goes into keeping it all moving smoothly!
--Sara in San Antonio
Hi Jason! Hope you're doing well! I love this post and the clearly, common-sense way to 'behave' as buyers (and their agents) seems much more needed today than in years past! And, I love Alan's response to a low-ball offer--that is priceless and I think I'm going to use that next time someone brings one of my sellers a low-ball!
Take care and have a wonderful Wednesday...
Jason, why do you assume a great presentation is a lowball offer? How is doing great data analysis pushy? I think my last four sales for buyers in the last 30 days have averaged 97% of list price -- it's been great to find under-priced houses listed by over-beat up sellers! A huge part of getting a deal done is to educate the buyer. I think a good offer with good terms and good financing should be accepted in a matter of minutes.
Too many offers from too many agents are so low that sellers have knee jerk reactions to any offer, so I work for hours to get an offer to be fair, acceptable and appraisable. I'm not sure what negotiating means anymore. Have you tried negotiation with an asset manager with 15 offers recently? I have, I might well try negotiating with the IRS.
Yeah, my reaction is visceral....90% of the houses in the MLS won't sell this year ao we have to assume that while some are just sellers are unrealistic, many agents can't price. How is that every single agent on the planet says "I don't take overpriced listings"....but most houses don't sell! Of course many sellers overprice so that they can counter crummy offers...too many buyers think they need to lowball to negotiate to a middle point. All that happens is that houses don't get sold.
I fend off more silly offers than you can imagine on more expensive or unusual homes. Sellers are "offer-shy" and aggressively defensive. Some properties are difficult to appraise, a huge barrier to getting a deal done. Relo companies ask for two BMAs, then order up an appraiser who just calls the agents who probably did the BMAs.
I would use your well-written post in virtually any training session...although with "pushy" editorial. I feel bad that I offended you. I am working out difficult ideas, perhaps in the wrong forum. All I can say is that if this was easy, we wouldn't be in the situation we're in.
Giving up $3,000 on an $84,000 commission takes little thought. Well done.
Incidentally,
What kind of a property was that paying that commission?
Leslie I sometimes present data if the property is overpriced and we are making a market value offer, well below asking. I'm with you on that. It has actually worked well for me, but I write a letter with it.
I have also been on the flip side as the listing agent where the buyer agent insisted I call a local appraiser to have him "set me straight" on the comps because my seller didn't like her buyer's offer. That was not a winning strategy with my seller and that deal didn't make it off the negotiation floor.
I think absolutes are a bad way to go. Sometimes comps are helpful to the negotiation, sometimes not. It just depends. Part of our job is to know what tactic to use when.
Leslie - i wasn't offended, just sincerely surprised that you disagreed so vehemently. As with our last discussion (a few days ago), I realize how utterly different your market is. I have sold every listing I've taken this year, and I've never dealt with an asset manager. In fact, I don't know what a BMA is, frankly. I could Google it, but I don't want to pretend to know about something I don't. I guess I'm still stumped as to the need for a "presentation" if your offer is in the ballpark of the listing price. Thanks once again for returning to clarify your situation. Sorry if I reacted too strongly in my response. Text is an imperfect means of communication. :)
Terry - It was a waterfront home on Lake Austin that I sold for $3.4 million with a 2.5% commission. The commission was actually $85,000 - I was incorrect. With the $3,000 concession, we netted $82,000. Still a happy day!
Wow, some great discussion here. Ok, so on the idea of writing an offer and including comps with it, I don't see that as a totally bad idea and have done it and have had it done for me.
Let me show you the upside of this, in my opinion. If you aren't competing in a multiple offer situation and it's a house that may be priced too high, and we are seeing those, especially if it's a nice house that maybe another not so competent Realtor bought (meaning listed way too high to win the listing) , we have had many blogs recently on this subject, then maybe the comps will help justify what is really fair for the home. It just is back up or supporting documentation to why your offer should be considered.
How many times have we suggested a listing price and the sellers want to "try" their price and it's not so far out of the ballpark that we still take the listing. Then a buyers agent brings a buyer and writes offer and has similiar pricing that we suggested originally? Hhhhhm, it reinforces what the listing agent said in first place.
So, it can be done in a respectful productive way. It can be like, "hey we like the house, we have done our research, and based on this research, the clients are only comfortable offering this price, here's the research to back it up." If presented properly, it can take it from being an emotional situation, to a logical, numerical one.
I can see how people submitting comps can be offensive, especially if they aren't good comps. I think this only applies if a home is overpriced and in our market most things priced right are moving, so we are fortunate. Our location seems to get hit hard first, but good news, we get to be the first to recover, hopefully-keeping those fingers crossed!!!
Cheers,
Kim
Delivering a CMA with an offer is not being pushy. It's merely doing your job as the buyers' agent. If you cannot justify a price with a CMA, it's rarely worth writing.
An offer for more than 1-2% below list price is, by itself, the same as saying, "Your home is over-priced."
If you are going to say that, you do well to explain why you(r buyers) feel that way. The least irritating way you can do that is by sending along a CMA.
The only listing agents who really have a problem with buyers' agents doing that are those that did not themselves (have to) do an actual CMA to get the listing.
What a well written post! The best line is, "Think about your priorities and don't let your pride get in the way." Too many times I see agents on the other side of the table trying to "prove" to their client that they can "win." But if the clients doesn't get the home they really wanted, has that agent done his/her job correctly?
You did a great job writing this post. This is good info for the new and experienced agents.
Excellent post! I agree with most all of this (except for not giving a CMA, I've been on the receiving end of this and have seen the affect it has on sellers).
There is nothing wrong with pointing to similar comps as part of the explanation for your offer price. This is done in with the hope that the listing broker will share this bit of knowledge with the seller if he has not already done that. The seller needs to be aware of what other similar homes have sold for. There is some method to the art of negotiating and it involves a discussion of current market values of everything that has sold in the neighborhood.
Great post Jason! Some thoughts on your mutually respectful discussion with Leslie...on occasion I find that it works to ask the listing agent what comps they used as I "am having difficulty" getting to the price. On the (more than one) occasion I have been told that it was the price the seller wanted to list at...I then ask if they would like me to share with them the addresses of the comps I used (while evaluating the property for the buyer) and let them run their own CMA so they have the benefit of "justifying" my buyers offer to their seller. If they are resistant they do not have to accept my "help." Many simply say thank you as I have just given them what they need.
That said, in today's market, what sold is not always as good a "justification" as what is STILL available! Somehow I think you know that... ;-)
Jason, well thought out post. The thing I am still amazed at is buyers who say to me "they should be grateful for an offer in this market" when justifying their lowball offer. I have had that said in my office more than once. I have never found sellers to be "grateful" for an unreasonable offer. (one that is not based on the comps, whether presented in a CMA from the buyers' agent or not ;0)
Good advice Jason. I have seen plenty of deals come together over the years where the expectations to start were off base. I always tell the seller it doesn't matter where a buyer starts but where they finish.
Jason, in my market as I am sure there are in yours agents that "list where the sellers wanted to", just to get the listing. When we show a home that is listed too high and our buyers want to offer on that home, we do a Buyers CMA pointing out the sales of other comparable homes. If we can not find any....our next call is to the listing agent....we ask them in a gracious way to share what they used to price the home, so we can pass along to our buyers who are interested in the home.
Very rarely do they have any because..."they listed where the seller wanted to price it."
In Ann Arbor Area we are dealing with low appraisals everyday. Why waste the buyers time, money for an appraisal and inspections if the sellers are not willing or able to meet the appraised value?
So yes if we are in that situation we offer and send over our Buyer CMA with the offer. Not for the agent who didn't do their homework but for the seller who had no guidance on the true market conditions.
I know we are not Tx where the market is much better but this is how we handle it.
Jason - Great post and congratulations on the feature. I agree with you on all items, except for one small detail. The CMA report has been helpful to me in purchasing bank owned properties. You have bankers in a committee style meeting making quick and unemotional decisions. Placing the CMA with the offer in the same PDF file insures that they are aware of the comps. Sometimes the listing agents appreciate it when we include a CMA with the offer. It has actually worked in our favor a few times.
I do not include a CMA on standard transactions but I do mention the comps and make sure the listing agent is aware of them.
Clayton
Enjoy your writing style Jason...this is SO worthy of a re-blog!!
JASON, Once again you hit on many of the key points on what happens in buyers and seller negotiationsi
Jason- I enjoyed your blog. I see the other side as well, but what you put down was very good information. I too could have googled some things to learn about them or make people believe I know what I am talking about. I am still learning this business and enjoying doing so. I find the information contained in your blog helpful. Will it work in my market, who knows until it is tried. I appreciate the time and the thought that you ecided to put out there for everyone. I find alot of times that information like your spawns and triggers more thinking and thus helps make me a better agent for my clients. Thank you so much for your input into my career. Reading through the other comments I also found some great information that I can add to my arsenal. Thank you to all of you who also commented on this blog.
Just to jump into the fray (cause I love the fray, don't you know?)...
In my negotiations, if my buyers are bringing a very low offer... just for the sake of argument let's say 80% of list price... I don't bother to bring a market analysis with the offer. I generally bring the offer with an explanation very much akin to what Jason says "This is what my client is willing (or able, depending on the circumstances) to pay for your house... today".
I find that bringing the CMA with the offer, only opens the door for the listing agent to:
a) become highly defensive... after all, the listing price was either recommended by them, or agreed to by them
b) become highly offended... since they were the one that suggested the price to the seller, and now they'll have a hard time defending why you should consider this lowball offer
c) try to "overcome" the objections in your CMA, and they will throw their own "comps" at your client, which you will now have to dissect.
the CMA method, while valid, tends to open the door to more disagreement, and sometimes hard feelings... while the "this is what they're willing to pay" method doesn't insult the listing agent, doesn't insult the seller... merely states that this is the offer.. (for whatever reasons)... and I've found it to be highly effective.
I've been on the receiving end of the CMA/offer... and my initial reaction has always been [not out loud] "What? Do you think I don't know the value of the home I'm listing? Did you think I don't know how to do a proper CMA? Did you think that your pulling the only 3 homes in the area that support your lowball offer, and ignoring the other 12 that support my price, would sway us?"
NOW... all that being said... if when presenting the "this is the price" offer, the listing agent opens the door for me bringing them comps... and seems receptive... ie: "help me sell this price to my client... do you have any support in the market... any comps that might support your position?"... then I will supply comps.
Great post, Jason. An overpriced seller and I listened to an offer years ago that was both low and contingent. The seller got upset about it being contingent on the sale of the buyer's home, even in a hot market, and countered back to the original price and terms. The agent came back and politely presented a lower offer non-contingent. The seller had mellowed by then, and said, "I better take this before gts any lower."
I'm for going back to the days when the selling agent gets to sell the offer the seller and the listing agent. I don't favor that agent bringing comps. I've already covered them with the seller.
Great post, I was wondering why it took so long to make the front page! ;-)
Jason
Great advice here. I've written about my market before - here the average original list price to sell price is a lowly 75%-80%. That means that almost everything is priced too high and almost all offers are low. It's all regional.
Great blog, and I especially liked reading the comments! No one has really commented on the actual offer delivery, in terms of strategy. Emailing, verses calling with fax, verses in person. Wondering if there is a strategy there?
Hi Jason, I had to buy a new AC one time because the sellers thought it had AC and then didn't and it was put in the MLS....I hate giving up any commission. One thing I have found over 20 years is if you give up any money they always want more.
Love your ideas on this, so practically put! I have presented comps several times with my buyer's offer, it usually helps. I also recently had an agent "tell" me she couldn't find comps (I told her I had several, and sent them to her to support my sellers) to support my acreage listing that her buyers wanted to make an offer on (and did) but she was never able to produce the comps to support their $75K less than asking price offer. We rejected, they came back a month later and wrote an acceptable offer.
Thank you to those of you who commented above about the CMA point. I can only re-iterate what I've said before - there is no national real estate market, as markets are ALL local. This technique has never worked on me as a listing agent, and (as Alan May so eloquently put it) it makes me defensive and a little offended, since I do my research ahead of time and I don't take overpriced listings. Period. I have found them to be an utter waste of my time.
If it works for you in your own market, the dynamics are clearly different than they are here in Austin. I have used Missy's question before, "Could you help me understand how you got that price? I'm a little concerned about the appraisal. The buyer really likes this place, but I don't want to have hurdles later." However, I didn't send over any documentation to challenge them on it. I did make it clear to the buyers and the listing agent that there weren't good comps available and it might come up again later.
Again, thank you for your input. It didn't change my mind on this tactic, but it was interesting to see how often this is used. I have probably had it happen to me two or three times in my career, and it put an additional strain into the process each time, which is why I thought to share it here.
Jason, great points and reminding buyers that sellers don't HAVE TO sell to them.... a fact of life.
Great advice! It is our job to negotiate the best deal we can for our customers. That is what we get paid for.
Really great post. I agree with all of it, especially the part about you won't win any points sending a CMA. I have never done that and when some one tries to do it to me, usually calmly tell them,"I am aware of the market and have informed my clients." Kind of my job!!!!!!! Great to hear all these things again though, thanks for sharing.
Something to point out. Not every home, farm, land, whatever is negotiable. The listed price could represent a value or may even be below the real value so automatically, before checking it out in person, with video or more study, it may be priced just fine and dandy already. Don't limit yourself to not consider the place just because the price is set in stone, firm, concrete. Is it a good deal with the current price tag hanging from the chimney? Grab it. Or lose one, wait for the same situation to happen and recognize a good deal when you see it.
#2, & 42 comments are what I have done. When hit with a unbelievable low offer, and getting an offer with a CMA.
Jason, this is all sage advice. In my 20 years of real estate I have always got my sellers to counter, but when it is a bridge too far it is like the first impression on seeling a listed home, you want to satrt out of the right frame of reference that is positive. When I see a listing that has been on the market for a long time, and no significant price reductions, I go to the mortgage daya to see what they owe and if that is dictating the listing price. It can be a little tricky on homes that are really upside down and calling the Realtor and asking if his or her seller is willing to bring money to closing. Sometimes they will.
Very good advice and well written! I think I'm gonna print these pointers off and remember them!!
Good advice.
Paul
Thank you Jason for this fabulous article ... I will reblog! pippa
Hi Jason, liked your don't second guess advice. A lot of people do. I've seen this too, where buyers think they could have gotten more . . . perhaps not.
Jason, Great advice. I appreciate all the comments as well. As so many others have noted - I too have found there are times when I've been asked for support of an offer, and times when the offer is all that is desired. I think it very much depends on the relationship with the seller and how they've been educated to the process. Quite frankly, I feel anyone that gets "offended" by an offer really is too emotional to make good business judgments.
I was finishing most of your sentences! All so true.. Okay, I didn't finish your sentence for the 84k commission check! LoL!!
Yes you can offend someone by offering 50% of list price!
:)
I certainly agree with the thoughts in your post. When dealing with agents who always say "My Buyer" or "My Seller" and seem to feel personally invested in beating down the "opposition" I like to say the following things to the other agent:
"You know, I think we are on the same side here. The buyer and seller both love the same house and have the common goat to work out a fair transaction. Our job is to facilitate a win-win transaction. We are agents for the princpals. Let's work together to help them realize their mutual goal."
Missy Vanderbilt
systemsbymissy.com
As I said earlier faxing in an offer is more like bidding than negotiating.
There is a time to: "Just tell them that this is what your clients were comfortable paying, and leave it at that." When the offer is based on the buyer's wants or financial restrictions! the true value appears in that CMA or yours! Present the offer, explain the current market, then accept or counter and send along your justifications! It's a "no brainer!"
If you can't justify your asking price, so be it! Sellers are entitled to their wants or financial restrictions, too. In witch case all you need to explain the seller won't or can't sell for a dollar less than $...
A CMA tells you what the buyer is thinking, of course it puts the burden on the listing agent to up date his own CMA and check the buyers CMA !
Bill
I once gave up $3,000 toward repairs after we hit a stalemate. My commission check on that sale was $84,000. "No brainer" for me, right? Think about your priorities and don't let your pride get in the way.
Hi Jason,
I agree with your advice completely. I'm a bottom line kind of guy. You made that transaction work.
Jason, as usual, excellent post! (You are my brother from another mother, just kidding :) )
CMA got the most attention, it seems.. How about that: when your buyer client is asking you to present a lower than low offer, compile a CMA on that property and show, what the seller is expecting, and what he might consider? just a thought, maybe someone tried this?
Then depending on your way of working, you either leave the CMA at the office (or with the buyer), or present it to the seller as well...
What a great post Jason! I totally agree that if an offer comes in really, really low, then an initial counteroffer either at or very close to list price is a good strategy - I just tell my seller that obviously the buyer is interested or they wouldn't have taken the time to do the paperwork, but let's make them try again before giving away much about where the negotiations might go. And I'm with you on CMA's being presented - don't want to get into an agent to agent ego shoving contest (which can happen!) and unless I have asked for CMA input, I really don't appreciate it particularly.
Jason - this is great advice for newer agents and agents that do not have the experience of many negotiations. Since its already featured, I cant flag it.. but congrats! :-)
Jason such a great post. Especially in this time of buyers wanting to move on to something else when they don't get the answers they want to hear.
Great guide for buyers, and for agents, Jason! And I agree about the CMA. You can torture any number until it confesses. The CMA can be manipulated so easily, especially by an inexperienced agent who doesn't understand the nuances. But this is true for listing and buyers agents, alike!
Jason, regarding "comps"...I used to be an appraiser in Illinois and although I naturally researched my own comps...occasionally a homeowner or agent would provide me with comps. I accepted them because it was my job to get all the info that I could. Most of the time, however, the comps I received weren't good ones...my point is that I didn't let pride get in the way. I've never received a CMA with an offer and I know I wouldn't be offended by it.
I agreed completely with your post and I'm glad that Debra Walsh re-blogged it...I bring up the comps issue because I have had that happen as an appraiser...just thought you might like to hear the same angle from a different discipline.
Unrelated to your post you said this in one of you comments:
"Text is an imperfect means of communication" I am in 100% agreement here. Just thought that was important enough to repeat.