A Fresh Approach to Real Estate Rookie-hood with Jennifer Allan

So, you have a buyer who is bound and determined to get a killer deal on some real estate, huh? He’s heard-tell of this here “buyer’s market” and wants to get himself a piece of that action. Even if it takes all year…

Sigh.

We’ve all been there. Worked with buyers who, in our opinions, were unrealistic about the extent of this here buyer’s market and the depths to which sellers are willing to go to offload their properties. They’ve listened to late-night seminars or their Uncle Charlie who provided “expert” advice on how to properly offer on a property (asking price MINUS repairs needed MINUS profit desired MINUS margin for risk MINUS 25%-for-good-measure) without regard for whether or not the asking price is reasonable or not.

They want a deal. And they want you to help them get a deal.

So, you find them exactly what they say they’re looking for. A well-priced home in a good location that needs just the right amount of work to satisfy their need for adding value with cosmetic upgrades.

Yay, sez you! Yay, sez your buyer!

You head for the offer table and the buyer wants to offer low. Really low. Obnoxiously low. Ridiculously low. Unreasonably low. (I’ll stop now, you get my drift).

What do you do?

Write ‘er up.

Yep, write it up as per the instructions of your client. No fussing, no arguing, no defending the asking price. If your buyer wants your opinion, he’ll ask for it. Not to say you can’t provide market data if he seems at all interested, but in most cases, especially early on, he won’t be. He wants a deal and he’s certainly entitled to go after it.

Why shouldn’t you try to talk him out of low-balling?

• The buyer is the boss. It’s his money and he has the right to spend it (or not) the way he sees fit. 
• You never know what the seller will accept. If you tried to talk your buyer “up” and the seller accepts his low offer, you’re toast in the credibility department.
• The buyer hired you to be on his team. His wants are your wants. His preferences, your preferences.
• If you argue with your buyer over offer price, he’ll wonder if you’re in cahoots with the seller or listing agent, again, jeopardizing your credibility.

Of course, it’s up to you to decide if you want to continue working with the low-balling buyer! You are certainly entitled to end the relationship if it’s not satisfying to you, just as he’s entitled to make whatever ridiculous, unreasonable, obnoxious offer he wants to. But before you fire a low-balling buyer, consider this…

Think of all the good that can come of this experience!

Um….what good, Jennifer?

Tell ya what – I’ve overstayed my welcome on this blog today, so I'll open the floor to your comments. Any thoughts on why you might not want to fire that bottom-feeding, low-balling buyer o'yours?

I just started working with my wonderful graphics gal on the cover design of my next book, Prospect with Soul. I have a wide variety of visions of how it's gonna look; what elements I want to include, what message I want the cover to convey, what font I want to use for the title and subtitle, etc.

We're in Phase One right now. I just sent over a whole mess of stock photos I grabbed online with explanations of why I like each and think it would be a nice concept to consider.

So, as it stands at this very moment, the cover of Prospect with Soul may include my SWS Zen rocks... an ecstatic woman throwing her hands in the air... a businesswoman in a yoga pose looking out over the ocean... a beautiful sunset... a glorious blue sky... some bamboo... my SWS Daisy... a starburst... some water ripples that wrap around the book and... and... and...

In other words, I'm all over the board. In the end, the cover of my book will likely be something completely, utterly different from what I have in my mind's eye right now.

Is my graphics gal frustrated with me? I don't think so. She knows it's a necessary part of the process. To explore different concepts, try them on; see how they feel. I throw out an idea; she sends me back a mock-up of it. She's perfectly aware that everything we're tossing around today will likely be tossed right out the window tomorrow. But she's not rushing me or pressuring me to commit to a concept just yet; she's playing along, again, because she knows, yes, it's part of the process.

It's the same with home-buyers, of course. They come into the game with an idea of what they're looking for, perhaps based on nothing but where a friend told them they should live or a fantasy of what they always imagined their dream house to be.

As you show them homes, their vision of that dream home may change and evolve. They may want to explore other neighborhoods or school districts. They may want to consider other property types or floor plans. They may want to raise or even lower their price range. They might even, <gasp> decide that they want to change their timeframe.

It's all part of their process and we aren't going to rush them through it. Or, at least, we shouldn't; it's not in their best interest, or, frankly, in ours. If the buyer feels uncomfortable pressure from his real estate agent to make a decision before he's ready, he may very well find himself a new real estate agent. Or perhaps he'll make an offer on a home he doesn't really want, and later have an attack of buyer's remorse (and we all know who gets blamed for that!).

Respect the process. And everyone wins!