Wednesday, August 19, 2009

The bonding of buyers and sellers can be worth thousands in negotations.

Today was truly a wonderful day. I wrote an offer for the proud parents of a new born and presented the offer.

A week and a half ago one of my clients had a baby who is cute as a button.

Amazingly,having the baby increased their focus on finding a home immediately,when more often I have found people changing and postponing their plans while enjoying their new child. And,this is their first child,so I thought they would put the search on hold for several weeks.

On Monday we visited several homes in Frederick County,including one where the sellers were home. So we had an opportunity to establish a rapport. We had scheduled an appointment to see the house last week but it got cancelled because the mother went into labor that day. So my clients and the sellers were delighted to see the baby and we talked about family how the sellers raised their children in the house. The sellers even told us that they were moving to be closer to their grandchildren, one who is 6 months old.

The sellers were proud to show us around the home and the house projects they did over the years. There was a very good connection. As a real estate agent I often think it is better for the potential home buyers to look around a home while the sellers go out because:
(1) you may lose a negotiating advantage if either party sees how much the other wants to buy/sell and they will factor that into the offer;
(2)buyers don't always feel comfortable walking around a home,taking notes and evaluating if the home is for them or not;
(3)sellers may not want to be around just in case they come across as desperate to sell and lose a negotation
(4)it is hard talking about the home you are touring and comparing it to other homes while the seller is there or in the next room.

In this situation I knew the sellers were going to be around (one of the sellers doesn't move around too well) and I was able to tell my clients,the buyers to take mental notes and to not say anything in front of the sellers other than niceties and talking about the baby.

I met with the buyers,wrote an offer on these sellers' home and included an cover letter,as I always do to discuss the market,why the buyers like the house and work that needs to be done and the terms. I truly believe that terms due include intangibles,such as whether the buyer and seller relate to each other and if they can even see themselves walking through life in the other's shoes.

In this case, because of the connection we made with the sellers I was able to write a letter that really touched the sellers and they are seriously considering the buyers offer,which is lower than the asking price. While the sellers want their price,I really touched their hearts and that could be worth a few thousand,maybe over ten thousand dollars to the buyers.

Below is an exerpt from my cover letter. Due to the sensitivity of the sale,I am not mentioning the home address,the buyers or the sellers:

"...The Sellers and the buyers had the pleasure of meeting on Monday, along with the buyer;s new baby, "X" when I was helping them find a home to begin the new chapter in their lives. As I mentioned, we had originally planned on seeing the home last week, but little baby X was determined to be part of the house hunting process and mom went into labor the day we had originally scheduled to tour. We have looked at many homes over the last couple of months and hope that the search ends here. The buyers have been renting a home and look forward to enjoying pride in ownership and taking advantage of the benefits of first time home buyers. The sellers have obviously loved and taken care of their home for many years and the buyers will love the home every bit as much. The buyers and sellers have a mutual interest in buying and selling the home: family considerations. The buyers want to move into a new home as soon as possible for themselves and the new baby and the sellerswant to move as possible to be closer their grandchildren,including a 6 month old."

I feel very proud of this cover letter and am proud of how I represented my clients.
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The sellers may end up accepted a lower offer than they would have otherwise if a personal connection wasn't made. We shall see.

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