Two Negotiations

<H3>Inspections and Realtors in Denver</<H3>Over the years I have found that my experience both in college in shop classes, and at inspections has served me well to create solutions rather than torpedoing the sale because of the way the report is written. I always encourage my buyers to be at the inspection because they need to hear and see what is going to be written up. They also need to discuss what are big issues and what are the smaller "I can fix that" kinds of things in the report. Too often the Realtor* (see below) is not present to hear even a synopsis of the results and simply sends the report to the listing broker. Years ago when I started this career I never would have guessed that one of my primary jobs would be figuring out how to get garage doors repaired? (**More below)

There are two negotiation periods in some home sales. The primary negotiation takes place when the contract is agreed upon that includes the price, closing and possession. Buyers and sellers alike feel relieved once this first round has resulted in an agreement but there may be more negotiations to come if there are contingencies for financing, inspections or other things.

The purpose of an inspection is for the buyer to receive an objective evaluation about the condition of the home and its components to identify existing defects and potential problems. The expense for inspections can be several hundred dollars and it’s reasonable for buyers to not want to spend the money before they find out if they can come to terms with the seller. From a different perspective, sellers want to know quickly if the buyer is going to reject the home due to the inspections.

Sometimes, buyers will expect sellers to make all of the repairs listed on the report and this is where the second round of negotiations begins. If the seller refuses, the negotiations can go back and forth until the other party accepts the offer on the table or the contract falls apart.

When purchasing a new home from a builder, it is expected for everything to be in working order; after all, it is new. However, it is reasonable to expect that existing homes, that are not new, have a different standard. While it’s understandable that buyers would want to be aware about major items that are not in “working order”, normal wear and tear of components based on its age should be expected.

In a highly competitive seller’s market, buyers might do whatever they can to get their contract accepted, realizing that there is another place to negotiate when they’re not competing with other buyers’ offers to purchase.

For this to be a WIN-WIN negotiation, both seller and buyer must feel good about the transaction. Neither party should feel that they have been taken advantage of.

* Realtors are taught in class not to attend the inspection because there is too much liability. I think it is my duty to not only attend but understand the issues and why the buyer wants them addressed, and then to scribe that request, not to copy the contents of the report. And the inspectors use "boilerplate" inspection reports crafted by attorneys to keep them safe. Who keeps the public safe?

** A buyer Client of mine asked to have the garage doors on a Highlands Ranch house serviced because they were acting jinky. The Seller said NO because they were sure it would be over $2000 and the doors would need to be replaced (they have been using a rip off garage door company). We negotiated the deal that we would accept a $500 credit from the seller and the bill, using my contact was under $250. You gotta know good people!