EVERYTHING IS NEGOTIABLE!

This month, I thought I would go over some of the negotiable points in an offer. We often hear "everything's negotiable", but not everyone understands what that really means. 

 

In an offer to purchase, a buyer puts forth the price and terms they are willing to offer for a property. Some of the common variables are price, earnest money, funding terms (cash, loan, contract for deed, etc) whether the offer will be contingent on an appraisal, home inspection, water and/or sewer inspection (and at whose expense), if there is a survey being requested by buyer of any sort and who will pay for that, who will pay for title insurance and the title company’s closing fee, what the date of possession will be and the date of closing, how the real estate taxes will be handled between seller and buyer, and now since the new NAR ruling, if the buyers are asking the seller to compensate their agent, that is also in the offer. 

 

Some of these items are handled generally per local custom. In our area, it’s written standard in the purchase agreement that the seller provides title insurance, and then one can pick if it’s standard or to enhance with lien riders or things like that. Generally here, the seller also pays for the drawing up of the deed and the deed recording transfer tax, while the buyer generally pays for the recording of the deed and either half . . . or in some counties, the full title companies closing fee. Real estate taxes are generally prorated to the date of closing. Even these things are negotiable, but they are generally a given. In crafting the best offer, it is helpful to know what’s important to the seller. Is the bottom line net the most important thing? Or is possession date more important than that? Is security around whether it’s going to close most important before they pack up their home? Are they concerned about whether or not their home will appraise? Does the home have deferred maintenance or “stuff” around the property that they are really hoping not to deal with? If you’d like a more detailed explanation of any of this or just wish to have a conversation around purchase agreements, please feel free to give us here at Lewis Realty a phone call!