How about some helpful negotiating tips for Buyers and some things Sellers can remember that could help get their house sold ~

Even with the help of an experienced real estate agent, the negotiating process can be frustrating and confusing. Many of us aren’t involved in high-level business negotiations in our day-to-day lives, and even buyers who are savvy businesspersons aren’t used to having a personal stake in the outcome. Good negotiating in real estate isn’t about coming out victorious over the other side, it’s about understanding the seller’s motivations and striking a deal that satisfies all parties as much as possible.

The following tips can help you survive the negotiation of a real estate purchase:


Don’t focus on price only!

Many buyers make the mistake of thinking that price is the only point up for negotiation. Buyers can often negotiate quite a bit of value into a contract in addition to the number on the bottom line, such as a preferred closing date, the seller paying or contributing toward closing costs, concessions for home repairs, and so on.


Don’t move too slowly!

Real estate can be an aggressive commodity, and buyers who rest on their laurels run the risk of losing out on desired properties. On the other hand, buyers who have their financing in order from the start are best positioned to make aggressive offers and negotiate from a position of strength. The first step to jumping on a hot property is having your ducks in a row from the start.


Should you find a property that matches many of your wish list items, don’t make the mistake of being overly hesitant. Make a firm, direct and quick offer to a motivated seller, stipulating a time limit for the response, and you just might get the terms you request.


Avoid responding on the spot.

While you want to move fast, particularly in a hot buyer’s market, never respond verbally to an offer or counteroffer. Ask for all offers in writing and respond in kind. You can still move quickly and with the help of your real estate and legal representation, but don’t make any “handshake agreements” on the spot that may lead to issues later on.


Keep negotiations professional.

It can be difficult not to take negotiations personally, especially when your potential home is at stake. The need to stay calm and removed from the situation is a strong reason to have the guidance of a dedicated real estate professional who will represent your interests while keeping an even keel. As negotiations progress, remain composed and direct in all your dealings. Ask the seller to be specific about any terms they aren’t satisfied with and ask for simple clarifications regarding the changes they would like to see. If a seller doesn’t respond well to that sort of request, be prepared to walk away. Remember that ultimately this is just business, even if from a personal standpoint the stakes are raised.


Don’t make a lowball offer without a reason.


There can be very valid reasons for making an offer significantly below the seller’s asking price. The home may be priced well above comparable homes in the market, may have recently been assessed at a lower value, or may require costly repairs or updates. Making a lower offer under these circumstances is well within reason and, if done tactfully, can persuade the seller to adjust their asking price down. If you’re hoping to get the seller to greatly reduce the price simply to meet your budget or ensure a good “deal,” you’re not negotiating in good faith and risk alienating the seller entirely. Keep the seller’s desire to get a good value for their home in mind when submitting an offer below the asking price, and be prepared to justify the difference.


Don’t be afraid to ask.

Shrewd negotiators assume that nothing is ever truly off the table, at least not entirely. When done correctly, it doesn’t hurt to ask the seller for special concessions. Interested in a piece of antique furniture or the barbeque on the back patio? Hoping the seller will pay to replace worn roofing or siding? Ask for what you want, within reason. As always, be prepared to remain flexible on other terms that the seller may ask for.


Don’t obsess!

When it comes to the negotiation for what may be your next home, it’s easy to become anxious and follow the process relentlessly. Try to remember to relax, and if at all possible leave as much of the process to your professional guides. Doing so will leave you less stressed and more able to approach the negotiation without frayed nerves.

Life as a Realtor.....REALLY!?

I met with a client today, a great older gentleman who've I've worked with now for a couple of years. In our conversation he referred to his frustration as feeling lost in the process - uncomfortable with his lack of understanding of what was happening, what was going on with the process and what exactly was MY job - what do you do to make this happen Amy?! At first, that sort of 'questioning' came across with a bit of discomfort. In my reality I'm working 7 days a week, well into 10-12 hours a day most days with a light day being just 3-4 hours and some days are as brutal as hitting the ground running at 7am and not getting back to my home and family until after midnight and that's with a full bag of files and papers to deal with. Seriously - if someone had told me before I got into this business that this job would run this hard non-stop I would have laughed at them in disbelief! So when this gentleman posed this question my mental defenses went up a bit - on the outside I smiled and paused. I reflected to just last week when I told my children I would take a Thursday off and as my phone rang and I took care of 'just one little thing' that would end up being several little things and my day off didn't start until well after 1pm. So what do I do?? And what was he really needing and wanting to hear??

So what do I do??

First off, I don't think there are very many jobs that people expect you - not just hope but actually EXPECT you to be available 7 days a week. Even doctors know what days they are on call and when they can clock off and relax. Not in Real Estate. Deadlines rule the world along with client schedules and needs.

Grief counseling - Imagine sitting across from the average family at their dinner table in a house they call home and trying to make sense that even though they are hard working and responsible they will loose their home - no choices - sell it for a loss or give it back to the bank - there is no way of getting out - nothing that can be done. I don't even know if the term "deer in the headlights" really conveys the shock and disbelief that most folks are dealing with.

Good Fairy- My Buyers are happy campers, deals and interest rates of a life time! One client just had an offer accepted for almost $70,000 below what the house sold for in 2007.

Paperwork - to term the phrase from my 12 year old - "OMG" - I think the Real Estate industry has an inside deal with the paper mills in our Nation.... We can kill a tree with one transaction.

Legal and Education - Don't think for a minute I don't feel the weight and responsibility of each individual I work with either buying or selling their home. I fully understand and respect the amount of heartaches and headaches that they may deal with if I don't do all I can to help them as much as I can. I don't think there has been a transaction that I haven't learned something. It would take a book to share the bizarre and interesting situations I come across. So keeping up on the contract changes and market changes is an never ending process. It's been amazing learning through each transactions' unique events not to mention the continuing education required and needed.

Things have changed - as a Realtor I have to change to be able to effectively help my clients. I have to understand why we do what we do and how it's supposed to be effective. Even more importantly - I need to remember that no matter how savy my clients may be about the financial world, how much good old fashioned common sense they posses or how many houses they've bought and sold through the years -It is my job to effectively communicate what and why is happening - even the obvious. Maybe even more especially the obvious. Isn't it the item in the refrigerator that you see each time you open it to grab the milk that when you need to find it you look right past it calling out "honey, where is the mayonnaise?" and "honey" walks up and helps you find it right in front of your face! I think in many ways Real Estate is like that.

Some things are so obvious - most people know these things already but while in the processes of Real Estate they need and want someone (yes, that would be me!) to talk about the details of the day, the simple little details of how things are happening or why they aren't. Some good and some not so good, but at least they have a hold of what is happening. When I first got in this business communication was one of the biggest points of service to me - I felt each client needed to know EVERYTHING. As time went by with each transaction I felt sometimes I was explaining things my clients already knew so while I was sure to explain and talk with them about the bigger events of a transation or marketing, I did allow the smaller pieces to go unoticed. After a while it just felt like - "they probably already know that".

So today was a very good day. It's days like this that make me a better Realtor. It is critical to go back to basics! While I may not drive people nuts going over every single crumb of the transaction - I will be sure to take a little more time to slow down to ask a few more questions to ensure my clients feel as comfortable and confident as possible!

What's ahead?

Life is always full of change - that's a no brainer - so why when the change actually comes along are we so overwhelmed sometimes? Right now our family is floating through quite an interesting time - albeit exciting!

We are remodeling a bathroom to take our household from 2.5 baths to 3 baths. Normally that would be really exciting and even fun. Picking out tile and vanities, paint colors etc......While this is taking place our youngest is in the height of her Softball season - this requires constant transportation to practice 2 times a week and then of course tournaments on the weekends....some in Bend, some in Washington, some are thank goodness closer to home but none the less - taking all weekend most times from 6:00 am through the end of most days..... both days. Cheerleading starts for her in just over a week so we will add that to the schedule AND my father-in-law is visiting from Florida right now too....

Oh - but wait - there's more.... our oldest daughter is moving home June 1 to attend George Fox University in August for her Master's Degree - and - bringing her dog Molly.... (she's my grand-dog). So, we will be up to 5 people and 3 dogs.

Seriously, 3100 square feet never felt so small!!!

:)

Oh yes, and besides our home and wonderful children there is work and clients to take care of for Hubby and me!

Thankfully we are making it through each day with a bit of accomplishment an occasional breakdown and of course hope that more will get done tomorrow.

Meanwhile, we know the bathrooms will get finished, the house will be organized and clean again , we will all enjoy having our oldest daughter and dog Molly home, our son will get back to wrestling and finish his Eagle project this summer, our youngest will enjoy her ball season and I will exhale.

The best part, when this is all finished, we will all appreciate the calm after the storm. Just as we appreciate the sunshine after the rain or the shade on a hot day - a little chaos and stress helps bring the gratitude for the calm.

The Foreclosures are coming! The Foreclosures are coming!

Wow - what an interesting year and what a ride! Most of us know someone in our friends or family circle that has been touched by the financial roller coaster our country has been riding. Well my friends - the ride isn't over. While I'm no economic genius the stats don't lie - our area of the Willamette Valley is doing well but you better believe we aren't out of the woods yet. Did you know there are 1349 ARM loans set to adjust in December - yes, next month - yes, in our area. Now many of those homeowners aren't in trouble but some will be. The numbers will continue to grow through the next 6 months.

There are some great programs in place to help many of these homeowners but invariably some will fall to default and be forced to leave there home.

And yet I remain optimistic. Really!

After every storm there is a rebirth - a fresh start. Our country has been through the PHD of what not to do - ever again.

Everyone - take a deep breath - learn from each other's mistakes or your own. Share your story so others can understand how easy it happens. Enjoy your days, your minutes, each breath and each other.

We are so blessed to have all that we do in our country. Even as we work through this time of financial turmoil we have our freedom. We have opportunity. We have our places of worship.

Let's take care of one another and ourselves while we brace for the upcoming waves of uncertainty and celebrate the success that will follow!

What we owe to each other.....

President Obama's address this morning was very interesting. Promises of our troops ending their war mission by next August and being fully pulled out by 2011. Powerful promises that we should all hope will come through.
He shared a story of two young soldiers who were killed in their efforts to stop a truck full of explosives and in doing so saved more than 50 fellow Marines and a group of Iraqi police. Those two soldiers were only 19 and 21 years old. My son is 16, those young men weren't that much older. As he painted the picture of what happened that day I cried, I couldn't help it. One day while you or I were having lunch somewhere comfortable and warm, talking with a friend or tucking our children into bed these men lost their lives to save others. In an instant the vision of these two fresh faced young men facing the ultimate choice flashed before me. In their final moments did they realized the danger? The truck wasn't stopping - they couldn't have known it was full of explosives. Maybe they did, maybe they just reacted with the instincts of a soldier and became Heroes without a thought other than they had to save the others. These were sons of people who loved them, maybe they were fathers themselves, did they have brothers and sisters they grew up with sharing Christmas morning with? These were kids who probably not that long ago had fallen in love for the first time, probably loved going to a good movie and eating a great cheeseburger, enjoyed a hot shower on a cold morning and dreamed of life when they got back to the states. The tribute though isn't just to their death, or the thousands who have died in this war or the wars before - President Obama said something very powerful, even more powerful than the promise of our troops withdrawing from Iraq. Lest we make a mockery of their sacrifice and lives, he said "WE OWE THESE SOLDIERS", he's right. We owe every soldier in how we live our lives, in how we show our patriotism, how hard we work to deserve the right to be Americans and enjoy the American dream, how much we hold each other up and encourage one another to be the best we can. We owe every soldier who has served our country either here American soil or on foreign soil, we owe it to them to live our lives deserving of their sacrifice.
To quote President Obama;
"You make up a fraction of the American population, but in an age when so many people and institutions have acted irresponsibly, you did the opposite – you volunteered to bear the heaviest burden. And for you and for your families, the war does not end when you come home. It lives on in memories of your fellow soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines who gave their lives. It endures in the wound that is slow to heal, the disability that isn’t going away, the dream that wakes you at night, or the stiffening in your spine when a car backfires down the street. "
“Semper Fidelis” – it means always being faithful to Corps, and to country, and to the memory of fallen comrades like Corporal Jonathan Yale and Lance Corporal Jordan Haerter. These young men enlisted in a time of war, knowing they would face great danger. They came here, to Camp Lejeune, as they trained for their mission. And last April, they were standing guard in Anbar. In an age when suicide is a weapon, they were suddenly faced with an oncoming truck filled with explosives. These two Marines stood their ground. These two Marines opened fire. And these two Marines stopped that truck. When the thousands of pounds of explosives detonated, they had saved fifty Marines and Iraqi police who would have been in the truck’s path, but Corporal Yale and Lance Corporal Haerter lost their own lives. Jonathan was 21. Jordan was 19.
In the town where Jordan Haerter was from, a bridge was dedicated in his name. One Marine who traveled to the ceremony said: “We flew here from all over the country to pay tribute to our friend Jordan, who risked his life to save us. We wouldn’t be here without him.”

"America’s time in Iraq is filled with stories of men and women like this. Their names are written into bridges and town squares. They are etched into stones at Arlington, and in quiet places of rest across our land. They are spoken in schools and on city blocks. They live on in the memories of those who wear your uniform, in the hearts of those they loved, and in the freedom of the nation they served.
Each American who has served in Iraq has their own story. Each of you has your own story. And that story is now a part of the history of the United States of America – a nation that exists only because free men and women have bled for it from the beaches of Normandy to the deserts of Anbar; from the mountains of Korea to the streets of Kandahar. You teach us that the price of freedom is great. Your sacrifice should challenge all of us – every single American – to ask what we can do to be better citizens."

My Rant ~

*A quote by the late Dr. Adrian Rogers, 1931-2005
"You cannot legislate the poor into freedom by legislating the wealthy out of freedom. What one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving.
The government cannot give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else.
When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work because the other half is going to take care of them, and when the other half gets the idea that it does no good to work because somebody else is going to get what they work for, that my dear friend, is about the end of any nation. You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it."

Yes - I know, this is a pretty fiery subject to post but I am just as concerned as each of you at the possibility of our economy's failure and ultimately our Country crumbling.

Do I think we needed to get help to many of the foreclosure victims - Yes.
Do I think we need to support some of the financial backbone industries of our Nation - Yes.

The problem is if this is done without foresight ~ we could be continuing and growing another issue our country has. Dependency instead of Independence.

A great part of my childhood was spent with two of the greatest people ever in this world, my Grandparents Virgil & Catherine Ranker -Blue Collar working class people, their house was from the Sears catalogue and had 'tin' cupboards in the kitchen. Seriously! To take a hand out was just not thought of. They and most of their generation had a different mindset of self-reliance and pride. I am still filled with pride when I think of them and how strong they were and what good people they were - that pride and hard work ethic keeps me going many days when it would be easier to give up when things are tough.

I hear from so many that this is a different time and era. Are we so sure? I remember stories from their day and other's not so far off of their generation about divorce, single parenting, hard times, rebellious teenagers, economic hardships. Not to glorify my Grandfather's hardships but to illustrate a point of his 'never give up' attitude. My Grandfather was one of 9 children, 4 step-siblings, he lived with his step-mother, his father was abusive and a 'drunk', they lived in a small 3 room stone house on a Kansas prairie, he didn't graduate from High School until 21 because of Polio (by the way, he was the only one in his family to graduate and ended up dropping out of College to support his Step-Mother and siblings when his Dad ran off). I could go on and on and not even go into my Grandmother's life. How did they make it through? Sacrifice, hard work and a never quit attitude are what I believe it comes down to.

Think about it......

The wonder of interest rates....

These days it seems that most any conversation I'm involved in lately turns to the question of 'How is the market?' Everyone is watching and waiting for a magic button to be pushed that will make it all better. I hear people say with hope, 'it will be a rough few months' or 'it will surely get better by the end of the year'.

I think we will be weathering this storm for a bit longer than just the next year.

However, I have to say, while ridiculous loans aren't falling from the heavens any longer, there are some serious great rates and fantastic opportunities to be had. Last week interest rates were floating at about 5.5%, rates haven't been this nice for a very long time. A few days ago I was reminded with a 25 year historical spreadsheet of rates and saw just how far we are from truly terrible. Interest rates hovering between 12 & 18 % on average for several years running and then the 'golden times' of 9 or 10 %! Seriously!! The first loan my husband and I had on our first house was just under 9%. To put that in perspective, that can mean a jump of hundreds or even over a thousand dollars a month MORE for your mortgage payment...just in interest. The higher the interest rate the less house people can afford.

If you're thinking of taking adventage of this buying power there may be no time better than now!

I won't deny the market is challenging, people are worried about their jobs and homes but our cloud is definitely surrounded with the sparkle of a silver lining right now. Thankfully those of us in the Willamette Valley have a strong base for our economic stability with government jobs, Universities and new business development coming in, we will feel the storm but I am confident we will survive.

Changing our Nation

New beginnings ~ as the dust from the history making election settles we are brought to our senses to realize that our country is only as good as it's mindset. It seems that as soon as the announcement was made and President elect Barack Obama came to the crowd the attitude and expectations changed. It appeared that a new hope was born, the belief that a change had come to our country.

I was talking with an associate this evening and she made an interesting statement. People wanted a change, they were ready for it and because of it the people of our nation will feel more comfortable and confident moving forward to put the country and their lives back on track. I paused and internally agreed. America is feeling refreshed and ready for a new start, new ideas, people will be ready to accept 'the change'.

Funny thing though, nothing really has changed but how people think and are prepared to view the possibilities of what 'a change' can do. We are still in a financial puzzle with our nations' economic recovery, we still have our men and women overseas in hostile territory, our nation still does not have improved health care. So what does a mind set change actually bring?

I believe it brings hope, positive momemtum, acknowledgement of our abilities. If we tell ourselves we can make a difference, we will. If we tell ourselves nothing is impossible, we can achieve amazing things.

Applying this to our own individual lives is where this will make the immediate difference, kind of the 'pay it foward' movement. Focus on what we want in our community, in our family and in our own lives. Focus on what you want, where you want to be, what you can do for others. It will happen, it is your mindset. Whatever you think about, will be what you make happen. Be positive, be kind, be productive.

Prudential Real Estate Professionals

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Realty Times - Real Estate News and Advice

Is our market as bad as we are hearing and feeling it is?  Check this out for what I have found to be neutral and easy to understand reporting on Real Estate, Mortgage information, stock market and our economy.  This even covers amortization explanations.    Non-biased neutral reporting, how refreshing!!   (Clip is about 2 minutes)

Realty Times - Real Estate News and Advice