Tips & Traps for Negotiating Real Estate, Third Edition

Tips & Traps for Negotiating Real Estate, Third Edition

by Robert Irwin
Tips & Traps for Negotiating Real Estate, Third Edition

Tips & Traps for Negotiating Real Estate, Third Edition

by Robert Irwin

eBook

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Overview

Fully revised and expanded, the classic guide to negotiating every aspect of any real estate transaction

Real estate guru Bob Irwin breaks down all the common negotiating "tips and traps" when it comes to buying and selling in real estate. Beginning with the golden rule of real estate--everything is negotiable--the all-new third edition of this easy-to-read guide helps homeowners and investors like you maximize profits by avoiding the common pitfalls standing in the way of getting the deal you want. Fully updated for real estate investors in any economic climate, this comprehensive guide delivers useful tools for every step along the way along with rock-solid advice for sellers and buyers on:

  • Getting a better price in a down market
  • Negotiating a quick sale
  • Dealing with reluctant lenders
  • Keeping the upper hand when buying a foreclosed property
  • Talking a seller into financing your purchase
  • And more

Robert Irwin is a real estate broker, investor, and author. He is a regular guest on many radio and television programs as well as the author of more than 35 books on all aspects of real estate, including the McGraw-Hill bestselling Tips & Traps series, which has sold well over a million copies. Irwin lives in Westlake Village, California.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780071750882
Publisher: McGraw Hill LLC
Publication date: 12/03/2010
Series: Tips and Traps
Sold by: Barnes & Noble
Format: eBook
Pages: 256
File size: 2 MB

About the Author

Robert Irwin is a real estate broker, investor, and author. He is a regular guest on many radio and television programs as well as the author of more than 35 books on all aspects of real estate, including the McGraw-Hill bestselling Tips & Traps series, which has sold well over a million copies. Irwin lives in Westlake Village, California.

Table of Contents

1 Be a Winning Negotiator 1

You Can Negotiate Anything 2

When There's Apparently No Negotiating Room 2

Everything Else Is Negotiable, Too! 3

Is It Hard to Learn to Be a Good Negotiator? 4

Is It Really Worth the Effort to Negotiate in Real Estate? 5

2 Knowledge Gains You the Upper Hand 7

Who Has the Knowledge? 8

Knowledge Is Power 9

Knowledge Affects Negotiations in Every Aspect of a Real Estate Transaction 11

How You Present a Property Can Mean the Difference Between a Sale and No Sale 14

Knowing Market Conditions 15

Negotiating Tools 16

And More 16

3 Remember, It's Strictly Business 17

Never Take It Personally 17

Beware of Choosing "Nice" People to Represent You 20

Only Deal with People Who Have the Power to Decide 22

Deal Directly 22

Always Strive for the High Moral Ground 24

4 The Rules of Time 27

Invest in Time 27

Set a Deadline 31

Act in a Timely Fashion 33

5 The Psychology of Negotiating 35

Push Back at the Put-Down 36

Don't Waver over Your Expertise-or Lack Thereof 36

Bring It Out into the Open 38

Be Irrational Occasionally 38

Strive to Be a Beginner 40

Always Ask Why 43

6 Challenge Their Words 47

Try Using a List 49

Listen Carefully 50

Listen to What's Behind the Words 51

Question Authority 53

Challenge the Authority's Credentials 54

7 Five Basic Tactics Negotiators Use 57

1 Always Give Yourself Another Option 57

2 Only Work on Issues That Can Be Resolved 59

3 Never Respond to an Offer That Can't Be Closed 62

4 Don't Stick to the "Pie" Analogy or "Bottom Line" Reasoning 64

5 Remember that Some Deals Can't Be Made, No Matter What 67

Walking Away a Winner Is No Baloney 69

8 Negotiate the Actual Offer (Including Counteroffers) 71

Arriving at the Terms of the Deal 72

Price and Terms 77

The Deposit 78

Financing Contingencies 82

Dealing with Time 84

Other Contingencies 86

Buyer's Final Approval and Walk-Through 90

9 Get a Better Deal When Buying a Foreclosure 93

What Is a Bank-Owned Property? 93

Why Dealing with a Bank Is Better 94

Why Dealing with a Bank Is Harder 95

Making the Offer 96

Dealing with the Bank's Intransigence 97

Dealing with a Low Appraisal 98

Concluding the Purchase 99

10 Fend Off a Lender That Wants to Foreclose 101

How Did This Happen to Me? 102

The Turn Down 102

Slow Down the Process 103

Case History: Playing the Lender 104

Ask for a Deed in Lieu of Foreclosure 106

Another Case History: A Deed in Lieu 108

Try a Short Sale 111

Walk Away 111

Review Your Options 113

11 Sell Your Home When You Owe More than It's Worth (Short Sale) 115

Are There Any Drawbacks to a Short Sale? 116

Are There Benefits to a Short Sale If You Can Still Make the Payments? 117

Why Would a Lender do a Short Sale? 117

How to Do a Short Sale 118

What to Do if You Have a Second Mortgage 120

How to get Secondary Mortgages to Sign a Release 123

Watch Out for Deficiency Demands 124

Who Pays the Commission and Other Sale Expenses 126

How to Put Pressure on a Lender to Act 126

How Closely to Work with Your Agent 128

Watch Out for Scammers 128

Forms and More 130

12 Successfully Buy a Short Sale 131

The Short Sale Hurdles 131

Negotiate with the Seller 132

Get the Right Agent 132

Talk to the Seller's Agent 133

Coax the Buyer to Accept Your Offer 135

Negotiate with the Lender 136

Keep in Touch 140

Forms and More 140

13 Win a Bidding War 141

For Buyers Only 141

When the Bidding War Starts 144

Negotiating in a Difficult Market 144

Look for Fixer-Uppers 146

For Sellers Only 147

Understand "Forward Pricing" 147

Purposely Underpricing 148

Negotiate. Negotiate. Negotiate. 148

14 Negotiate a Lower Commission Rate When You Sell 149

From the Agent's Viewpoint 150

From the Seller's Perspective 150

How Does the Commission Impact the Agent's Role in Selling? 151

Offering a Good Commission Rate to the Selling Agent (the One Who Produces the Buyer) 153

Adding a Bonus 154

What About Negotiating a Lower Commission for Your Listing Agent? 154

Should You Tie the Fee to the Services Performed? 155

Should You Deal with Discount Brokers? 156

What About Negotiating the Commission as a Percentage of Equity? 156

Can You Get the Agent to Accept Paper Instead of Cash? 157

Should I Try Negotiating Directly with the Other Party? 159

What If the Agent Throws Up a Roadblock? 159

Would You Be Better Off Having a Separate Buyer's/Seller's Agent? 160

Can an Agent Work Against You? 161

Strictly from the Buyer's Viewpoint 162

The Agent Answer 163

15 Argue for a Better Appraisal 165

When the Lender's Appraiser Says "No!" 165

How Do You Challenge a Lender's Appraisal? 167

Appraisal Costs 169

Can You Challenge the County's Appraisal? 170

When You Decide to Appeal 171

How Do You Appeal an Improvement? 172

16 Negotiate Personal Property 175

Very Personal Property 175

Negotiating to Get Personal Property Included in the Deal 178

Keeping Personal Property Out of the Deal 179

Even Personal Property Is Negotiable 181

17 Pressure a Builder over Price and Upgrades 183

Dealing with the Builder's "Front" 184

Submitting Your Own Offer 184

What You Can Negotiate 185

Understanding the Builder's Costs 186

Negotiating for Options 187

Knowing What You Want 188

The "Upgrade" Trap 189

Getting an Option Discount 192

Mortgage Buy-Downs 193

18 Gain an Advantage from the Inspection Report 195

What Is the Professional Inspection Report? 196

How to Leverage the Inspection Report into a Better Deal 198

Renegotiating 198

Preinspected Homes 199

Why Would Sellers Want a Home Inspection? 200

Dealing with Lenders 201

Does a Defect Need to Be Corrected? 201

Buyers Who "Set Up" Sellers 202

The "Aboveboard" Approach 203

19 Deal Points When Buying Investment Property 205

Negotiating the Price of Income Property 205

How to "Negotiate" Rents 207

How to Negotiate Deposits 208

How to Negotiate Financing 209

20 Negotiate Your Way Out of Closing Problems 211

What Can Go Wrong? 212

What Can You Do to Avoid Closing Problems? 213

What Do You Do When Things Go Wrong? 214

Who Controls the Escrow? 216

Who Pays the Escrow Fees? 216

Glossary: The Language of Real Estate 219

Index 239

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