A successful deal is when you and the buyer feel you have both gotten what you wanted. The negotiation process should be friendly and non-confrontational. After all, you’re both winners because real estate commissions have been avoided.

Presentation of an offer

The presentation of an offer/contract can be handled several ways. It’s preferable that you contact a real estate attorney to help you review, prepare and negotiate the offer. Many real estate attorneys will assist you with this task at no additional cost if they are the attorney used for the closing. You and the buyer can meet and discuss the offer face-to-face before it’s in writing. Simply discuss each of your needs and come to an understanding. Then contact a real estate attorney to prepare the contract based on what you and the buyer have discussed. If an offer has been prepared and presented to you, then you can either review it alone and make the decision, or contact a real estate attorney to assist. If your prospective buyer is working with a real estate agent and you have agreed in advance to pay commission, the agent will present the offer to you and you negotiate with the buyer’s agent. If your prospective purchaser is working a buyer’s agent or an attorney, keep in mind they are working for the purchaser and not you. Best advice - hire a real estate contract attorney to handle the negotiations on your behalf.

Once an offer is presented, you can (preferably with the assistance of your real estate attorney):

lAccept the offer as is, sign it and it becomes a binding contract.

lCounter-offer back to the buyer by making changes in the offer and initialing the changes. The buyer has the option of walking away if the changes are unacceptable but negotiations have been re-opened.

lDecline the offer – this should not be an option. You should at least make a counter-offer.

Many issues can arise during the negotiation but it’s worthy to discuss a few that you should understand and be prepared to handle. If you’re wise you will have the consult of a real estate attorney but ultimately the decision is yours.