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Homes and Land in Sunny Sequim, Washington

Homes and Land in Sunny Sequim, Washington

Sequim's No.1 Buyer's Agent Where Knowledge & Experience Count.

(360) 775-5424
Email: ChuckMarunde@gmail.com

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125 Olympic Ranch Ln, Sequim, WA 98382

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Negotiating in Sequim

by Chuck Marunde / Tuesday, 02 July 2019 / Published in Buyer's Agent, Buying Real Estate in Port Angeles and Sequim, Sequim Real Estate
Negotiating
Negotiating price and the various terms of a real estate transaction is no small matter, and buying things like cars is not the same skill set as buying and negotiating the purchase of a home. In this article, I’ll explain how to avoid making the biggest negotiating mistake of your life.

Negotiating Price & Terms

Negotiating the purchase of a home is a skill set of its own. Even having bought and sold half a dozen homes in a lifetime while in a career unrelated to real estate will not automatically equip you for all the possible nuances of negotiating.

In four decades in real estate I have seen more mistakes made in negotiating a real estate transaction than I could possibly count. I’ve seen buyers overpay by $200,000. I’ve seen sellers chase a good buyer away. I’ve seen real estate agents give their clients bad advice about the home inspection response and kill the transaction. I’ve seen a buyer make a seller so mad, he refused to sell to that buyer at any price. I’ve seen far too many amateurs going back and forth on price until one of the parties just walks away.

Negotiating effectively requires multiple skill sets, including:

If you want to negotiate like a professional and get the best price and the best terms while protecting yourself throughout the due diligence process, you must be able to answer yes to all of the following questions:

  • Do you have a solid understanding of the local real estate market and values?
  • Do you have years of experience working with builders and contractors (or the equivalent) in order to judge the value of materials used in a home as well as the quality of craftsmanship?
  • Do you have an ability to recognize potential defects in foundations, garage concrete floors, electric panels, flooring, kitchen countertops, appliances, HVAC systems, property drainage, private wells, septic tanks and drain fields, irrigation systems, roofing materials, and siding?
  • Do you have a knowledge of legal language in covenants, easements, and contract language?
  • Do you have an ability to properly deal with contingencies?
  • Do you have negotiating skills on price and terms acquired over decades (not a few years)?
  • Do you have the experience to deal with a large number of objections?
  • Do you have an understanding of human behavior and motivation?
  • Do you know how to customize the negotiating tactics for a unique buyer or seller (what works for one will not necessarily work for everyone else)?
  • Do you have the knowledge and experience to accomplish the necessary due diligence?

The Key to Negotiating

The first key to negotiating is to know your limitations. If you are not an expert negotiator in real estate transactions, do not do this without professional help. You wouldn’t hire an investment advisor to handle several hundred thousand dollars of your hard earned money after taxes without checking him out thoroughly.

Second, do not ASSUME that any Tom, Dick, or Jane real estate agent has the level of negotiating skills that will protect you and get you the best price and the best terms. In my estimation, approximately 90% of real estate agents do not have the highest levels of negotiating skills buyers think they have. That is unfortunate for buyers, but it is your job to know how to search for and filter through real estate agents to find the best one for you. Very few buyers know how to filter agents online, and few know how to interview them. Few know what questions they should ask a Realtor, and few know how to interpret the answers they get to differentiate the truth from the hype.

Third, when you find that top negotiator, work with him, and do not ignore his subtle hints. A good buyer’s agent cannot tell his client what to offer or what to do along the way. He can advise and try to gently persuade, but do not take a true professional’s gentleness as a sign of weakness or a sign that he doesn’t speak with vast knowledge and competence. Talk with him, share your opinion, but listen very carefully to his responses. He has to be very careful he doesn’t take the role of telling you what to do, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t sending you huge signals about how to handle the negotiating for your retirement home.

If you instruct him to offer or counteroffer contrary to his hard-earned wisdom, he must let you go down the path of failure or disappointment. He cannot save you from yourself, so listen to him, and if he is truly good and has integrity, you would do well to rely on his counsel about the most important negotiating of your life.

Possibly Related Posts:

  • Sequim Real Estate Videos Organized in an EBook
  • The Six Steps to Finding Your Sequim Home
  • Real Estate Books
  • When is Early Possession Safe for a Home Seller?
  • Sequim Real Estate: How do I find a Home in Sequim

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About Chuck Marunde

After practicing real estate law for 20 years in Washington, Chuck opened iRealty Virtual Brokers covering the Sequim and the beautiful Olympic Peninsula. Chuck is the author of numerous magazine and Internet articles with a primary focus on real estate. He is also the author of over a dozen books, mostly about Sequim real estate. Chuck is a photographer, videographer, and Registered FAA Drone Pilot. Chuck has combined his love for real estate and technology to create a growing Internet presence in his market, and enjoys building his websites and blogs, including SequimBlog.com and Sequim4Sale.com and LuxuryWaterViewHomes.com. Chuck has degrees in Economics, Law, and Education.

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Chuck E. Marunde, J.D.

Sequim Buyer's Agent
(Atty Ret.)
Founder and Broker of
Sequim & Port Angeles Real Estate dba iRealty Virtual Brokers
125 Olympic Ranch Ln,
Sequim, WA 98382
(360) 775-5424
ChuckMarunde@gmail.com

Blog Articles by Date

From Los Angeles

It's rare, but once in awhile life provides the perfect collaborator for an important endeavor such as buying your new home. For me that person was Chuck Marunde. His two decade background as a Real Estate Attorney, his prolific career as an author of articles and books on Real Estate and his forthright and moral character made choosing Chuck a no-brainer. Chuck is dedicated, thorough, incredible at the negotiating table, knowledgeable about all local laws & regs but, most importantly, Chuck loves what he does. And what he does is find his client the perfect property. Chuck isn't about making the sale, he's about making the sale that is OPTIMUM for his CLIENT and this makes Chuck a rare bird indeed. I love my new home in Sequim and I am indebted to Chuck for making it happen. Kevin E.

From Seattle

I’ve had the pleasure of working with Chuck over the past three years in selling my parent's estate. It was a tough time to sell during the housing recession, but Chuck always kept things on the positive side. With his real estate law background, he offers sound, practical advice. He helps you along with the process using discussions and reason, rather than opinions and speculations. If Chuck doesn’t know the answers, he will get them for you. In several instances, Chuck took the initiative to meet with county officials to get up-to-date facts about zoning and regulations. I was always impressed with his company’s tech savvy communi-cations and internet presence: weekly email updates, blogs, videos, links, Linked-in networking, etc. He is truly pioneering the future of buying & selling real estate. Brian M.

From California

"Andy Romano is a successful motion picture character actor with over 40 years in 'the Biz.' Mr. Romano has a home in beautiful Santa Barbara, California, but he chooses to live most of the time in Sequim, Washington on the Olympic Peninsula in the great Pacific Northwest. Why? In his own words, 'Because it's even more beautiful and surrounded by more beauty in this incredibly peaceful and quiet place. With respect to real estate agents or brokers, well my friend Chuck Marunde, owner of Sequim and Port Angeles Real Estate, is hands down the best there" Andy R.

Intro by Chuck Marunde

From Florida

We do our homework for the task at hand and we look for and expect to enlist partners that do the same. It was our good fortune to select Chuck Marunde of Sequim and Port Angeles Real Estate to represent us as a buyer's broker in our search for a home in the Sequim/Port Angeles area. Chuck's site is all encompassing and super fast compared to many others, he knows the market at every conceivable level and his guidance through the process of selecting and purchasing a home is priceless - above and beyond that of anyone with whom we have ever worked. Add to all this his 20 year background in real estate law and you have discovered a superb asset in the adventure of purchasing a home. Greg and Marilyn

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