Lindsay: my husband and I have been looking for a home for the past few months and we are determined to get a fantastic deal. Our agent is not in agreement in how we want to negotiate when we find the property we want to buy. We want to start by offering $40,000 or $50,000 less than the sellers are asking and see how low we can buy the home. Do you advise buying a home this way or would you negotiate in a different way?
Tara
Tara: after reading your question and discussing it with some of my colleagues I would start by defining “market value.”
Market Value: is an estimate of the market value of a property, based on what a knowledgeable, willing, and unpressured buyer would probably pay to a knowledgeable, willing, and unpressured seller.
I think the most important words in the definition are knowledgeable and unpressured. Many feel that the way to purchase real estate is to offer a low price and then work their price up to an acceptable number. Sometimes this works and other times it either hinders the process or totally stalls it.
Lets cover a few local facts:
- In our local area when homes sell they sell for 98% of the asking price.
- In our local area 75 homes have reduced their prices in the past week.
- 83 homes have been taken off the market not sold. (terminated or expired)
So we are now “armed” with valuable information. We know how fair market value is defined and that homes are selling for pretty close to full asking price. (this would be another definition of fair market value) Also, many homes are coming off the market not sold. This tells us that there are many overpriced homes on the market and the ones priced accurately are selling.
The million dollar questions are: 1) how do we proceed when we find a home we want that is listed too highly? 2) What do we do when we find a home priced at or below market value?
Properties are unique and each brings not only bricks and mortar into the sales mix but also a seller with a unique situation. Some sellers have the attitude that they will move if they get a price over market and others have financial issues causing the price to drop to a point that will cause it to sell quickly. Doing some investigation usually helps in finding the best strategy. The one thing to remember is that all situation are different. This is where experience pays off in either securing a property that is below market value or negotiating a fair price with a seller asking more than market.
When the buyer finds a home that appears to be overpriced and is considering an offer that is dramatically below the asking price, the approach is different than if the home is price realistically. Gathering information helps you create a strategy and a plan to establish how to buy the home at market value. Having your agent talk with the listing agent might give some reason for the price. Sometimes homes are priced too highly due to an error the agent has made. In the end the best approach is to offer what you feel is fair based on recent comparable area sales. It is always hit and miss as to how successful you will be in your attempt to have an offer accepted. This is where an experienced agents skills shine. There are times that no matter how good the strategy is that a seller will not entertain a reasonable offer, so be prepared that this may influence the outcome.
When you encounter a home priced at market value or below the strategy changes dramatically. I was recently in a offer situation where a home hit the market and the day the seller was entertaining offers there were 4 in total. We offered $10,000 over asking and in our opinion we still negotiated a good deal for the home. On a regular basis, homes are placed on the market at really amazing prices and the strategy at that point becomes one of moving quickly and offering a very fair price with a clean offer.
When a buyer offers on a property, they enter not only into a contractual exchange with the seller but also a relationship with them. What I mean by “relationship” is that how the buyer manages the negotiation process can smooth the process, hinder it, or actually put a stop to the negotiations. An offer that is viewed as a “lowball” really sets the tone of how the negotiating process will play out.
Buying a home should be a fun process. The many “speed bumps along” the way can be smoothed out using an experienced agent. The more educated you are as a buyer means that if you encounter a home you like, you become an integral part of the process. I have had some of the best ideas come to me from buyers I have worked with when attempting to buy homes. Good luck with your home search and when you find that perfect home, I hope it is at or below market value and the negotiation process is a smooth one. Tara, more info on buying homes can be found at my online home at www.soldbylindsay.com

Lindsay: we are considering selling our home and have interviewed a couple of local agents. My sister who lives out of town has recommended that we interview the agent who sold her home. The agents office is about a hour drive from our property. What are the differences in choosing a local agent as opposed to one from another town such as Toronto or Mississauga?















“So what does life expect of you in 2012?”
Better yet, what do you expect of yourself? Well, here’s the defining truth of the new year; we are all being held to a higher standard. The age of indulgence ended on Sept. 11. it’s now the age of accountability.
10 of the Best New Year’s Resolutions for 2012:
1. Resolve to stay brutally optimistic. See the opportunity in every difficulty and anticipate the most favourable outcome out of every situation. Whatever you look for, that’s what you’ll find. We can get better or we can get bitter; it all depends on the lessons we draw from each experience. Optimism is like electricity – very little happens without it. Know this truth: you have all the resources you’ll ever need to handle all the challenges you’ll ever have. It’s in the true emergencies that the true you emerges.
2. Resolve to identify the most powerful benefit you offer to the people around you and then deliver it. “The purpose of life.” Said George Bernard Shaw, “is a life of purpose.” What’s yours? Where are you investing your personal energy; self-preservation or adding value to others? Here’s the well-being paradox: if you’re only concerned about yourself, you cannot take care of yourself. Only by helping others can you succeed.
3. Resolve to pump up your personal vitality. In the game of life it’s not about whose right, it’s about whose left. Over 60% of us are more than 36 years old. The real currency of the new century is not cash, it’s about vitality. It’s the ability to keep going every day of every week of every month of the year with vigour and verve. All you are to the people around you is a source of energy and you cannot give what you don’t have. Ninety per cent of all adults do no physical exercise at all. More than half of us are overweight. A third of us still smoke. So, this year, resolve to enhance your physical, emotional and mental vitality. Take just a small step. First you’ll amaze yourself and then you’ll amaze everybody else.
4. Resolve to be habitually generous. Success is not something you pursue; it’s something you attract by what you become. The more you give of yourself, the more favours you attract from others. People have a deep-rooted drive to give back. So resolve to search for ways to contribute to others. Here’s an interesting aphorism: live above the line. If the line represents other’s expectations of you, consistently surpass those expectations. You’ll develop what the business author Ken Blanchard calls “raving fans,” people who become walking billboards for you.
5. Resolve to go on a mental diet. Sticks and stones can break your bones, but words can scar you for life. It’s humans, not elephants, who never forget. So resolve to use the language of conciliation, not the language of confrontation. Avoid the temptation to vent your negativity on others. Instead, use words that express your joie de vivre and connection with others.
6. Resolve to be a global citizen, fully open to the cultures and influences of others. There is a direct correlation between personal well-being and openness to other peoples’ ideas and cultures. If someone has a different point of view, they’re probably right as well. There are no absolutes anymore, so welcome different opinions. Become a one-person champion of plurality. Not only will you make lots of new friends, but you’ll also gather multiple reference points to help you resolve personal challenges.
7. Resolve to take control of your destiny. Don’t be so busy trying to make a living that you forget to make a life. Decide who you want to be and what you want to achieve and then stride boldly towards your vision. The most precious human commodity today is confidence.
8. Resolve to increase your human connectedness. The person with the best connections wins. The wider your network, the more opportunities you generate. It’s all about trust. And it’s all about profile – your presence in the minds of the people who matter. So invest at least 10 per cent of your time broadening your sphere of influence. Connect with other people to opportunities within your network: cross-pollinate their potential. When you are with others, make every encounter a pleasurable one. When you listen, truly listen. And burn your fear of rejection.
9. Resolve to increase your creativity by letting go of the familiar. Nothing is as far away as yesterday. Try to see the world through fresh eyes every day. As Salman Rushdie writes, every year is the stone age to the year that follows it. Listen to your intuition and follow your instincts, they’ll tell you what to do before your head has had a chance to figure it out. You are a Picasso or Einstein at something. Discover what it is and then develop it to the maximum.
10. Resolve to be you because others are already taken. You and I are at our best when we’re being authentic. We’re at our best when we’re being positively spontaneous because that’s when all our energy is being invested in the person in front of us or the task at hand. In a hyper-competitive world, we cannot afford to second-guess ourselves. Success in the new, new age is all about speed. So act now, because if not now, when?
So there you have it, 10 New Year’s Resolutions to help improve your life in 2012. So decide. And act”