The Four Stages of Negotiations When Buying or Selling a Home in Southern California

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Whether you're buying or selling a home, you're going to have to go through the negotiation process. Today I will be outlining the four major stages of negotiations. Ideally this will prepare you for anything that may come your way.

1. Getting the offer accepted: You have agreed on price, terms, and condition. You have signed the contract and put it into escrow.

2. Appraisals: The bank needs to verify that the money they're lending you is the right amount. This is why they come out and determine a value for the home. If they don't think the home is worth what you are paying for it, your loan could fall through. Appraisals can be made tougher in an appreciating market.

3. Home inspection: This is where big hurdles can come out in the purchasing process. The buyer pays for an inspection to ensure the home is in good condition. This process requires the most negotiations because buyers want everything repaired and sellers want a lot of things left alone. Usually, a seller will fix things that have to do with the safety of the buyer, but it can be difficult to get things moving along towards an agreement.

4. Closing: This is the final part of the process, and you have to be extremely careful with your finances at this point in time. If you go out and buy new furnishings for your home, you could upset your debt to income ratio and your loan could fall through at the last second. Just wait until you have the keys in your hands to transfer money or purchase expensive items.

Hopefully this can help guide you through your real estate negotiations without too much trouble. It can be a difficult process to navigate without a real estate agent, so please don't hesitate to contact me if you need assistance with this.

I look forward to speaking with you!