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Notes on Negotiation

When it comes to buying your new home, everything is negotiable. Your real estate agent can be very helpful with this process. A partial list of what's negotiable when purchasing your new home may include:

• Price
• Financing
• Closing costs (except where specified by financing or law)
• Occupancy (When can you get the key and move in?)
• Painting (Will the seller repaint a portion of or the entire house?)
• Repairs (Will the seller repair the roof, plumbing, windows, etc., and what kind and quality of repairs will be made?)
• Yard (Will the seller remove unwanted trees, bushes - put in desired landscaping?)
• Fixtures (Which lights, fans, appliances, etc. stay and which go?)
• Wall coverings (Do the drapes stay or go?)
• Furniture (Will the seller include certain pieces?)
• Prepaid taxes and insurance (Will the seller credit you with these?)

Negotiation gives you - the buyer - incredible power in making a favorable transaction. As in any negotiation, be prepared to do some give and take. Let your real estate agent help you and work with you and the seller to come to the best possible terms for everyone.

You also should definitely have a professional inspector go through the house to look for potential problems. Even though you have made a complete walk-through, asked the right questions and discussed the offer with your real estate agent, a professional may see things that would be easy for you to overlook. Even if they are not things the seller is expected to repair, at least you will have foreknowledge of any potential problems. For help finding a qualified inspector, check the California Real Estate Inspection Association (CREIA) website for referrals.

Once you receive the inspection, you will want to allow yourself sufficient time to review and approve the report. If you do not approve the report, you may negotiate with the sellers on which repairs should be performed and who should pay for those repairs. Otherwise, you can cancel the purchase without penalty, provided you have included timetables in your offer. Allow a maximum of ten to fifteen days to receive the report and five days to review it.

One more thing, it is absolutely essential that you include a closing date as part of your offer. This way both you and the seller can make plans for moving and the seller can make plans for buying his or her next home. This also allows the time needed to renegotiate after reviewing the professional inspection report.

Though most transactions actually do close on the right date, remain flexible to avoid delays that may create difficult problems.

For example, if you are renting and need to give the landlord notice that you are moving out, you may want to allow some flexibility in your time line. Otherwise, if your purchase closes a few days late you could find yourself staying in a motel with your belongings packed in a moving van somewhere while you pay storage costs.