The Art of Real Estate (or any type of) Negotiation

In my mind, a successful negotiation is not where one side has pulverized the other. You don’t “win” a negotiation; you get the best possible outcome for your clients while doing the least harm. No one should leave a negotiation angry. After all, you never know when you might have to negotiate with the same people again.  When it comes to negotiating on behalf of my clients, I keep the following in mind:

 

Set the stage: I like a location that’s quiet, neutral, pleasant, and away from distractions and confusion.  It’s best if everyone turns off their devices, and refrains from calls or texts during negotiations.

 

Be prepared: I never enter without my homework. I verify any outstanding facts before the negotiation begins. (Later fact-finding can cause a negotiation to bog down!)

 

Present a united front: I represent clients and have been hired to act on their wishes. At times I may not agree with their position, but I never share that with the other side. If I feel a client’s position is less than optimal, I only discuss it with them in private

 

Leave attitudes at the door: It’s very simple… treat everyone in the negotiation with respect, regardless of personal opinions. If anyone disagrees, disagree with the idea, not the person.

 

Watch non-verbal cues and body language: (Sorry, but I can’t reveal all of my secrets here… suffice it to say I take it all in!)

 

Hold something in reserve: I discuss concessions with my clients beforehand and only offer these concessions when we absolutely need to concede something.

 

I don’t harp about points that don’t matter to my clients: Negotiations should never choke over a minor point.  I like to get agreement on major points such as price and terms and put lesser items aside to return to later.

 

Never volunteer too much information: Knowledge is power in a negotiation. Telling the other side any information, however insignificant seeming, could weaken my clients’ position. On the other hand, I learn as much about the other side as I can.

 

If you ever need someone on your side in a real estate negotiation, feel free to contact me directly: 407-925-7721 (Cell or Text) or lindahutchinson@msn.com.

Pancakes and real estate? What the heck?

Pancakes and real estate?????? What the heck do they have in common? Read on…

We are fortunate to regularly visit Maggie Valley, NC and we enjoy traveling fromFlorida to our home located 3,300 feet high in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Traveling to the SmokeyMountains is pure bliss and as they say “Altitude affects attitude”.

But the one thing our entire family will agree upon is breakfast at Joey’s Pancake House in MaggieValley (see link at the bottom of this blog). What’s the big deal about Joey’s?

Well…everything.

Joey’s is a perfect example of how we can be better real estate agents. They have a tremendous amount of business throughout the day and yet their restaurant runs like a finely tuned machine. While the breakfast food is awesome – it’s more than food. This restaurant celebrates their 40th year and long waits to get into Joey’s is the norm…but we don’t care. It’s totally about the experience.

There is a tremendous staff, they are always friendly and you never mind waiting. From the minute you arrive to the moment you leave – they treat you like you were the ONLY clients in the restaurant and they appreciate your visit. The coffee ladies fly by and your cup is never empty. It’s an amazing display of service and they are a lesson for real estate agents.

I was thinking today how much MORE my clients would appreciate ME if I checked in with them just to say hello and see how they were doing. How would people react if I went above and beyond what is required? What if I treated them as if there was no reason to hurry and I have all the time in the world – just for them? What if I contacted them AFTER the sale just to see how things were going? I could give you a lot more examples but you get the point. IT’S ALL ABOUT EXTRAORDINARY SERVICE.

So thank you Joey’s Pancake House. I work hard and treat my customers well…but I could do even better and your restaurant is absolute proof of what success can look like – in any business. Bravo.

http://www.joeyspancake.com/index.html

Looking at REAL ESTATE and life with rose colored glasses and no excuses!

For the record, I know the real estate market has a LONG way to go to make a significant improvement but I also know that things are getting ROSIER and BRIGHTER.

I have seen more improvement in real estate since January 2010 than I saw in the last six months of 2009. There are more buyers, more realistic sellers and MORE DEALS closing.

We have a long way to go. Most importantly, banks need to facilitate closings – LOAN MONEY TO CREDIT WORTHY BORROWERS. Sellers need to keep pricing their homes with the realization that runaway pricing is long gone but they will reap a tax benefit and a personal benefit in buying another home at today’s prices. In short, you may lose on your current house but you will more than make up for it on your next home. It will be a bargain.

Foreclosures are bottoming although they do account for almost a 1/4 of the market at this time. That’s the scariest unknown for real estate agents – just how bad is it going to be when the banks finally admit how many homeowners are behind on their payments.

But any way you look at this – we are going to improve. Life will get better and I expect 2010 to be the year the market changes and improves. Looking at life through rose colored glasses? Not really – just years of experience through the cycles of real estate tell me we are turning a corner.

It’s A Mad Mad Mad Mad Real Estate World

I haven’t posted in a while and there is a good reason. I have been observing, carefully, what is going on in the world today and frankly, I was flummoxed. This is like being in a Fellini movie and watching the world slog by in slow-mo. It’s just a mad, mad, real estate world!

The good news? Well the good news is that there really IS GOOD NEWS. As trite as it may sound, things go up and things go down. Things change. Sometimes that change is for the better although lately it has not been so. But on the plus side, change (to coin a current political trend) is coming and it’s going to get better.

In Orlando real estate, we see buyers, we see realistic sellers, and we see people who still WANT TO OWN A HOME. It’s not ALL BAD NEWS.

I still can’t help but think that some of this mess is simply the result of politics as usual. But I look forward to change and I look forward to a brighter tomorrow. It’s coming. Be ready.