Rudy Rodriguez – Page 17 – Making The Dream Reality

Listing With Confidence

Whether you’re buying or selling a home, finding a real estate agent you trust is one of your most important decisions. After all, they can make or break your home-buying or home-selling experience!

You can’t afford to hire an agent who’s winging it. You want a seasoned professional who will do the job right.

Now you may be thinking, But I don’t know how to find a real estate agent I’m excited to work with. That’s okay—we do! We’ll help you figure out exactly what you’re looking for in a real estate agent so you can hire the right person.

6 Tips to Find a Great Real Estate Agent

Here are our top tips for how to find a real estate agent who can help you rock the buying or selling process:

1. Learn the basics about real estate agents.

Buying or selling a home is probably the biggest financial transaction you’ll ever make. So before you rush out to find a real estate agent, you need to know what they should—and shouldn’t—do.

What Do Real Estate Agents Do?

Real estate agents do a lot. They help buyers search for and view houses. Sellers, your agent should help you stage, market, and set the right price for your home. And all agents help their clients negotiate to get the best deal.

Find a trusted real estate agent we recommend in your area.

So if you don’t have an agent and the other person does, you’ll get the short end of the stick. You need a world-class agent to set you up for success.

REALTORS® Versus Real Estate Agents

Many people think REALTORS® and real estate agents are the same, but they aren’t. I’ve talked about the difference between real estate agents and REALTORS® before, but let’s recap.

Real estate agents hold state licenses saying they can help you buy or sell a home. REALTORS® are real estate agents who join a professional group called the National Association of REALTORS (NAR). NAR gives them extra training and tools to do their jobs.

Difference Between Buyer’s and Seller’s Agents

When buying a house, you’re looking for a real estate agent who listens to you and is good at finding homes that meet your needs. A great agent knows about tons of available homes—sometimes even before they hit the market. They should also be an expert negotiator to ensure you won’t overpay for your new place.

If you’re selling your house, find a real estate agent who can help you set a fair price, stage your home to appeal to buyers, and provide a marketing plan. A really kick-butt agent may even hire extra people—like a photographer or assistant—to help your home sale go smoothly.

Bad Real Estate Agents

Unfortunately, when you’re trying to find a real estate agent, you might meet some duds. You need to know how to recognize bad real estate agents so you don’t hire a schmuck.

Watch out for:

- Inexperience
- Poor marketing
- Lack of leadership
- Too much attitude
- Failure to listen to you
- Bad or no communication
- No progress toward buying or selling a home
- More focus on their commission than helping you

Okay, so now you know what you don’t want. The next step is to make sure you’re the kind of client a great agent wants to work with.

2. Make sure you’re ready to buy or sell a house.

We’ll be honest: Hiring a real estate agent is pointless if you’re not ready to buy or sell a home.

Sellers, we made a handy checklist to help you decide if you’re ready to sell. Basically, you’re good to go if selling improves your finances, you’re emotionally ready, and you have a new place to live. If you’re still working on the new-place-to-live thing, keep reading.

Buyers, before you’re ready to buy a house, you’ll have to take a few steps to line up your finances.

Set a housing budget.

Meet Jim: Jim planned to spend $300,000 on a house. But then he realized the neighborhood he liked cost more than he expected. And his favorite house had features he hadn’t planned on—like a swimming pool and an attached garage.

The house cost $375,000. Jim loved it, and since Jim’s lender is an idiot, they let him borrow that much. Now Jim’s stuck in a house he can’t afford, and he has no money leftover to save for retirement, pay off his car, or give to his favorite charity.

Don’t be like Jim! Set a monthly housing budget that’s no more than 25% of your take-home pay—including the mortgage principal, insurance, property taxes and HOA fees. Then, use our free mortgage calculator to see which home prices and down payments fit your budget.

P.S. Make it clear to your real estate agent that this is the budget. Don’t work with someone who tries to talk you into a house you can’t afford so they can get a big commission.

Save for a down payment.

Saving for a down payment is super important! With a big down payment, you’ll have a lower monthly payment and pay less interest over time.

Save a down payment of at least 20% of the home price to avoid paying for private mortgage insurance (PMI). PMI is insurance that covers your lender (not you) if you stop making mortgage payments.

If you’re a first-time home buyer, a smaller down payment of 5–10% is okay too—but then you will have to pay that PMI fee. No matter what, make sure your mortgage payment is no more than 25% of your monthly take-home pay on a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage. And beware of bad mortgages like VA, FHA and 30-year loans—otherwise, you’ll end up paying so much more money in extra interest and fees, and you’ll be stuck in debt for decades.

Want to up the ante? Save up to pay all cash for a house. That way, you’re not messing with lender restrictions or crazy interest rates. And you’ll gain major negotiating power: Lots of sellers would love to get an all-cash offer, since it’s quicker and easier for them too.

Get preapproved for a mortgage.

Okay, so if you do take out a mortgage, you should do one more thing before you hire a real estate agent: Get preapproved.

A mortgage preapproval speeds up the home-buying process. You can show sellers a letter from your lender saying how much money you can borrow. That lets the seller know you’re serious and that you really can afford their house.

Plus, real estate agents will be glad to see your mortgage preapproval too. It’s another tool they can use to help get you into your dream home!

3. Narrow down your requirements.

There are a ton of real estate professionals. So it’s smart to decide what kind of agent you’re willing to work with before you start looking. Consider things like:

Experience

According to NAR, more agents entered the field in 2021 than in recent years.¹ And some new agents are doing a bang-up job. You may be thinking about giving them a chance—and that could work out. Or they could make a rookie mistake and cost you thousands of dollars.

That’s a big risk! So we recommend looking for an agent with at least four years of experience. Good news: Even with all the newbies, the typical real estate agent has eight years of experience.

Familiarity With the Local Market

General real estate experience is good, but your agent also needs experience in your area. If you’re moving to Los Angeles, hiring someone who knows all about real estate in San Diego won’t do you much good.

Look for an agent who’s closed a lot of homes in your area and who’s involved in the local community. Do they live, volunteer, or send their kids to school there? These things let you know you’re getting an agent who cares about location in more ways than one.

Track Record

A real estate agent’s track record of helping other clients can give you an idea how well they’re likely to perform for you. Look at things like:

Closing Rate

Closing rates are where the experts shine. You want to find a real estate agent who closes at least 35 homes a year or more homes than 90% of the agents in their market. Getting that kind of business takes hard work and a good reputation!

Closing Time

No, not last call. We’re talking about how long an agent takes to help a client buy or sell a home. There’s no guarantee they can meet a certain timeframe, but you can at least get an idea of what to expect—which is helpful if you’re trying to sell your home fast.

Accurate Pricing

You’ll have to do some simple math for this one. Ask an agent the average asking price and final sales price of homes they’ve listed. Then divide the final price by the asking price to get the sale-to-list ratio. The closer an agent’s sale-to-list ratio is to 100%, the more accurate their pricing.

Sellers, you’re looking for a real estate agent whose ratio is at or over 100%. That means you’ve got a better chance of getting the asking price—or more—for your house.

Buyers, you want an agent with a sale-to-list ratio below 100%. That means they’re a good negotiator who can likely help you get a good deal.

Communication and Customer Service

Look, you shouldn’t have to wait five days for a real estate agent to return your call or reply to a text. Bad communication could cost you opportunities, and then you’re both missing out! You need a responsive agent.

And look for someone who will tell you the truth about a home or even your own expectations. The last thing you need is an agent who gives you false expectations about your home. Like it or not, it’s in your best interest for them to call it like they see it.

Contracts

When you hire a real estate agent, you’ll have to sign a contract that lays out the terms for using their services and sets expectations for what they will—or won’t—do. A good contract helps protect the agent and you.

But be wary of agents who want to lock you into a lengthy contract you can’t get out of or charge you a cancellation penalty if they drop the ball. Also, know that some agents charge a termination fee to cover their marketing costs.

Cost

How much real estate agents get paid varies, but it’s usually around 3% of the sale price. (Usually, the seller pays the whole 6% for their agent and the buyer’s agent.) If an agent tries to charge way more, they could be trying to rip you off. And if they lowball the price, that may mean they don’t know what they’re doing.

4. Ask for referrals.

Okay, now you know who you’re looking for—time to start searching! To find a great real estate agent, you need to look in the right places:

- Use a referral program you trust to vet agents for you—like our Endorsed Local Providers (ELP) program.
- Research online to learn more about real estate agents in your area.
- Talk to former clients about their experience with an agent to find out the good, the bad and the ugly.
- Visit open houses so you can meet potential agents and see how they work.

But there’s one place not to look: Don’t hire a friend or relative as your real estate agent. Sure, you may think you’d feel more comfortable with someone you know, but it gets uncomfortable real quick.

For example, you may not want them peeking into your personal finances (like how much money you make). And if they make a mistake, it could cost you both tens of thousands of dollars. Can you face that tension every time you see this person? Are you willing to fire a friend who does a bad job?

Heck no! So don’t make the mistake of hiring family or settling for a mediocre agent (especially if that’s the same person). You can find a top real estate agent who’s helped hundreds of people—and who you won’t see at Thanksgiving.

5. Interview at least three real estate agents.

So now that you’ve got some referrals (not your cousin Rebecca), how do you choose a real estate agent? You won’t pick the best one by flipping a coin, that’s for sure. You need to interview multiple agents. Yes—we said interview.

Remember, home purchases and sales are expensive legal transactions! If you want a true professional on your side, set the bar high.

Fortunately, separating the pros from the duds isn’t rocket science. You just need to ask the right questions. We’ve covered the 10 most important questions to ask your real estate agent, but here’s a quick recap:

- How long have you been a full-time agent in my market?
- How many homes do you close on per year?
- How will you help me buy or sell a home in this market?
- How will you communicate with me, and who’ll be my primary contact?

What sets you apart from other real estate agents?

What’s your commission fee?

Do I have to sign a contract with you, and can I cancel without penalty?

Who can I contact for a reference? (Be sure to get previous clients on this list.)

How do you set realistic expectations for your clients?

Asking questions like these sends the message that you’re serious about finding a real estate agent you trust. And the ones who aren’t worth your time will usually fire themselves before you even have a chance to hire them.

If you want to know anything else, now’s the time to speak up! A great agent will patiently and thoroughly answer your questions.

6. Hire someone you actually like.

Expertise matters, but so does chemistry! You’ll spend a ton of time with your real estate agent over the next couple months. So while you don’t have to be best friends—in fact, it’s better if you’re not—you do need to gel with them, so to speak.

Even if they’re checking all the right boxes, you still need to ask yourself: Do I like and trust this person? Do they help lower my stress? Do they answer my questions and have a clear plan? The right agent will do all these things—not run around like a chicken with its head cut off.

How to Find a Real Estate Agent You Can Trust

Chances are, you already know a few real estate agents who’d be happy to help buy or sell your home. But with so much money on the line, it’s important to find the best agent for you.

Don’t settle when you’re choosing a pro. Find the right real estate agent!

Making The Dream Reality

Everyone has a dream they want to come true in life. Whether it’s having the Ultimate job, living where you’ve always wanted, starting a family or a combination of all these, our aspirations motivate us to pursue these passions and interests. But reaching your dreams starts by setting goals for yourself and having the tenacity and initiative to achieve them.

Real Estate Closing and Beyond

Closing and Beyond

Closing is the phase in the home selling process when money and documents are transferred in order to transfer ownership of the property to the buyer.

The closing date is the date ownership of the property is officially transferred from the seller to the buyer; it’s an exciting moment. The home closing process is all of the steps that are outlined in the sale contract that must happen from the time you accept the buyer’s offer to the closing date.

Steps to closing on a house?

You’ve finished negotiations and accepted an offer from a buyer. Congratulations! Now, there are a few things to take care of:

Do a title search and obtain title insurance

Your closing agent will order a title search, which is a review of public records to make sure you’re the legal owner of your property. If there are any claims or judgments against the property, the title search should uncover them. These issues must be resolved for the sale to move forward.

Unlike homeowners insurance which helps protect against future events like a fire, title insurance helps protect against past events affecting your home. For example, if you later found out the home you purchased has a lien for unpaid bills, title insurance would typically have you covered.

There are generally two types of title insurance in a home sale: a policy for the new owner and a policy for the lender. The party responsible for paying each policy varies by state and even county. In some cases, buyers and sellers can haggle over who pays each cost.

Complete the home inspection

A home inspection Home Inspection isn’t required, but many buyers insist on it to ensure there are no hidden problems with the property. The inspection will take place shortly after you accept the buyer’s offer.

If your home is in need of any repairs, let your agent know if you haven’t already done so. They may recommend that you make these repairs before the home inspection to avoid any potential issues.

An inspection will typically examine the safety, functionality, and quality of the home’s features. Here are some of the most common items our home assessment team looks for.

Depending on the contingencies outlined in the sale contract, the buyer can ask you to remedy any major repairs before closing or ask for a price reduction to cover the costs of making the repairs. You can choose to skip the work and have the buyer handle any repairs after you move out. You can credit the buyer to cover the costs, which are often lower than engaging repair vendors yourself.

Don’t forget lender appraisal

If the buyer is borrowing money for the purchase, the mortgage lender will arrange for a professional appraisal. This is done so the lender can be confident that the amount of money it’s lending to the buyer is in line with the market value of the home in case the lender needs to repossess the house. The appraisal is based on the estimated value of the home’s individual features, as well as comparable homes that have sold recently nearby.

If your home appraises below the sale price, lenders are unlikely to approve a loan to the buyer for that amount. If this happens, you will either have to ask the buyer to make up the difference, lower the sale price, or challenge the appraisal.

Final walk-through

The final walk-through typically occurs 24-48 hours before closing. The buyer and their agent will walk through the property one last time to make sure everything is in order.

They will check that all required repairs have been made, that the property is clean and damage-free, and that all of your possessions have been removed unless you’ve arranged for certain items to stay. If the buyer discovers anything problematic, you’ll need to address it or the closing might be delayed.

Finalizing the sale on the closing date

The closing date is when the sale transaction is officially completed. You will sign a lot of paperwork, including signing the deed to the property over to the buyer. Don’t be afraid to ask your attorney or escrow agent about any documents you don’t understand. You have the right to know what you’re signing.

The closing will take place at the office of your escrow agent, title agent, or attorney. Depending on your state, you might not be required to attend the closing. Ask your real estate agent or attorney if your attendance is mandatory, or if you may sign the paperwork ahead of time. If so, your agent or attorney will provide it at the closing.

Once all paperwork has been signed and funds have been disbursed, the buyer is officially the new owner of the property.

What should you bring on the closing date?

You don’t need to bring much to the closing: usually just a government-issued photo ID, the keys to the property, and any outstanding documents and paperwork your attorney or escrow agent instructs you to bring. These may include documents showing you’ve completed all repairs requested by the buyer.

How long does the closing process take?

The full closing process, from the initial offer acceptance to the closing date, takes an average of 50 days, according to Realtor.com.

In a traditional sale, the buyer’s lender will be originating and underwriting the loan. This is a time-consuming process the lender undertakes to determine if the buyer qualifies for the loan. The underwriting process is one of the major things that can delay a closing.

The National Association of Realtors reports that nearly one-third of all closings are delayed, so be prepared for that possibility. Common issues that delay closing beyond buyer financing issues include title issues, home inspection issues, and home appraisal issues.

What are the seller’s responsibilities during closing?

Both parties have obligations to fulfill under the sales contract. During the closing process, you’ll typically be required to:

Remove all your possessions from the property, unless they’re specified to stay under the contract. Major appliances, for instance, are sometimes negotiated into a deal.
Make any repairs you have agreed to make.
Clean the home right before the closing date. A good rule of thumb is to leave it as clean as you’d like to find it if you were the buyer. (Typically required unless the home is sold in as-is condition.)

These items aren’t typically required but they’re either a good idea to consider or a nice gesture for the new owner:

Notify subscription services, creditors and acquaintances of your new address and set up mail forwarding.
Collect any manuals and warranties you have for items in the home, such as the HVAC system and any appliances you’re leaving behind. Leave them on the kitchen counter for the buyer, along with any spare keys and garage door openers.
Shut off water valves to prevent any leaks between the time the buyer takes possession and the time they actually move in.

Some states and municipalities have additional requirements, so check with your real estate agent or attorney. For example, your state may require a septic system inspection, or a smoke and carbon monoxide detector certificate.

What are the buyer’s responsibilities during closing?

During the closing process, buyers are typically required to:

Make an “earnest money” deposit into an escrow account, where funds allocated for closing costs will be held by a third party until the closing date.
Provide any documentation and information requested by the lender in the loan underwriting process.
Obtain homeowners insurance. Many mortgage lenders require evidence of coverage to approve the loan.
Arrange for utilities to be transferred into their name effective on the closing date.
Perform a final walk-through.

Takeaways

The closing process is everything that happens from when you accept an offer until the close date, the date when ownership of the home is officially transferred to the buyer.
Closing costs can add up to a significant percentage of the sale. Fortunately, many of the costs that you’ll incur as a home seller are deducted from your proceeds from the sale. As long as you have sufficient equity in the home, you likely won’t need to come up with cash out-of-pocket.
There can be a lot of steps to the closing process, which may take an average of 50 days.

Certified Probate & Trust Specialist

As a Certified Probate & Trust Specialist you can rest assured that as a Real estate professional, I have the understanding of the Probate transaction and can represent sellers or buyers in probate transactions, as well as investors looking to purchase probate properties.

Seller Financing

With credit tight, the housing market glutted, sellers desperate and bargains to be had, more homebuyers and sellers are considering the idea of having all or part of the purchase price of a house financed by the owner. There are pros and cons for buyers and sellers, so here’s the scoop.

Why Seller Financing Now?

“Changes in the market make seller financing very attractive for both buyers and sellers,” says Todd Huettner, a Denver-based mortgage broker. “Many buyers can no longer qualify for an affordable loan, and sellers can be more competitive in a crowded market by offering buyers the option.”

As the economic downturn continues, owner financing will only increase, based on the current market trend. “Without a good credit score, buyers are locked out of a mortgage, and many conventional loans now require a down payment of 20 percent of the purchase price,” adding that when interest rates reached 18 percent in the late 1970s and early 1980s, owner financing was often the only game in town.

Advantages of Seller Financing

For buyers:

It helps alleviate the need for jumbo loans that can hamstring a buyer, says Rudy Rodriguez of California Life Properties in California;
Seller financing can also cover closing costs, which require ready cash that some buyers lack;
It allows a buyer to purchase a house when there are no other financing options.

For sellers:

Owners can move a property more quickly;
A seller can often get a better return on his/her investment than other assets would generate;
A house becomes more attractive to buyers if they don’t have to worry about obtaining financing.

For everyone involved in a home sale, and the market as a whole:

The deal can close more quickly;
A sale means one less vacant house in the neighborhood, which enhances the value of the home and the neighborhood;
It keeps a house out of foreclosure, which is expensive and can take up to a year to complete.

Disadvantages of Seller Financing

For buyers:

The seller may not report to the credit bureaus, meaning that timely payments don’t necessarily improve a buyer’s credit score.

For sellers:

Money is still tied up in real estate;
The seller is paid over the length of the mortgage instead of in one lump sum;
If the buyer defaults, the seller is left holding the bag.

Firsthand Experience

Rudy Rodriguez decided to offer seller financing in July 2003 to a buyer for an investment property in San Antonio, TX. He wanted to diversify his investment portfolio and produce monthly income over a period of time. “Assuming you have a qualified mortgagee, the return is better than interest in a money market or high-yield savings account or a CD,” he said. Rudy and the buyer agreed to a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (similar to bank terms) and he has generally been pleased with the results.

When Michael Soon Lee of Dublin, Calif., decided to buy a house in the mid-1990s, he could have gone to a bank, but instead he opted for owner financing. He received an interest rate that was 2 percent below the standard rate at the time for a seven-year, interest-only loan, and he didn’t have to pay any bank fees, which would have cost him an additional $7,200 on top of the loan amount. “It was much faster than going to a conventional lender,” Lee said, adding that he probably would not have qualified for a conventional loan since he owned too many investment properties at the time.

Is Seller Financing Right for You?

There’s no question that the seller assumes more of a risk than the buyer when it comes to owner financing. If you want to sell your home and are thinking about offering financing to a potential buyer, but you’re nervous about the prospect, consider your circumstances.

“Some sellers go for owner financing if they have equity in a house but need to sell because they can no longer afford to keep it. Although it may be risky (after all, even creditworthy owners are defaulting these days), it may be better to run the risk of holding a defaulted loan than losing your home and remaining equity to foreclosure. “Don’t make the loan unless it is a property that you want to own,” he cautions.

Whether you’re a buyer or seller, have an experienced real estate attorney review all documents. As is the case with everything, especially with something as sizable as a real estate investment, proceed with eyes wide open and know the ramifications of your decision before you sign on the dotted line.

Certified Probate & Trust Specialist

Negotiating The Deal

Negotiating Home Sale Price as a Seller

Negotiations are a two-way street when it comes to real estate transactions. In addition to prospective buyers working to get the best deal for their budget and overall goals, home sellers also have a lot of negotiating power. With the help of an experienced real estate agent, sellers can employ a variety of techniques to escalate the final purchase price for their home and secure the most favorable terms. Strategies to consider include, but are not limited to:

Bidding wars

“Highest and best offer” bids

Expiration dates on counter-offers

Rejecting offers outright

Create a Bidding War

The ultimate goal for nearly every home seller is a bidding war between buyers. This scenario drives up your home’s price — often well beyond what it was initially listed for. In today’s market, that goal is not very difficult to achieve, especially if your home is in good condition and listed at a fair market price, says Rudy Rodriguez, a Real Estate Broker Associate with California Life Properties.

“With today’s limited housing inventory, there has been a frenzy among buyers to outbid each other and drive up prices hundreds of thousands of dollars above list price,” says Rudy Rodriguez.

The competition of bidding wars can also inspire prospective buyers to offer more favorable sale terms, such as waiving home inspections and contingencies and offering longer or more flexible closing timelines.

As a seller, you can help trigger bidding wars by pricing your home slightly below market value. This will ideally attract more viewers to your property and result in more offers. Yet another approach is to create a deadline for all offers on your home, which may inspire buyers who have been on the fence to submit their offer.

Invite bidders to make their highest and best offer

Another tactic sellers may choose to employ during negotiations, particularly when there are multiple bidders, is asking prospective buyers to make their “highest and best” offer. This is also sometimes referred to as a “best and final” offer.

As a seller, employing this tactic means you’re not going to negotiate with every potential buyer who makes an offer. Instead, you want them to submit the highest price they’re willing to pay for your home, along with the best sale terms. This approach also typically includes a deadline by which prospective buyers must provide their highest and best offer. Making this request indicates to buyers that you’ve received multiple offers, and it generally results in more competitive bids.

In especially competitive markets, sellers can conceivably pursue multiple rounds of highest and best offer submissions. “This can be done more than once, so that you could continue asking for buyers to increase their offer at each round,” says Rudy Rodriguez.

Include an expiration date on counter offers

When making a counter offer as a seller, you can also include an expiration date by which the prospective buyer must respond. In a competitive situation, this can be helpful in moving negotiations along more quickly. It allows you to either get your home under contract or move on to other offers, with less waiting time.

Reject an offer outright

Though it may sound counterintuitive, as a seller you can also completely reject an offer that does not meet your needs without making any counter offer at all. While this doesn’t seem like much of a negotiation technique, the approach can actually be useful — it may entice the prospective buyer to completely revise the offer they initially submitted and develop an entirely new proposal. In the best case scenario, the new offer will be one that you feel is more competitive financially, or more in line with your goals.

How to know when to accept an offer

While bidding wars and record-breaking sale prices may seem like a dream come true to a seller, knowing when to bring negotiations to a close and finally accept an offer is crucial. Dragging negotiations out too long can cause a potential buyer to lose interest and move on.

Pursuing the highest price at all costs can backfire in other ways as well. “The danger in driving up the price sky high is that, once a seller has accepted an offer, the buyer has the power to cancel their offer and get back their deposit before contingencies are released. This can happen when a buyer feels they’ve offered more money than the property is worth,” says Rudy Rodriguez.

When trying to determine whether or not an offer is the right one to accept, be sure to review all of the terms carefully. “All offers are not good offers,” explains California–based Real Estate Broker Associate, Rudy Rodriguez -California Life Properties. “When they’re full of contingencies, such as ‘If I sell my house,’ ‘If I move’ or ‘If I obtain this new job’ — those may be red flags. Standard contingencies such as inspections are commonplace, but when the list gets to be way too long, it’s typically not in the best interest of the seller.”

In the end, the best course is to consult with your agent. An experienced listing agent knows when it’s time to stop negotiating, when you’ve reached the full potential of the sale and when you’ve secured an offer that’s worthy of accepting. After all, your goal is to finalize the deal, not to drag it out forever in the constant hope of something better.

Bottom Line

Negotiating the price of a home sale is just as important for sellers as it is for buyers. Working with an experienced real estate agent or broker, there are a variety of techniques that can help you obtain the best price possible for your home, as well as the most favorable sale terms. But be sure you know when it’s time to bring the negotiations to a close, or you risk losing the interest of prospective buyers.