Based on recent sales in the neighborhood, we agreed that the house was optimistically priced – i.e. overpriced.   My buyer decided to make an offer for the house that was approximately 8% less than the asking price but actually almost 1% MORE than the most recent sale that had taken place in the neighborhood.  We submitted the offer, with a letter from a lender saying that the buyer was financially well qualified and did not need to sell his home in order to purchase this new home.  The buyer asked for settlement to occur 90 days after settlement and asked for the seller to leave the Murphy bed that was attached to a wall in the basement bedroom. 

After waiting three days and being promised a response momentarily, the seller’s agent called to tell me that the seller was not going to respond at all because the offer was too far off.  The seller did not want to leave the Murphy bed, wanted an earlier settlement date, and was not willing to accept our offering price. I asked why the seller didn’t just say that the Murphy bed did not convey, name an earlier settlement date, and counter on the offering price.   The seller’s agent repeated that we were too far apart.

I confess that I was nonplussed that the seller wouldn’t counter at all. To my mind, we had made a very fair opening offer.  It was $5000 more than the most recent sale (and that house was updated with a new kitchen and baths) although the house for sale was 50 feet bigger than the one that had sold.  We had offered a non-contingent offer with a qualified buyer and a longer settlement date, picked out of respect for the seller’s age.  (The seller is moving from her home of 20 years into an independent living facility.)

After waiting two days, my client reopened the negotiations with a new offer.  The settlement date was changed to 60 days, the Murphy bed was struck from the initial offer and the offering price was left unchanged.  The buyer was not willing to counter his initial offer on price and bid against himself before the seller made a counter offer on price. 

Three days later, the seller countered.  The settlement date was cut down to 45 days and the price counter was about 2% less than the asking price.  The seller also asked for an increase in the earnest money and to shorten the time for the house inspection and the radon inspection.

My client is still hanging in there, so we countered again. The buyer was willing to settle on the seller’s requested date, increase the earnest money, and do the house inspection in a condensed time frame.  He also was prepared to make an offer that was very close to the top of his ability to pay. 

We talked about the nature of the seller’s personality and whether the seller would need another counter to be satisfied.  I thought that the seller had at least one more counter to give.  Therefore we made an offer that was slightly less than he was actually willing to pay so that the seller could make an additional counter.  

I will keep you posted on how it turns out.

There are several things to keep in mind when negotiating to buy a home in the DC area. 

1. Try not to go back and forth more than twice. Don’t annoy each other by prolonging the negotiations.
2.  Focus on the strengths of the offer – is it non-contingent? Is the buyer qualified?
3. Find out what is important to the seller and what is important to the buyer.
4. Don’t get lost in the minutiae of the offer.  You can counter on settlement date, price, terms.
5. It is important to keep talking and moving toward closure.
6. Eliminate each area of conflict one at a time, and focus on the ultimate goal of resolving the difference.

If you want to buy or sell a house in DC, Bethesda, or Chevy Chase, give Lise Howe a call. After years of negotiating for the US Government, she can negotiate a successful transaction for you too!

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