Taking Yes Full Price For an Answer
“He who governs least governs best.”
–Thomas Jefferson
“He who negotiates least negotiates best.”
–Ross Kaplan
Soviet dissident (and now Israeli politician) Natan Sharansky once explained how he and his fellow dissidents helped pass the time in solitary confinement.
Adept at Morse code and held in adjacent cells, they would take turns tapping their favorite jokes through the walls.
Eventually, however, everyone knew everyone else’s jokes.
To save time and avoid repetition, they developed their own shorthand.
So, instead of tapping the entire joke, they would just tap the punch line.
Eventually, when even that became too much, they shortened it to joke numbers (“#27!” , “#43!” and so on).
Skipping to the Punch Line
Real estate negotiations between veteran agents can be a lot like that.
Rather than engage in lots of bluster about the Comp’s (“Comparable Sold Properties”), the subject home’s appeal (or lack thereof), etc., experienced Buyers’ agents succinctly summarize their client’s offer (accentuating its strengths) . . . and then shut up.
Meanwhile, veteran listing agents (representing Sellers) will typically characterize how strong (or weak) an offer is, walk their client through the particulars, then help them formulate a thoughtful counteroffer.
Or not.
While there is a presumption that a Buyer’s first offer is seldom their best offer, there are plenty of situations where a smart Seller’s best course of action is to simply say “yes” — or at most tweak a few details before signing.
P.S.: The above also applies to resolving any inspection issues that come up.
See also, “You Know . . . Your Comp’s Are Right, Ours Are Wrong — It’s a Deal!“; and, “The Key to Successful Negotiating: ‘Getting to Yes?’ Or, ‘Getting to No?'”
