Substitute “Boundaries” for “Fences”
Just as good fences make good neighbors, in real estate deals, well-defined boundaries make for better, stronger deals.
Getting to “Yes” is certainly a key part of any deal.
But, getting to “No” — make that “No’s,” plural — is an even bigger part.
See, “The Key to Successful Negotiating: Getting to ‘Yes’? Or, “Getting to ‘No.’”
Tempered Deals & Inspection “Issues”
As in, “No, I won’t come up/down to that price.”
Or, “No, I can’t do an earlier/later closing date.”
Or, “No, I won’t discount the price — or not as much as you want — for the inspection issues you raised” (sometimes, inspection “issues” is more like it).
“Failing Fast” vs. “Failing Slow”
Until such boundaries have been drawn — and respected — no deal is really solid.
Which means there’ll necessarily be an interim period of testing, probing, etc., as part of the overall negotiation.
In fact, the art of strategically (and professionally) setting such boundaries is the very essence of negotiating.
Real estate or otherwise.
P.S.: Of course, some deals will fail a negotiation test — and collapse (at least temporarily).
But then, it’s better to find that out as fast as possible (in Silicon Valley, “failing fast” is infinitely preferable to “failing slow”).
