Do sellers have a say when selling or its realtor driven?

Question

Hello,I am planning to put my home on sale soon,This will be my first home that I am selling so I will be taking help from realtor at the same time I wish to be on the drivers seat playing active part in negotiations as well as which prospective buyer to consider as I wish to exclude offers from buyers upfront who after making a strong offers will negotiate for substantial discounts down the road. Also I wish to read if there are any books I can read related to selling a property.Thanks

Lynnette E. · Answer

You should hire a realtor and follow the realtor's lead, especially since this is your first rodeo. Don't try to drive yet, you don't have your learner's permit. The realtor will give you all the offers. You can read through them or let him/her summarize them. You can guess which offer is backed by a person who will try to double dip and get concessions based on the inspection, but its hard to tell, unless it is someone with a reputation.If you really do not want double dipping you can put in the contract that "no repairs will be done and no concessions will be made based on the inspection. The only decision from the inspection is whether the buyer wishes to cancel the contract or proceed." I have done that when I lowered the price on one property and the buyer had a reputation to ask for concessions after inspection. Even then he asked and I referred him to the addendum that had that statement.

Lucas Martinez · Answer

It's really hard to determine which buyers will ask for credits down the road, so you won't know which offers to "exclude." One way to minimize this is to have pre-listing inspections done and included in the MLS listing. If buyers read the inspection reports before they make their offer, they can't really turn around and say they want credit for something that they should have known about before submitting an offer. It at least gives you maximum leverage in that negotiation. But at the end of the day, you should definitely work with a realtor. A good one will pay for him/herself by getting you top dollar for your property.

Michael Dumler · Answer

@Peter Morgan all offers should be presented and viewed by you. Your agent should certainly help and advise when needed, but at the end of the day, you make the final decision. Have your agent manifest sold comparables within the past 90 days to give you a sense of what the market is taking. If someone offers 30k over asking, but a similar property down the street sold for 10k over list, this will provide a better insight and awareness of a buyer's true motivation/intentions. You get the idea. Best of luck!

JD Martin · Answer

As a licensed realtor, I will advise you that the seller always has the final say when it comes to pricing terms and accepting offers. If you have a licensed agent, they have a fiduciary responsibility to you to present information in the fairest light to get the best financial results for you, both good and bad. If a licensed agent is telling you that a fair market value for your house is $X, then it should be pretty close to that number. The caveat is that an agent with less experience and knowledge of your area will make more mistakes in this area.

Joe Splitrock · Answer

You absolutely have final say in any offer or negotiation. That being said, you are selecting a real estate agent for their experience and expertise. I recommend listening to them. Here is a great book to get you started written by @Mindy Jensen https://store.biggerpockets.co...

Bruce Woodruff · Answer

@Peter Morgan Dude, it's YOUR PROPERTY! Yes, hire a great Realtor, but they ultimately do not care as much as you do about your property. Grow a set and make some decisions.....

Lynnette E. · Answer

You can talk to anyone you want. But you SHOULD not talk directly to the buyer. The reason is, in part, that some buyers are very picky and you do not want them to know anything about you or your family. You want them to place themselves in the home and not think of the previous occupants. And example, I was selling a house and a buyer found out that I had 2 special needs children. The neighbors commented to the buyers during the inspection that they were the nicest girls and were doing so well with their goals (one was learning to walk all the time instead of crawling at age ten.) The neighbor was being nice and actually liked us a lot. It made the buyer back out of the sale because this buyer was convinced that the house could cause birth defects. Now, I could have told the buyers that both of these special needs children were adopted by me at age ten years old and both were special needs well before I ever met them. Both spent almost a decade in foster care and were adopted as special needs kids. But I decided, with the realtor, to not go ahead with their contract. What if, later, they had a special needs birth? They would want to sue me. The would lose, but it still would not be fun, so why bother? Great house and neighborhood, and more buyers!Also, some buyers will try to milk extra information out of you and sometimes use it against you. Like they will try to figure out why your are moving and your schedule. Then make an offer that seems good. But then ask for extensions or concessions when they know your timeframe is near its limit and you do not have time to find a new buyer. Or later after the sale they may say the cabinet under the sink smells and they need a new kitchen to replace it. Oh, BTW you mentioned a past water leak under that cabinet. It's really better to let the realtor transfer information. Then there is a better record of what was said and not said. Plus sometimes realtors know the buyers well enough to avoid things that may make the buyer uncomfortable.

Peter Morgan · Answer

@Lynnette E.Thank you! Yes I am thinking to hire a realtor, I spoke to someone in Redfin and they seemed like a good fit after initial conversation.Also I wish to know as part of the real estate transaction, can sellers and buyers communicate directly? Since the property is owner occupied, that seems to be a possibility.