Making the Offer
Pat and Kim decided to make an offer on a property. We’d looked at many houses; some great forPat, some perfect for Kim, but this was the only property both loved. As Pat said, “It doesn’t matter how muchmoney you have, buying a home is always a trade off.” Kim replied, “Yes, butthis is a win-win. We’re both giving up a little while getting what’s mostimportant to us.” As this is true forany family finding a home, there is also give and take between Buyers and Sellers.Ideally, a successful Contract is a win for everyone; both give up a little butalso get most of what they want.
We wrote the offer at a fair price, but we asked for acouple of items which made the offer a little weaker. We hoped the Sellers needed the sale badlyenough that they wouldn’t mind a long closing, paying some of our closing costsand furnishing a home warranty. Typically, Sellers look for a quick closing (amonth or less) because the longer the closing the greater the chance somethingwill happen on the way to the sale.
As my Buyers had done their research on the web, they werewell informed about the neighborhood, the schools and all kinds of demographicdata which were material to them. So they were committed to the purchase. Byfederal law, there are things a REALTOR® cannot disclose about a property. Wecannot give you any information on the make-up of a neighborhood with regardsto age, sex, religion, race, color, familial status, National Origin,disability or Marital Status. That alsomeans buyers cannot be refused a sale based on those classes. However, a REALTOR® can point clients to thesource for such answers, this is one of the reasons the Arizona Buyer’sAdvisory is so important in my state.
Unfortunately, though the Sellers were okay with ouroffering price they rejected some of our other items: the long closing date,and the home warranty. My Buyers wereangry. Pat said that there were plenty other houses in the area and that weshould just walk. Kim wasn’t so sure.Kim wondered how the Sellers could risk the sale for the price of a homewarranty and a couple of extra weeks.
I remembered an experience I had when I lived in India. Iran a kitchen there for several years and occasionally I would purchase largequantities of grain in the market, sometime several thousands of kilos. Thefirst time I went to the market I assumed my purchase would be so large themerchants would be ecstatic over the sale. To the contrary, when I walked inand placed my order they told me I could not buy in their shop. I went for awalk in the market, a little confused. A fruit Seller told me that in India arelationship must be established prior to a sale, and gave me a slice of mango.So I went back to the shop and asked if the owners would mind having tea withme as I was very thirsty. We had a wonderful conversation and later completedthe sale (I also bought a dozen mangos from my fruit seller later that day).Sometimes, I learned, the other party needs a conversation, but a relationshipis always a plus.
I suggested to my Buyers that we write a cover letter explainingwhat the house meant to them, why they needed the extra time - and that we alsooffer to pay the home warranty (a very small cost compared to the house). TheSellers immediately accepted our counter offer.
For additional reading onProtected classes please see:
Fair Housing, Government HUDpage
FairHousing Primer ~ Real Town Fair Housing ~Real Estate Times
BIO and Links:
I have been a softwaretroubleshooter, an email administrator, a restaurateur, a Laser Tag Amusementbusiness creator and owner, a Faux Finisher and a decorative artist, a webdesigner, a writer, a painter an actor, a director and now I am a REALTOR®. Ihave lived around the world and in many of the States. I've been anentrepreneur for most of my life and I have tried to pursue a spiritual path inall my ordinary dealings. To my surprise I have found that by being a REALTOR®and adhering to the REALTOR® code of Ethics I can live the ideals I have alwaysbelieved. Who knew?
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