Home Seller Factors

Working as a home seller can be a frustrating experience, given how long it can take for a sale to close before finally being able to take the commission you’ve earned for your work. But by preparing yourself for several different possibilities, you can lessen the frustration by being aware of what issues might pop up over the course of getting to the sale. Here are a few Home Seller Factors that might come up in the process.

Commission Advance Cost?

700x400_1 - Green Background

How much does a commission advance cost?

 

This is usually the first and most important question to real estate brokers and agents who inquire about commission advances. This is a very reasonable question, but not a simple one.

While other companies have flat fee or fixed pricing based on the amount requested for an advance, Express Cash Flow don’t operate that way. This is almost always to the benefit of the agent requesting the advance.  A one-size fits all approach doesn’t take into account the different variables of a real estate transaction.  It also doesn’t factor in experienced agents and inexperienced agents. If no two transactions and no two agents are exactly alike, then it makes sense that those transactions have different risks. If they have different risks, then it would only make sense that those different risks resulted in different pricing. So, what are the different risks, and how do they affect the commission advance cost?

Transaction Risk
No matter how solid a real estate deal seems, there is always the chance that it could fall apart. Sometimes a buyer is unable to qualify for financing, or has a cash emergency. While this is rare and unfortunate, it does happen. There are a number of hurdles to each transaction, and any of them can be its undoing. As such, an advance requested early in the lifespan of the transaction will always be more expensive.

Agent Risk
While there will always be risks associated with a transaction, we also measure your production history as a real estate agent or broker and the risk associated with a replacement transaction should your transaction fall apart. The more history of closed transactions you have, the lower our risk, and the lower your pricing will be.

Delay Risk
It is also entirely possible that there will be delays.  Because of this, we have to have protection from these delays since close of escrow date determines pricing. So, the only fees you will ever see besides our initial quoted fee is if your property does not close escrow on time. Note, however, that the close of escrow date we agree on does not have to be the same as the close of escrow date on the purchase agreement. In order to avoid these fees, you can project a close of escrow date after the scheduled close of escrow, which is a savvy, cost saving move.

Conclusion
There is only one right answer to our most frequent question “How much does a Commission Advance Cost?” That is, we don’t know yet, but would be happy to look at your scenario individually.  If you’re able to provide us all of the details, we should be able to give you a ballpark price.  The good news is, unlike some of our competitors, we give you the full amount you ask for and are paid back only at close of escrow, so our interests are aligned with yours throughout the transaction.

About Us:
Express Cash Flow provides commission advances for real estate agents and brokers. Check us out at www.ExpressCashFlow.com or call us at 844-818-2274.

Negotiation Image

Real Estate Negotiation

Much is often made of being the best salesperson, or persuading the other party in a negotiation to conform to your every desire. However, not all negotiations are a zero sum game, requiring one party to lose exactly as much as the other party wins. In real estate negotiation, this is in fact very rarely the case. It is very uncommon for a lopsided negotiation the result of one intelligent and informed party persuading another intelligent and informed party to do something against their will. Much more common is the scenario in which a solution is created to solve a problem, and both parties come out ahead. That’s what we’ll be focusing on here.

There are 3 basic principles to adhere to when entering a real estate negotiation:
1: Know the problem
2: Ensure the other party commits to a structure first
3: Keep the negotiation alive

Know the Problem

All transactions take place because two parties wanted to change their status quo. Unlike financial markets though, the motivations for real estate transactions are not always as transparent. Buying at the lowest point and selling at the highest are not always the primary concern for transaction participants, there may be other things in play, such as the desire to live in a specific neighborhood or style of home. On the other side, the desire to sell a home may be driven by needing to pay off other expenses, increasing motivation beyond the desire to achieve the highest price. If this is the case, the driving factor in the negotiation is not price at all; it is a bill that needs to be paid. Finding out exactly how much that bill is, in a nice way, can go a long way towards getting the best result on the buyer side (the lowest price). Conversely, there might be a tax issue caused that either requires the buyer to close very quickly or the seller to prefer to take a deferred payment (carry back), having this flexibility as a buyer will allow the lowest possible price.

First Mover Disadvantage

There are, unsurprisingly, many schools of thought on negotiation. While it is true that as a seller, you have a list price which theoretically anchors the real estate negotiation, it is also the case that both buyer and seller can force the other party to commit to a structure first, and that there is an advantage in doing so. As a seller, this is easy. Simply let the buyer make an offer, and if you are not comfortable with the structure, require (via a counter offer) that the buyer restructure their offer on more suitable terms. Notice, that while price is one of the issues to figure out in a negotiation, it certainly isn’t the only one. Many times too much of a focus on price will adversely affect other terms, such as who pays for services such as escrow, title, or repairs. As a buyer, it is trickier to make the seller commit first, but can be done. The approach that works best is to come up with an offer that is low enough that the seller must counter, but not so low that the seller is offended and ignores it completely. Striking this balance can be challenging, but the rewards make it very much worth trying for.

Negotiation Image

Keep the Real Esate Negotiation Going

This seems like a simple point, but it can often be difficult to remember during a contentious negotiation. No matter how badly you want something, and no matter how far apart you are from the other party, you are always closer to putting a deal together if talks remain open. It can be very tempting to respond with an emotional counter offer (taking only a nominal amount off the listing price, writing in all caps, etc), but anything that is done to antagonize the other party will usually come back in the form of a lost negotiation. So, whether you take the time to thoroughly respond to an offer you might think is frivolous, or call for clarification when there starts to be a disconnect as opposed to shutting of lines of communication, it can only help. This is one instance where a real estate negotiation is not a zero sum game, and everyone benefits if the negotiation continues.

About Us:

Express Cash Flow provides commission advances for real estate agents and brokers. Check us out at www.ExpressCashFlow.com or call us at 844-818-2274.