Six mistakes that hurt your real estate negotiations

Everything's negotiable in a real estate transaction. Price, closing date, who pays for new carpet in the bedrooms, whether the patio furniture comes with the house — all of it can be part of the deal.

This aspect of selling or buying property may excite or terrify you. An enthusiastic and informed negotiator could talk his way into a great price for a home, while a reluctant negotiator may agree to a boatload of reasonable-sounding concessions when selling his house. Whatever your opinion of the process of reaching consensus in a transaction, here are mistakes to avoid when negotiating a deal.

Taking it personally

Too many people let emotion dictate their negotiations. Don't get angry when a buyer presents a low offer for your home. He's not insulting you, and he doesn't think your house is a poorly maintained shack. The buyer needs to start the negotiation somewhere. He may be testing the waters to see how low you'll go. Or his negotiation tactics could have been formed in a country where negotiating is handled differently. Whatever the case, if you see the offer as an insult and choose not to counter, you may be cutting off the process that would have resulted in a sale.

On the buying side, don’t get bent out of shape if a seller rejects your offer or counters with his original asking price. You may have determined that you presented a very fair price for the house. Good for you. Try again or move on. It's not personal.

Burdening yourself

Keeping emotions out of a deal also means not feeling sorry for the other side. Everyone carries his own burdens. Don't allow others to dump theirs on you. If the seller rejects your fair offer based on "needing more money for my retirement fund," ask for a reason that's relevant to the property sale.

Exceeding your limits

What's the lowest price you’ll accept for your home? What concessions, if any, will you make? Answer these questions before you put your home on the market. For buyers, what's the absolute most you can afford? How close are you willing to come to that number?

Splitting the difference

Meeting in the middle doesn't mean that both parties get a fair deal. If a buyer offered $70,000 for your $100,000 home, you countered with $90,000, and the buyer offered to split the difference at $80,000, would you feel like you both won? Whether you're buying or selling, don't allow an extreme offer to affect your counter.

Missing the big picture

Are you willing to jeopardize the sale of your house because the buyer wants the entryway mirror to convey? As a buyer, how will your monthly payments really be affected if the seller won't drop the price another $5,000? Sometimes you have to take a step back to make sure you're not overemphasizing one detail that is standing between you and your objective.

Ignoring the big picture

Don't low-ball sellers and ask for lots of concessions in a seller's market. Likewise, don't dismiss every less-than-perfect offer for your home in a buyer's market. How do you know what the market's doing? Ask your Texas Realtor.

Your Texas Realtor can help you analyze the current market and identify an appropriate buying or selling strategy for you. For more tips on purchasing a home, I invite you to visit TexasRealEstate.com.