Press Release

Weichert, Realtors® Stresses Agent's Role in Negotiating for Customers

MORRIS PLAINS, N.J. – Suppose that, after months of looking, you excitedly find the perfect home but, to your dismay, the seller is holding firm to a price that could stretch your budget to the breaking point. Or imagine yourself as a seller, just weeks away from closing on a new home, when you learn that your own home’s sale is in jeopardy due to home inspection issues.  

In today’s real estate market, where emotionally charged situations like those happen daily, Weichert, Realtors® sees helping buyers and sellers come to a meeting of the minds as a highly valuable element of the company’s full-service approach.   

“Never underestimate what a trained negotiator can accomplish,” said James M. Weichert, president.  “One of the most effective services our sales associates provide is acting as an intermediary to find solutions that benefit both parties and that keep the home sale on course.”

As an example, Weichert cited a couple who fell in love with a colonial home that, at $1.2 million dollars, was hundreds of thousands of dollars above the highest price they could afford to offer.  What some might have seen as a price gap too big to bridge was surmounted by the Weichert associate, who followed a prescribed negotiating strategy.  

Before presenting the buyers’ best offer, he completed a comprehensive Weichert Price Trend Analysis and also pulled up-to-the-minute market data from the local Multiple Listing Service.  The analysis confirmed that the buyers’ intended offer was fair and reasonable.  Thus armed, he was able to credibly show both the sellers and their agent that his buyers’ offer of $950,000 was, indeed, a good one worth accepting.  The win-win outcome allowed the buyers to purchase their dream home and enabled the sellers to relocate together, rather than having the wife stay behind until their home was sold.  

In the hands of a trained negotiator, Weichert said, there are many ways to bridge gaps separating buyers and sellers.  Often a buyer’s offer can be strengthened by offering concessions on issues other than price that are important to the sellers.  A careful evaluation of the situation might reveal, for instance, that the sellers would look favorably on a lower offer if coupled with a quick closing date that would avoid the financial burden of carrying two mortgages.  Or the buyer might opt to forego a home inspection contingency, provided that the seller purchase a Weichert Home Protection Plan that would cover specified home systems and major appliances for the buyer’s first year of ownership. 

Weichert said, “Surveys typically rank negotiating ability far down the list of what people look for in a real estate agent.  Experience tells us it belongs up near the top.”

The importance that Weichert, Realtors places on negotiating skills is seen in the extensive agent training program developed by its educational arm, Weichert University.  Weichert sales associates hone their negotiating expertise through a reinforcing mix of learning experiences that include an online course on “The Art of Negotiation,” an intensive workshop that emphasizes role-playing and skills practice, and ongoing weekly training spotlighting proven tips and techniques. 

Weichert has nearly 19,000 sales associates in more than 430 company-owned and franchised sales offices in key markets throughout the U.S.  A family of full-service real estate and financial services companies, Weichert helps customers buy and sell both residential and commercial real estate, and streamlines the delivery of mortgages and home and title insurance. For more information, call Weichert's customer service center at 1-800-USA-SOLD or visit Weichert's Web site, www.weichert.com. Each Weichert franchised office is independently owned and operated.