Negotiation FAQ
Is an estate agent a real estate negotiator?
No. Only a
lawyer can
properly
negotiate a real estate sale. A true negotiator is someone who represents another person in
negotiations
, and avoids situations of
conflicting interests
. The
estate agent
conducts a one-person
negotiation
- first acting for the purchaser, and then acting for the vendor.
The
estate agent
completes the purchaser's offer on behalf of the purchaser. She will even go so far as to provide legal advice to the purchaser in terms of what
special conditions
may suit the purchaser's circumstances. She then delivers the purchaser's offer to the vendor's representative - herself! On behalf of the vendor she checks the purchaser's offer, determines whether or not it should be accepted by the vendor, then advises the vendor to accept the offer.
When the same person represents both parties in sale
negotiations
there is no true
negotiation
- there is, however, a
conflict of interests
.
How does an auctioneer "negotiate" with the highest bidder?
No-one knows the answer to this question. If an underbidder holds off bidding until the auction stalls, and is then prepared to offer a bit more than the highest bidder, what status does the highest bidder have? What more can be
negotiated
if the highest bidder is not prepared to offer more than the late-comer?
Like so many of the tricks and
deceptions
associated with real estate auctions, the notion that a buyer must bid in order to achieve status as the "highest bidder" in order to be the first to
negotiate
does not stand up to scrutiny.
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