I have a question.

When did real estate agents forget how to negotiate?

Negotiating used to be one of the fundamental skills of being a Realtor. You represented your client, gathered information, put together an offer, presented it, received a response, and figured out the next move.

Offer. Counteroffer. Counter-counteroffer.

You know… negotiating.

Apparently, somewhere along the way, that became a lost art.

I’m currently involved in a transaction on a unique luxury property in Windermere, Florida, and what has happened over the past couple of months is a perfect example of why experience—and actual negotiating ability—matters.

For obvious reasons, I’m changing identifying details. Let’s call the buyer’s agent “Angela.”

“What’s the Lowest the Seller Will Take?”

Angela showed the property several times.

Then the phone calls started.

“What’s the lowest the seller will take?”

A few days later:

“What’s the lowest the seller will take?”

And again:

“What’s the lowest the seller will take?”

It’s not an unreasonable question to ask.

But why would a listing agent simply negotiate against his own seller?

Unless my seller has specifically authorized me to disclose a number, my answer is pretty simple:

Make an offer.

Tell me what your buyer is willing to pay. Put the terms in writing. Let me present those terms to my seller, and then we can negotiate.

That’s how this works.

In fact, Florida Realtors notes that a transaction broker’s limited confidentiality includes not disclosing that a seller will accept less than the price presented unless authorized to do so.

There is a reason for that.

I represent my client’s interests. I’m not there to tell the other side exactly where the finish line is before the race even starts.

Put It in Writing

For weeks, I kept encouraging Angela to have her buyer put an offer in writing.

I had discussed the buyer’s general interest with my seller, and the seller’s response was essentially:

If they’re serious, have them make an offer. We’ll look at it.

That’s a perfectly reasonable response.

There is also an important distinction between talking about numbers and actually having an enforceable real estate agreement.

Under Florida law, a contract for the sale of real property generally must be in writing and signed by the party against whom enforcement is sought. A conversation about what somebody might pay or might accept isn’t the same thing as having an executed contract.

More importantly from a practical standpoint, a written offer tells everyone exactly what is being proposed.

Price.

Financing.

Deposits.

Inspection period.

Closing date.

Concessions.

Contingencies.

Furniture or personal property.

All of it matters.

Price is only one piece of a real estate offer.

Finally, We Got an Offer

After roughly a month and a half of conversations, the written offer finally arrived.

Three days after she said it was coming.

And there were problems with it.

But at least we finally had something on paper that the seller could actually evaluate.

I presented it to my seller, we discussed the entire offer, and the seller decided to counter.

Great.

Now we’re negotiating.

I sent the counteroffer back to Angela.

Her response was essentially:

“That’s more than the buyer wants to pay. Will you ask the seller if they’ll go lower?”

Wait.

No.

Your buyer needs to counter.

The seller just made a counteroffer. If your buyer doesn’t like that number, talk to your buyer and determine what number and terms they are willing to accept.

Then send us another counteroffer.

That’s the negotiation.

I Was Explaining Negotiating From Greece

At this point, I happened to be traveling in Greece.

And there I was, thousands of miles away from Windermere, politely explaining over the phone how an offer and counteroffer work.

I wasn’t trying to be difficult.

Quite the opposite.

I wanted to get the property sold.

My seller wanted to see whether we could make a deal.

The buyer obviously liked the house.

We had two parties who appeared to have genuine interest in getting something done.

The missing ingredient seemed to be someone on the buyer’s side actually moving the negotiation forward.

So I explained:

Take the seller’s counteroffer back to your buyer.

Talk to them.

Find out where they’re willing to go.

Put it in writing.

Send it back.

Let’s negotiate.

Eventually, that’s what happened.

Negotiation Isn’t Asking the Other Agent to Do Your Job

This is where I think some agents misunderstand the role.

Negotiation isn’t repeatedly asking the listing agent:

“What’s the lowest they’ll take?”

It also isn’t saying:

“My buyer doesn’t like your counter. Will you ask your seller to lower it again?”

There are certainly times when agents can have productive conversations behind the scenes. I do it all the time. Good agents communicate. We try to understand what’s important to both sides. We look for ways to bridge gaps.

But there’s a difference between communicating and expecting the other agent to negotiate against their own client.

If I represent the seller, my responsibility is to help my seller make the best decisions possible.

If you represent the buyer, your job is to help your buyer determine what they’re willing to do.

Then we bring those two positions together and see whether there is a deal.

Two Months Later…

Eventually, after weeks of back-and-forth—and sometimes long stretches of absolutely nothing—we got the two sides close enough together to put a transaction together.

Something that probably could have been accomplished much sooner had taken nearly two months.

And here’s where the story gets even more interesting.

We recently had the home inspection.

This is a luxury transaction involving a purchase price approaching $2 million. At a 2.5% buyer-broker compensation amount on a $1.875 million transaction, that would represent $46,875 in compensation.

And the buyer’s agent didn’t attend the inspection.

Not even for part of it.

Now we’re waiting to see what comes next.

And yes…

I have a feeling there may be a Part Two to this story.

This Is Why Consumers Sometimes Question Real Estate Commissions

The real estate industry has spent a lot of time talking about commissions lately.

What I think gets overlooked is something much more important:

What value is the consumer actually receiving for that commission?

A good real estate agent isn’t simply someone who opens a door, sends a contract through electronic signature software, and waits for closing.

Representation means something.

It means understanding contracts.

It means understanding the market.

It means communicating.

It means anticipating problems.

It means knowing when to push and when to back off.

And yes…

It means knowing how to negotiate.

On a transaction involving hundreds of thousands—or millions—of dollars, negotiation skills aren’t an optional extra.

They’re part of the job.

Experience Matters—Especially When Things Get Complicated

I’ve been selling real estate in Central Florida since 1999, and if there’s one thing experience teaches you, it’s that almost no two transactions are identical.

Sometimes the negotiation is easy.

Sometimes it isn’t.

Sometimes you’re $5,000 apart.

Sometimes you’re $200,000 apart.

Sometimes price isn’t even the issue.

The challenge is figuring out what matters to both parties and whether there is a path that gets everyone where they need to go.

That’s especially important in luxury real estate in markets such as Windermere, Winter Garden, Ocoee, Dr. Phillips, Orlando and throughout Central Florida, where properties can be unique and there may not be another comparable home sitting around the corner.

The agent’s job isn’t to make the process harder.

The agent’s job is to help navigate it.

And sometimes that requires something that seems surprisingly old-fashioned these days:

Actually negotiating.

Stay tuned.

Something tells me this story isn’t over yet. LOL.

Thinking About Buying or Selling in Central Florida?

Whether you’re buying your first home, selling a longtime family home, relocating to Central Florida, or negotiating a luxury property, experience at the negotiating table matters.

David Dorman, Broker Associate
CENTURY 21 Carioti
2747 Maguire Rd
Ocoee, FL 34761
Phone: 407-948-8295
Email: david@daviddorman.com
Website: DavidDorman.com
Central Florida Real Estate: LiveInOrlandoFL.com

When you hire David Dorman you GET David Dorman.