The good news is that an escrow agent who specializes in this period and process should be involved. The escrow agent serves as a third party who enjoys a neutral state between seller and buyer and helps provide assurance to both parties. The escrow agent is also heavily involved in the actual transaction to ensure the clauses of the offer will be met completely, accurately, and satisfactorily. Further, the escrow agent serves as the manager of the trust account that holds the funds that will cover the value of the transaction. You might be wondering how long the money that you will deposit remains “in escrow.” The money collected from the buyer is held in escrow until the seller completes their obligations and transfers the title over to the buyer. After this transfer is authorized, verified, and completed, the payment is then remitted to the seller. The “good faith” or “earnest” money is used to cover some of the down payment, the purchase price, and the closing costs.
Step 9: Negotiate with the Seller
The negotiation process in real estate transactions is one of the key steps for both the buyer and the seller. While the seller and listing agent want to sell the home for the reasonably highest amount they can, the buyer and the buyer’s agent want to get the best deal that they can. It can feel like a competition, and this is where negotiations come into play. For many buyers, this is the toughest and most challenging aspect of purchasing a home, to the point of becoming exhausting. It’s especially difficult to navigate if you don’t have a good buyer’s agent who’s skilled in negotiation tactics. In fact, this is one of the biggest reasons that we recommend hiring a real estate agent — negotiation! But you should also learn negotiation skills yourself. There are strategies and tactics you can learn and use when you are involved in the home-buying process, and we discuss these in
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