Comments on: Rocky Financial Times Create Negotiating Power For Buyers? http://www.therealestatebloggers.com/2008/10/14/rocky-financial-times-create-negotiating-power-for-buyers/ Real Estate Blog, Mortgage, and Development News Fri, 20 Nov 2009 23:48:48 -0600 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.6 hourly 1 By: David Knudsen http://www.therealestatebloggers.com/2008/10/14/rocky-financial-times-create-negotiating-power-for-buyers/comment-page-1/#comment-277948 David Knudsen Wed, 15 Oct 2008 13:04:47 +0000 http://www.therealestatebloggers.com/2008/10/14/rocky-financial-times-create-negotiating-power-for-buyers/#comment-277948 In my market, the rural Catskills of upstate New York, closings take about 60 days from accepted offer. In more 'normal' times, there wouldn't be any substantial change in the economy or the local real estate market which would materially affect the value of a home during the contract peirod. But these times are very different. I don't blame buyers for trying to renegotiate if they decide to go through with a deal in an environment where buyer demand has dried up (which, in my area, has happened post-Lehman.) But its a test of wills, because buyers do have contractual obligations and if they don't proceed are likely to lose their deposit. (I'm also noticing that some buyers are hedging their bets, and looking to bind with a deposit of less than 10%.) In my market, the rural Catskills of upstate New York, closings take about 60 days from accepted offer. In more ‘normal’ times, there wouldn’t be any substantial change in the economy or the local real estate market which would materially affect the value of a home during the contract peirod. But these times are very different. I don’t blame buyers for trying to renegotiate if they decide to go through with a deal in an environment where buyer demand has dried up (which, in my area, has happened post-Lehman.) But its a test of wills, because buyers do have contractual obligations and if they don’t proceed are likely to lose their deposit. (I’m also noticing that some buyers are hedging their bets, and looking to bind with a deposit of less than 10%.)

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