While showing one of our listings to a buyer’s agent and her clients today, she asks me the following questions:

Q1: So, is this house a short sale, or a foreclosure?

Me: Uh, neither. I would have mentioned it in the listing sheet, if it were.

Q2: (After I had already mentioned to her two seconds earlier that the sellers are not aware of any material defects in the house, and have put this down in writing on the disclosure form) So, are there any problems with water in the basement?

Me: Not to the sellers’ nor my knowledge. The disclosure form is clean.

On her way out the door:

Q3: So, how flexible are the sellers?

Me: The ball is in the buyers’ court. It all starts with an offer from the buyers.

Here she was, and hadn’t even had a chance to talk with her clients to see whether or not they liked the house at all, and already she wanted to know how negotiable the sellers are. She was fortunate that I was in a good mood today, otherwise I would have asked her if she wanted to know exactly how much below asking price our clients are willing to accept.

Moral of the story: When your property is on the market for sale, and you are asked questions by a buyer’s agent or by buyers, always be sure to defer them to your real estate professional, as you may run the risk of compromising your negotiation position. Unrepresented sellers (FSBO’s) are a bit at a disadvantage here, but if you do get uncomfortable by certain questions posed to you, please defer them to your attorney.

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