What I'm thinking about: how premium properties require completely different negotiation rules—and when to draw a line in the sand.

We're under contract to sell our 50-acre TX property for $750K (bought for $400K) within 30 days. Should be feeling relief for an imminent large cash injection, right?

Instead, I'm dealing with the most nitpicking buyer I've encountered in years—and we're still not certain they'll actually close until the funds hit our account.

This isn't some desperate fire sale. We've gotten written offers every 7-10 days since listing. The previous developer spent $50K on engineering studies before walking, as the property was too flat (…what?) for their plans.

Within a week of re-listing, this cash buyer emerged, offering $750K firm.

While this was on the low end of what we hoped to get for this property, it was starting to get long in the tooth, there was more hair than we anticipated when we bought it, and the child parcel market (3 parcels of ~16.5 ac each) was less robust in reality.

So it made sense to cash out and still get an excellent return.

The $350K Profit Deal That Almost Fell Apart

The buyer pushed us on almost everything within the contract:

• Requesting timeline extensions after agreeing to 30 days
• Questioning standard survey practices
• Requesting a minimal option fee ($100) for such a large purchase
• Lying about lender requirements about needing more time to close (I called their lender directly—confirmed 30 days was fine)

My broker wanted to cuss them out. I couldn’t blame him.

But here's the strategic reality: This is a $750K premium deal with high buyer interest, not a $20K flip. The rules change at this level.

I instructed our broker to concede on most of the minor items (e.g., we’d cover “shortages in area” upon title co. review, at most a couple hundred bucks).

After days of continuing to bend for this buyer, they countered us on the contract, saying the seller would pay for a new survey “if the title company has issues.” We'd already spent $5K on a boundary survey within the last few months. They kept saying they’d need at least 45 days to close as well.

Enough was enough. I told our broker,

“Tell them in no uncertain terms—if they don't accept the survey risk, to be paid by the buyer, and don't accept our final closing timeline of 35 days, we walk.”

Full stop. Line drawn.

Fortunately, they realized we were serious, and they signed the contract within 24 hours.

Why Difficult Buyers Push Until You Push Back

Before signing the contract, they'd mentioned wanting us to move barbed wire fencing to match exact survey boundaries. We said they'd have to pay for it. They seemed to back off, so it never made it into the contract.

Then came their psychological power play: Within a week of going under contract, they're back: “We won't close unless you handle the fencing prior, though we'll cover the costs at close.”

Zero logical sense. We could hook them up with a reliable contractor, but why can’t they deal with this after closing?

The Psychological Power Play That Changed Everything

We could work with them, but the terms would need to be rigid:

• Contract price amended to reflect the cost of the work ($4,750 quote)
• If the buyer terminates, they are required to pay for the work.
• Critically, the $4,750 cost goes into escrow before we pay the contractor.
• The closing date is firm. If work isn’t done prior to close, another $1K EMD is required to go hard to extend.

The funds HAVE to be in escrow. Legal language means nothing when you know you won't sue over $5K. You have to understand what you’re willing to sue for before agreeing to any terms.

No real teeth behind contract language? Create actual financial consequences.

4 Lessons From Premium Property Negotiations

1. Premium assets deserve premium treatment. When you're getting weekly offers, you negotiate from strength. Know your BATNA and your walk-away point (do you have one?).
2. Test buyer resolve early. Difficult buyers will push until you push back. Drawing early lines reveals whether they're serious or just testing boundaries. Figure out what’s important and what’s minor before signing anything.
3. Build teeth into concessions. Strict legal language means nothing if you KNOW you won’t enforce it. Escrow accounts and hard deposits create real consequences.
4. Understand cultural negotiation patterns. Obviously a sensitive topic, and certainly not a hard and fast rule, but in our experience, this particular buyer's ethnic background tends toward aggressive pushing for psychological wins, even when requests don't make logical sense.

Recognizing this pattern helped us respond strategically and kept us on our toes, knowing there would be additional shoes to drop.

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P.S. Macro update from my partner at the $200B hedge fund: They're starting to feel more optimistic, slowly opening up deal flow after months of caution and wild market swings. And at SLC, while we're maintaining our conservative approach, the mood is definitely shifting. We're monitoring closely and feeling considerably better than we were in early April 2025 (though staying on top of the general housing correction occurring throughout much of the US).