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Hi Mike, I can't help but notice that you provided a number of variables and perspectives in your piece above, but you didn't tell us what decision you would make in this hypothetical situation. While I'm confident there's no "right" answer, I'm interested in how you would respond and why.

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Hi Mike. I loved this week's post. I actually read it at the dinner table and we had a great discussion about it. My family was also divided in terms of how we would respond. I answered C. My reason why is two-fold: 1) you taught me well in your Negotiating Complex Deals and Disputes class (and not to brag, but you did give me a I). 2) I've been through quite a few real estate negotiations in my life now (far more than the 0 when I was your student). Here's my thinking: What is my BATNA? I don't really have one. I've looked everywhere and can't afford anything else. I really need to make this deal work or I will not get any vacation cabin at all. This is my one chance to fulfill my dream, at least in the near term. So my goal is to make them take down the for sale sign ASAP and disregard anyone else who would come knocking on their door. What can I do to make sure I guarantee a deal is done here and still stay under my $275k budget. Simple. Make the owner feel like they are getting an awesome deal and want to close NOW. I have $65k to play with where we will both be thrilled and get exactly what we want. It is the definition of a win win. The one other build is that residential real estate deals are highly emotional. Having been in this house for so long, they are likely to have a high attachment to the house. I would be very clear about how much I love the house too, how I'll take care of it for them, etc. Then I'll put my money where my mouth is to show them I really mean it. So my response would be "I absolutely love this house. You've done a beautiful job with it and I can feel the love here. I will care for this house for you as my own and love it the way you have. But to me that means it is worth more than you are asking. I'd like to offer you $240k and get you agree to sell to me now. Take down the for sale sign and we'll get this deal done ASAP." In my mind, there's no way I lose the house with this plan. With options A and B, it could fall through as soon as someone knocks on the door with a bigger offer. And I don't want to get into a bidding war where the price goes up to a FMV that I can't afford.

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Hi Michael, thanks for the interesting task. I selected the option " inform the owner that the price is lower than market " and added in comments it would be good to know why this price was on the table. There is an option that the owner needs money immediately, on the other hand, it could be that a lot of renovation work to be done and it was not visible. Also it is possible that the money, in reality, does not play a huge role but the owner ( I assumed the owner is male) would like to sell to a "right"person. And finally, there could exist neighbours which are difficult to live with... so the option list can be long. Also I agree with Dave's comment below - what would be your response?

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