RENE flashcards
RENE · Build recall with a focused review session.
32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.
- BATNA
- Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement: the course a party takes if no deal is reached. It sets the true walk-away point and should be strengthened before bargaining begins.
- Zone of possible agreement
- The range between the buyer's maximum willingness to pay and the seller's minimum acceptable price. A deal is possible only where these two ranges overlap.
- Integrative bargaining
- A negotiation approach that expands available value by trading on differences in interests, priorities, timing, and risk tolerance, producing joint gains instead of dividing a fixed pie.
- Reservation price
- The walk-away point beyond which a party will not go: the highest price a buyer will pay or the lowest a seller will accept. It is derived from alternatives, not hopes.
- Thomas-Kilmann conflict modes
- Five conflict-handling styles - competing, collaborating, compromising, avoiding, and accommodating - each balancing assertiveness and cooperativeness. Collaborating suits complex, high-stakes, multi-issue negotiations.
- Active listening
- Fully attending to the speaker, then paraphrasing, reflecting emotion, clarifying, and summarizing to confirm understanding before responding. It reduces misperception and builds the trust needed for information exchange.
- Open-ended question
- A question starting with what, how, or why that invites explanation instead of a yes-or-no answer. It uncovers needs, priorities, and constraints that closed questions conceal.
- Mirroring
- Repeating the last few words a counterpart just said, in an inquiring tone, to prompt elaboration and signal attention without adding new content or pressure.
- Loss aversion
- The tendency for losses to feel about twice as powerful as equivalent gains. Framing a term as avoiding a loss is therefore more persuasive than framing it as a gain.
- Reframing
- Restating a party's stated position as an underlying interest or a different perspective so that new options and trade-offs become visible to both sides.
- Leverage
- The relative advantage held when the other side values agreement more than it values walking away. It is driven by alternatives, information, deadlines, and competition.
- Information power
- Negotiating power derived from knowing more relevant facts than the counterpart - market data, motivations, real deadlines, or financial constraints - and disclosing selectively.
- Time pressure
- The constraint created by deadlines, whether real or perceived. Concessions cluster near deadlines, so identifying whose deadline is genuine is a source of advantage.
- Multiple equivalent simultaneous offers
- Presenting two or three packages of roughly equal value to you at the same time. The counterpart's choice reveals their priorities without you making a unilateral concession.
- Concession strategy
- A planned pattern of giving ground that diminishes in size and is always contingent on reciprocity, so each concession is exchanged rather than donated.
- Buyer representation agreement
- A written contract establishing agency between buyer and broker, defining scope, term, and compensation. Under current MLS policy it must be signed before touring a home.
- Earnest money
- A good-faith deposit held in escrow showing buyer commitment. A larger deposit strengthens an offer but raises the buyer's exposure if contingencies are later released.
- Escalation clause
- A contract provision that automatically raises a buyer's offer by a set increment above competing offers, up to a stated maximum, used where multiple offers are expected.
- Appraisal gap coverage
- A buyer's written commitment to pay a specified amount above appraised value in cash if the appraisal is low, reducing the seller's risk of a failed financing contingency.
- Net sheet
- A seller-side estimate itemizing price minus commissions, closing costs, loan payoff, repairs, and concessions, showing expected cash proceeds at closing.
- Days on market
- The count of days a listing has been actively marketed. Rising days on market with few showings signals the price exceeds what buyers will currently pay.
- Seller concession
- Credits the seller pays toward the buyer's costs or repairs. Concessions preserve the contract price for appraisal and comparable-sale purposes while improving the buyer's net position.
- Highest and best
- A seller's request that all interested buyers submit their strongest final offer by a deadline. Competing offer terms should not be disclosed without the offerors' authorization.
- Nibbling
- A tactic of requesting small additional concessions after major terms are settled, exploiting the other side's reluctance to reopen a completed deal.
- Higher authority
- A tactic where a negotiator claims a principal must approve final terms, deflecting pressure and buying time. It is neutralized by confirming decision authority early.
- Exploding offer
- An offer with an artificially short acceptance deadline designed to force a decision before the other side can evaluate alternatives. Its use is countered by testing whether the deadline is real.
- Caucus
- A private break in which one negotiating team steps aside to review strategy. It is used to break deadlock, cool emotion, or reconsider terms without an audience.
- Fiduciary duties
- Duties an agent owes a principal: care, obedience, loyalty, disclosure, confidentiality, and accounting. They outrank the agent's own interests and those of any customer.
- Dual agency
- Representation of both buyer and seller by one brokerage in the same transaction, permitted only where state law allows and with informed written consent. It limits loyalty and confidentiality.
- RESPA Section 8
- A federal prohibition on giving or receiving fees, kickbacks, or anything of value in exchange for referrals of settlement service business on federally related mortgage loans.
- Fair Housing protected classes
- Federal classes protected from housing discrimination: race, color, religion, sex including sexual orientation and gender identity, national origin, familial status, and disability.
- Antitrust price fixing
- An illegal agreement among competitors on commissions, fees, or service terms. Real estate professionals must set prices independently and never discuss rates collectively.