In the book Cross-cultural Business Negotiations by Donald W Hendon, there is this story about a US sales professional with years of negotiating prowess in the US, pulling down walls due to his aggressive negotiation skills. He was asked to negotiate a business deal in Japan and he failed because the same aggressive skills that brought home the bacon in the US was considered a sign of weakness and insincerity in Japan. So negotiating on foreign soil presents a little more challenge.

But whatever the reason for negotiating or the country in which you are negotiating, the important thing is looking beyond the surface and understanding the motivations of the other party. This might be hard to do when you have barriers like cultural, socio-economic, political and religious differences. But you can break through those walls and infer the motivations of the other party; study weak points, analyze your strong point and get a win-win result. Here are property negotiation tips to achieve these whether on home or foreign soil.

1.     Be respectful.

Being respectful and courteous tells the other party you’re calm and might signify you have the strong ground. This would make the negotiations an enjoyable ground for you. Moreover, everyone likes respectful people. Likability can work in your favor. But going in all firing with an aggressive attitude and you could be sending the wrong signals.

2.     Do not be afraid to ask for what you want.

Successful negotiators are assertive and challenge everything - they know everything is negotiable. Being assertive means asking for what you want and refusing to accept NO for an answer. (Check the difference between assertiveness and aggressiveness). However practicing being assertive will take care of your interests while maintaining respect for the interests of others. When you put your own interests in front of others and with a lack of respect, then you are negotiating aggressively.

3.      Listen.

The most popular word in the English language (or any other language for that matter) is "I". Therefore, it stands to reason that most people love to hear themselves speak. Communication is imperative in any negotiation. Negotiators are looking for that point that will unite the two sides and create a platform for a result. Good negotiators ask questions and then listen. The other party will tell you everything you need to know - all you have to do is listen. Follow rule 90/10 - listen 90% of the time, speak 10% of the time. Make a lot of open questions sit back, relax and listen and you will be amazed at what you hear.

4.     Be Prepared.

It’s not a good strategy when you have to sit down at the negotiating table and think "I wish I'd known that" or "If I just found out before leaving the office. Know whatever there is about the house, the neighborhood and the state before getting to the negotiating table.

5.     Always be willing to walk.

Never negotiate without options. If you rely too much on the positive outcome of a negotiation, you lose your ability to say NO. When you say to yourself: "I will walk if I cannot secure a negotiation that is satisfactory," the other side perceives that you mean business. Their resolution will force them to make concessions.

Doing your homework is vital to successful negotiation. You cannot make accurate decisions without understanding both sides of the process. The more information you have about the people you are trading with, the stronger your negotiating power.

Just like any investment where speculations are involved, there is risk with real estate investing. Investors who have gotten their fingers bit have fed us the ‘negative stories’ and have helped create many fears. Yes, there are risks, and they can make for a pretty bad fall if you don’t prepare for them. But there are also fears. Here we’ll explore five basic fears stopping you from making that real estate investing decision.

I also hope to expound on these fears to help you see that you can get past them. The best way to overcome fear is embrace it and do that which you fear. So, no matter what we say, the decision to take the plunge still lies in your hands. Will you create long-term prosperity with your real estate investment or let fear hold you back?

1.     Negative Cash Flow.

Cash flow is what remains when the operating expenses, the mortgage costs and other expenses have been deducted. The fear of negative cash flow, mostly fed by investors who have been there and done that, has held many people back. However, it is just about making the right calculations. You don’t expect to be 100% accurate about the possibility of vacancies or how much rental income you could make in a month but you can obtain past rental figures from the previous landlord, estimate possible repair expenses and still get your numbers close a notch.

2.     Right Timing.

You’ve always heard ‘you’ve got to time the market’. The problem with that is this: you might never find the right time. If you’re afraid that the market might just not be ripe for real estate investing, I say that’s FEAR. As long as you can comfortably buy a property without putting any strain on your family’s budget and the country in which you’re investing isn’t in a pothole, go right on. The time is right.

3.     Chasing the positive cash flows.

Some real estate agents who have tried and fumbled will tell you that you can’t cash flow positively on duplexes, condos, office complexes etc. With discouraging tales of despair, you catch the FEAR. This is actually an opportunity to learn from their mistakes. They failed because they went in with the wrong PLANS. Learn, attend seminars, buy DVDs and EBooks and develop a fail-proof strategy and you’ll get the positive cash flows.

4.     The hassles of management.

Chasing renters for each month’s rent and dolling out money on property repairs are all reasons to run far from real estate investing. What if you had a troublesome tenant giving you problems? The hassles could keep you awake at night. You however do not need to go through the stress of managing your property yourself. You can hire professional property managers or management companies to do the job and do it well.

5.     Lack of experience.

Yes, you do lack experience. All the seminars and courses do not make up for firsthand experience. So, if you lack the experience, why not work with a realtor who is a local expert and leverage their experience. (Check out the importance of a local realtor).

In conclusion, it’s not certain that investing in real estate will make you an overnight millionaire but if you do your homework and work with the right people, you’ll do just fine.

Selling a property abroad is similar to selling at home. You have to make the home look inviting to buyers. However, in the UK and some other countries, you have to report your sale and pay a capital gains tax as a citizen selling property abroad. Whatever your reason for selling overseas property, here are some tips to help you sell fast.

1. Set the right price.

Don't try to ply smart. It's normal to want a high price for your property but when you price too high, people will walk away. Buyers are wiser now. They also check comps. Your prospective buyer, who'd likely be a cash buyer in the US, China or Russia would check similar homes in the neighborhood. If he notices something fishy, he would walk away without a second thought. If many people are walking away from your home, that will keep your home on the market for the long hull. This will leave a bad impression like a big greasy stain on a white-painted wall. You want to find an agent who'd help you set the best price for your overseas property and set a right first impression.

1. Use Online Marketing to Great Effect.

This is something that you can rely on your real estate agent to do for you. The idea is to promote property abroad, on foreign property portals, blogs, online forums and social media. Your ads should be highly targeted and be where potential buyers are likely to find them.

Relying on the marketing strength of local agents may not be enough to sell your property in a slow market. They may not put in the marketing effort to advertise individual listings - after all, it's an open listing and anyone can sell it.

Private sellers can advertise their property abroad on Properbuz for free, for the time it takes to sell the property. The statistics are very clear - your buyer will start his/her search for property online, almost exclusively. So all you need to do is join them. List your property with us to expand your reach.

1. Pictures tell a story

The pictures or images make all the difference to your prospects of selling property. Professionally taken photographs that emphasize the best features of the property increase the chances of getting the house sold faster. It is always better to hire a professional photographer for this purpose than to do it yourself. Also, make sure your home looks your best before the photo shoot. Have small renovation jobs such as gardening and painting done, for example, without spending too much on it.

1. Cleaning

No one imagines themselves living in a shed and so your buyer will want to see a very clean house that they can make their own - even if they turn it into a pigsty as soon as they move in. So, clean your house.