When the serious offer for your San Jose home finally comes, let the agent do all the negotiating. Let him or her shuttle back and forth between you and the buyer with offers and counter-offers. Firmly establish a rock-bottom price that you won’t go below, but keep it to yourself. Don’t tell the agent your bottom price or that’s what you’ll end up getting as an offer.

If you’re only a few thousand dollars apart, ask the agent to discuss trade-offs with the buyer. For example, be willing to give the buyer an allowance for upgrading or decorating if they’ll pay a certain price. You can either lower your price to allow for that, or write a check at closing to cover the allowance amount.

And, be sure that all applicable taxes are paid before you go to closing in order to avoid any delays in finalizing the sale. In some cases, taxes can be paid out of the closing funds, but be sure to alert the buyer that you’re going to do that, or you’ll have an adverse report when the buyer does due diligence on the home.