7 negotiating tips for sellers under the gun

Behind on the mortgage? Getting divorced? Have to move for a new job? Keep that news to yourself, says Jim Camp, author of "No: The Only Negotiating System You Need for Work and Home" and president and founder of The Jim Camp Group. "Because, as a seller, you're in a negotiation with your Realtor, whether you know it or not, " he says. "And they can be the toughest party in the negotiation, actually."

Camp coaches high-level executives in negotiating skills. Some of the toughest situations for business leaders is getting what they need from professionals they hire to represent their own interests. Working with a real estate agent is no different, he says.

Too many times, buyers think they have a friend in their real estate agent, "but that attitude is really going to hurt them in the end," Camp says. "He's not your friend. He's your agent. And you're in negotiation with your agent whether you like it or not."