Helping prospective buyers to handle all of the details of a relocation can be a tricky situation. Deciding who is getting a relocation agreement is less a case of who should, than what should be covered. When hiring a new employee from a different location, it frequently requires that the company help the new employee with their costs. In part this is so that the new employee settles quickly and cements a domestic base in the location of the new job. It is never a good company policy for the new employee to have a wife and family remain three states away. What help you get, however, depends to some extent on who you work for and what position you are accepting.

In general, large, public companies such as General Electric, will offer better relocation deals than smaller private companies; and the higher up the managerial/executive level you climb, the better overall package you will be able to negotiate. That said, there are some basics that are worth considering.

The most important rule to remember is that relocation costs, whilst they may help you physically move to your new location, they are not a cash deposit in your bank account. So do not try to claim anything other than reasonable, verifiable and pre-discussed costs.

The biggest concern for families is the house. The cost of buying and selling a house can erode equity in the home and thus are covered by most companies, to some extent. However, the time it takes for the house to sell is a major hurdle for many families. In the eighties, when relocating families was akin to shifting pawns around a chess board, the houses were purchased by a third party to facilitate the speed of the relocation. The nineties downsizing put an end to that luxury. So what constitutes a good relocation deal for you and what costs are negotiable?

Realtor fees may well be picked up. The buying of the house via a third party, is less common, but not unusual. However, the cost of a buyout may not be as financially beneficial as you would like, and will come with regulations. Typically the house will be assessed by one or more, independent assessors who do not look so much at the decoration of your home, as the square footage of the house and how it compares to others in the neighborhood. The contract, if agreed upon, will need to be completed within a certain number of days. If you sell within the contracted time, then you may gain the full selling price of the house, plus a bonus in some cases. If the house does not sell within, say 90 days, you agree to accept the third party price, which may be less than your current selling price. Whether you sell you home or not, that third party agreement will guarantee the minimum price of the sale and thus enable you to secure a pre-approved loan agreement to use as leverage when purchasing a new home.

If the house is not picked up, then how long can you stay in one location, with your spouse and family in another? Few people can afford to pay one mortgage, while also paying for a rental, or even a second mortgage, in the new location. Help with these payments may be available, particularly in the short term or 90 days or less. As the monthly payments are considerably less than buying the house, they will likely come under the signing power of your hiring manager, and thus can be negotiated on an as-needed basis.

Relocation of the physical contents of the house are likewise, generally covered. Even if you are a recent graduate with no more than a few pots and pans plus a sofa which fit into a U-Haul, the cost will possibly be covered. As will any buyout of a lease, if necessary.

Other factors to include would be travel arrangements for house hunting, and, if the spouse relocates before you, how often will they pay for the flight home? One or two house/school hunting trips may be acceptable. The spouse flying home may be as little as once a month, for a maximum of three trips. This again would be negotiated with the hiring manager.

What about getting the house into shape for selling? If a third party is involved in the relocation then they will likely require a home inspection to assess any faults in the property. These costs are not usually covered.

Finally, the cost of living in different parts of the country may be reflected in the relocation package. Clearly there is a major different between the cost of a four bedroom house in the middle of Iowa and that of one in the greater Philadelphia region. These cost of living premiums will be determined on a company-wide scale, and rarely negotiable.

So, when you first receive the relocation package, check it carefully and immediately negotiate any problem areas. Remember -- relocation is not intended to be a complex and expensive arrangement. It is however, a financial arrangement that needs to be understood.