buying a house with land....?

Question

we are trying to buy a house with 5 acres of land. the selling price is $69,900. how much should we bid on this house with out offended the owners and to be fair?? We were thinking $61,000. We are paying the closing cost. We really want the house nad don't want to be over bid.

Answer 1

We just sold one house with a couple of acres and bought another with two acres. I think a lot of it depends on location, is the land developed enough for pasture or plowing, or is it heavily wooded, etc. It also depends on the state. We live in Oklahoma, and yours sounds like a good price here, but in California it would be unheard of - a shack on a small lot goes for twice that. But after buying and selling 5 houses in the past 20 years, what I've found is this: real estate is a lot like buying a car - you shouldn't be afraid to negotiate - sellers expect you to. I'd offer them $61,000 in a heartbeat. If it's been on the market, or they are wanting to sell fast (you never know how sellers finances are), they will jump on it. Or, if they aren't in a hurry, they may counter offer with $65,000 or so. That's the usual thing that happens to me, anyway. Talk to your realtor if you are using one. If not, do your homework and make sure that the house is sound (foundation solid), and ask if you hold the mineral rights on it, too. You don't want somebody coming along with a drilling rig and planting a well or oil pump right in your back yard. Check around with neighbors, too. Is the land around you being sold or split into developements or anything? Is it in a flood zone? Anything weird about the neighbors? Are they raising some sort of animal you don't want around your kids? What do the utilities run? Best to find out now.
Another thing I'd suggest is to have a homeowners warrantee put on it when you buy it, unless the sellers have done that already. The one we bought cost $450, and covers all the big appliances and installed appliances - heating and air unit, dishwasher, fridge, garbage disposal - and covers it for 2 years. We wanted this since we were purchasing an older home that hadn't been lived in in several months, and we thought the central heat/air looked kinda old. It just made me feel more secure. Tell the realtor, and make sure your mortgage company knows if you aren't using a realtor, and the seller isn't using a realtor either.
Good luck! Have fun moving! :) -Tip: Use colored dot stickers and assign a color to each room, so you don't have to spend all that time writing on every box. (Yellow - kitchen, green - living room, etc.) You can just write on what you need to find easily, like toiletries and clothing.

Answer 2

I would check value at www.zillow.com offer less 10% of either the value on there or the asking price which ever is lower.