How much lower can you make your offer,below the asking price without being ridiculous?

Question

Is there a surden %, or amount to make an offer below the asking price when you wanna BUY a house?

teran.......how do i know if the house if under or overpriced?

valentine.......how do you know what the houses sold for in that area?

Answer 1

You can offer what ever you want.
The realtor is required by law to present your offer.
Don't listen to mental cases who tell you that you have to offer so close to the asking price- forget what they have to say.

Alot of people end up saving thousands by starting lower.. if you're in a hot area where property sells within days, sure, a low offer won't do you much good.

But don't ever feel that you have to, for example, offer 380k just because some asshat has his property listed at 400. That's the most ridiculous idea I've ever heard of.

If you offer 300 what is the worst that can happen... turned down or maybe a counter offer? If you go in like an idiot offering almost their asking price when they might have taken 340 for example you'll be making a $40,000 mistake just by listening to bad advice on the internet


Offer what YOU think is fair... start LOW. Period.
I don't care what anyone gets on here and says.
Just start low and offer what you think is fair.

Answer 2

It really depends on the asking price vs. market value. You should have your buyers agent prepare a CMA. This will give you a general range of what the market value is. If the asking price is way out of line; I personally would not make an offer because it shows the seller is unreasonable. If it is at market value I would offer a little below the asking price. If it was way below I would ask why and would go up to full asking price if necessary.

Answer 3

Realtors usually go 10% below the asking price. Keep in mind that the worst thing that can happen is your offer is rejected. You can always go higher, but not lower. Start off low and if the sellers reject it, just go back with a counter-offer.

What you could do is offer just below what they are asking and ask the seller to pay for your closing costs. I am a mortgage banker and tell my clients to do this all the time. It will save you a few thousand dollars.

You can contact me at my work email address if you have any questions about that: [e-mail]. I am based in Chicago, but have clients all over the country.

Answer 4

From experience, and many calculations, including delving into math, psychology, human anatomy and even some astronomy (not astrology).... the final answer is IT DEPENDS.

what's the market like?
Is it overpriced?
Is it under priced?
Is it currently leased?
Is it vacant?
Is it owner occupied?
Do the seller's HAVE ANY EQUITY?
bla bla bla bla.....

I've seen "ridiculously low" offers of 103% of the asking price. I've seen "rediculously high" offers of 83% of the asking price.

Lastly, if you really do want to buy the house, offer just under what it is really worth. Sellers can, and do take low offers personally, and as a listing agent, I had a client (a lawyer, who you'd expect to be able to separate his emotions from the transaction) get offended by a buyer's offer and respond with "He can have it for full price, or he can't have it." And he meant it too.

Answer 5

You want to make sure your offer is between 95-100% of the asking price...in general. You also have to take into account how much other houses in the area have sold for and their size and condition compared to yours. So, if you want to buy a house for $400K, and the house is perfect, I woud offer at least $380K

Answer 6

The market is getting rough. Expect high prices to fall. 15% - 20% under asking is not ridiculous. Last time this happened (1980s) prices fell 20-30 percent, even up to 60 percent. If they won't negotiate wait until it goes into foreclosure and get it even cheaper. It's a buyer's market. Check the local sales with http://www.zillow.com/

Answer 7

mmni99inc is absolutely correct. There is no magic number or percentage. Your agent should help you determine the true value of the property based on inventory on hand, recent sold properties, market conditions, etc.

You can also use www.zillow.com for recent sold properties in the area.

The worst case scenario is that the owner says "go pound sand".

Regards

Answer 8

Offer what you think it is worth and how much you can afford with comfort.

Be prepared to walk away and be prepared to place more than one bid. Also work with several Realtors but them them about each other. The reason you want to do this is they do not have one MLS and you can not find what all is really for sale with just one Realtor.This is how they made a false shortage and made the housing bubble.

Check this out also.
http://www.breakingbubble.com/index.htm