When buying a home, what is an acceptable offer to make in comparison to the asking price?

Question

Say, the seller is asking $150,000 for their home. Would it be alright to offer $140,000, lower or higher?

Answer 1

It is alright to offer whatever you want.

I would start off between 120-130.

Answer 2

PW,

Glad to see you are taking an interest in either becoming a home owner or investor.

A clear rule that I go by in real estate is.....the value of a home is worth only what I am willing to pay for it. It does not matter what the asking price is or what the Realtor is telling it is worth, or anything else. Now that doesn't mean I would offer $1 for the property, but if you feel that it is worth $140k or even less $130k or $135 there is nothing that says you can't offer that amount. And believe me, it is not the end of the world if they reject your offer entirely, another house will come up, and you can place a bid on that one. Remember, placing bids on houses you fully intend on going through with is free of charge, but over paying for a house because you were afraid to make the offer you wanted, can be pricy. Lastly, remember this, after the transaction is completed (i.e. you now own the home), nobody but yourself is responsible for that property and its mortgage. Not your Realtor, not your lender, not the title company, nobody, so ask yourself, what is the most I am willing to pay for this house today, I don't care if it has been reduce $50k, that just means, it was overpriced $50k to begin with.

If you are asking this question, it's either because you think the house is overvalued at the $150k asking price, or you are only comfortable paying $140k. Both ways, stick to your number, or start lower, and if they counter, you have a mid-point to agree on. I have bough and sold many house, and let me tell you, every house or deal I have walked away from, I have never looked back or regretted it. And if you are that picky about the type of house you want to live in, then take a loan out and build your dream home.

Happy Hunting

Answer 3

Never make a higher offer...lol

You first must inspect the home yourself and may want to have a profesional inspect the home as well to be sure the home complies to local ordinances.

You make a list of all the repairs the home will need regardless of how small they may seem because labour costs are often more than the materials.

Once you are satisfied and perhaps may find it will cost 5000 to make repairs then it would be smart to make an offer four times that amount off the asking price...$130,000.00 !

This is your bottom offer which you negotiate with and must mention repairs plus whatever else an inspector may find wrong but you should never mention the cost of repairs. You will make an offer of 130K and the seller will make an a counter offer in most cases...but even that may not be his bottom selling price. If he says 145K then you say 135K . He will finally say what his bottom dollar is and the rest is up to you...do you want to pay his bottom or look elsewhere...?

That is how you negotiate, also called "dickering"...lol

Answer 4

Your realtor should be able to look at the listing and tell how many "days on market'.

This is really the #1 indicator of how much wiggle room you have. If its been less then 10-15 days, you really should go a bit higher. The action is at its peak and they're probably getting lots of visitors still.

If its been 30+ days, wheel and deal!! $140K would be a great starting point for something that's been on the market just a little longer.

140K works out to about a 7% difference, which isn't huge. I wouldn't drop more than 10% off a price unless a house has been sitting really long, or the market doesn't justify the price they're expecting.

Answer 5

$140,000 would only be a 7% discount off selling price. I made offers 15% below.

Keep in mind that your offer is only a starting point, generally no matter what you offer (unless you go so low the seller knows you aren't a buyer), the seller will come back with a counter-offer. All in the game.

Good luck on your house!

Answer 6

Its important to know what the house appraised for. Also, as others mentioned, you need to know the market. Go on a site like HouseValues.com. They can give you estimates based on the address of the home. If you're going through an agent, they should already have this information. Imo, find out what other homes in the area are going for and what the sq. footage is etc. and take into consideration how long the home has been on the market. If its been a while, like more than six months, you're opportunity to spend less is better.

Answer 7

It really depends on the market you are in. Is the house over priced for the neighborhood? Has the home been on the market for several months?

I bought a house that was listed at $340,000 and we offered $320,000 and it was accepted. The house had no prior offers as the area was not going much over $320,000 and it sat for 4 months. By the time they got our offer, they were happy to accept it without a counter.

If you offer below asking, expect a counter offer, and make sure you know your top limit for what you will pay.

Good Luck

Answer 8

Of course. But, the seller does not have to accept it. Your agent should be advising you on what a fair offer is. Your offer should be based on comparable sales and the quality of the actual property. Why can't you ask her these questions? If you don't think she's honest, then you get another agent. Why would you think she's going to lie to you??? An agent isn't going to lie to you over $600 and risk losing you altogether - a cost of $6300. An offer of $190,000 + closing costs is likely going to be a bit insane unless your comps back you up. That's 10% off the top and another 3-6% in closing costs.

Answer 9

That depends on the housingmarket in your area, how long the home has been listed for sale and just how badly you want this particular house.

Personally, I think a $140,000 offer would probably generate a counter offer and if you can settle at about $145,000 to $147,000, you've both done well.

Answer 10

The best thing to do is make your own determination of the market value of the house. A person can ask any amount he wants. If you find a house you want to buy, hire your own real estate appraiser to come up with a value, if you are not sure about the asking price. I live in a town house. About 6 units away, there is a town house for sale: asking price $110,000. In the same community, about three blocks away, there is one for sale. Asking price $135,000. Since both units are about the same size, why the big asking price disparity? Who knows?

Answer 11

It really depends on the market you are in. In San Francisco, for the right property you'd still overbid by between 10 - 25% so that you'll get the property.

I just saw a property listed for $1,125,000 which actually sold for $1,400,000. Not unusual for San Francisco.

In order to know what to bid, maybe you should hire a buyer's agent. You can find one on http://www.naeba.com