Help with real estate question. It is about placing an offer.?

Question

i really like this house, it is a foreclosed property. 2000 sqft. 4bed 2bath. they are asking 187,000.00 it has been listed since 10/2006. i want to make an offer of 163,000 to start knowing that i can pay 170,000. Would that be a fair offer? I know it is 10% below asking, but it is worth a shot? Thanks

Answer 1

Not only is that a fair offer, but if the property has been on the market for almost a year, you may even want to consider offering slightly less just to see how they react to your offer. Prepare a letter as to why you are placing your offer at what you are placing it at. State the problems with the property, the current housing market and point out these facts. The longer this home stays on the market the more money the bank is losing. They want to sell it. They don't want to give it away, but they want to try and sell it for the most they feel they can get for it. Good luck.

Answer 2

In the present crappy real estate market, any offer is worth a shot. Just be sure you are not offering too much. Listing price is meaningless. Check to see how much similar homes in the neighborhood have sold for before making an offer. It's possible everything in the neighborhood has fallen 10%, in which case your $163,000 offer would only be an offer to pay market price, and you don't want to do that on a property that has been foreclosed.

Answer 3

Many factors apply in making an offer it is not merely how low you can make your offer as it relates to the asking price.

Foreclosed properties are sold "as is" and as such there might be issues of repair that you are not aware of or that the seller is aware of and that could certainly hit your pocket book for more than just 10% or on the other hand there could be no repair needed.

Certain states require any and all sellers to provide the buyer with a property condition disclosure that determines the condition of the property as the seller knows it. In the case of a foreclosure this disclosure will be blank since the seller knows nothing.

Any and all offers you make should have the agent include a subject to clause of conditions found by a proper inspection and the ability of the buyer to adjust the offer based on such inspection results, otherwise you'll be buying blind.

Be sure to work with a licensee that knows the intricacies of buying foreclosed properties and the caveats you need to be aware of.

Best of luck to you

Answer 4

Given that the property has been on the market that long, I venture one of two things are occurring here. It is possible that the lender/REO firm has an incorrect notion of the worth of the property, and is over priced.

The other is that the property is properly priced, others have tried your game, and been turned down flatly. Not all lenders are willing to give these properties away, just to be rid of them.

I've seen some REO properties on the market for over a year with lenders refusing to budge from their asking prices much at all.

All you can do is try to ascertain what an appropriate market price is for this property, and then decide what you desire to pay for it. If comparables support the asking price, I think you're wasting your time low balling it.

Answer 5

I would start there the only thing that can happen is them turning it down. Unless someone else is looking at the house also and they make a better offer. But if you offer to much to start and they say yes you will never know what you could have got the house for.

Answer 6

Go for it.