Dealing with seller denial?

Question

I really want to buy a home soon but I can't stand sellers holding out for unrealistic prices.

My offers are in line with what houses having been selling at in the past six months. However, sellers aren't looking at the past six months, they are looking at 2005 prices and expecting at least 10% on top of that price.

How are other buyers conviencing people to accept these lower prices? Even properties that should have motivated sellers (probate and relocated sellers paying two mortgages) are still sitting empty for months.

I tried using a buyer agent but they just want me to bid 2005 prices. I also tried scheduling out how much the seller was spending waiting for the "right" offer and listing the recent sales - it made no difference.

Any tips?

Answer 1

You only need to find one house, so you only need one seller to accept your offer.

Try using buyside or some other discount agent that offers a rebate.

Find 5 to 10 houses that you like. Start with the house that is the closest price to your perceived value. Make an offer with some room to come up. If they reject it move on to the next. When you get a counter(house A), move on to the other houses until you get a counter you can use as leverage(house B). Make a response to the counter(or a new offer depending on the expiration of their counter) from House A and mention that you have a counter from House B, but you would prefer to buy House A for X(a slight increase in your original offer).

This shows the seller that you value their house and at the same time that they have to meet you at a reasonable point to sell the house. A lot of sellers feel insulted by low offers, because they feel that their home is not being valued fairly.

Alternatively you could try calling agents who have sold house recently at prices you think are reasonable and ask them if they have(or can find) something that meets your needs.

I will give you an example of my townhouse. I was offered 255K by my tenant. Based on this offer, I knew he would not be able to match my price, so I put the house on the market. I listed at 335K. I had an offer of 300K. We reached a verbal agreement in the 310-315K range. However that deal fell apart. I then got a call from a real estate agent that a client wanted to make an offer in the 280K range. I told them that I was flexible, but they had to be over 300K for me to counter. They offered 305K. I got them to increase the offer to 315K and we closed at that price.

Answer 2

Wow, what city are you in? Where I'm at any smart seller realizes that no offer should be automatically rejected, and a counter is better than rejection. In fact, prices are lower now than they were even 6 months ago, and if you were putting offers based on the previous 6 months I would think you were offering a pretty high amount to the seller/s! I think you need to find an aggressive Realtor, they are out there, and let him/her know where you are with your preferences, and what your feelings are /w regard to pricing/home values. He/she will either agree with you, or explain to you the process of negotiation and what you can expect from him as your Realtor, then get out there and get you your home! Don't go it alone, representation is always better. Your first experience with a buyer's agent isn't necessarily representative of all agents out there. A good agent will get the job done, and you will be happy. Ask your family/friends for any referrals, or talk with a few and determine from your conversations who you'd like to work with. Good luck; I'm sure you will find something to your satisfaction

Answer 3

The issue at hand is a real phenomenon to be sure. Seller's will attempt to prevent a decay in home prices by holding out for their asking price. Supply and demand theory relies upon perfect information and the sellers are not using the information.

Having said all that, you might want to retain a new Realtor. Perhaps they can do a better job explaining a reasonable asking price to the seller. That is their job, after all.

Also, even buyers can be under the sky is falling delusion and may not always have a perfect grasp of the market. I get buyers all the time telling me that my listings are over priced. Well, they may be over priced for that particular buyer, but not the one behind them that buys the property.

Its all about managing expectations with the facts.

Best of luck

Answer 4

Go to a wholesale mortgage broker and get pre approved first. Then look for the home you like in that price range. If the seller wont budge, you realtor may be able to work other items in the contract to make the bid more attractive. If not, just move on.

Answer 5

It's a buyer's market right now with 4 houses out there for every buyer. Don't pay higher prices if you think they're out of line. Just keep looking.