How low of an offer can I make on this house?

Question

I found a home in an area where everyone is tearing down homes and building huge new ones.So I think the value is in the property more than the house. The listing price is $229,900.00. With the market as bad as it is would it be insulting to offer $190,000.00 or lower? The house needs new floors and kitchen from what I could see through the window, I'm going to look with my realtor in a few days. Similar properties in the area go anywhere from $179,900.00-$250,000.00 most with homes in the same condition as this one. I want to remodel the home and live there.

Answer 1

Start at 50% of the listing price. At $229,000 make an offer of $115,000. If they say no, move on to something else.

Answer 2

It is impossible to answer your question without knowing the area of the property. But in today's market in my area, there is no reason to offer anywhere near the asking price.

We just bought a house for a little over 1/3 of the asking price. The property had no offer in over 6 months on the market, needed work and was an FSBO. The wife stayed behind to sell the house when her husband had to move for his new job in a different state where they already had purchased a house. We did our homework and figured out that she wanted to get out of here asap, couldn't afford both mortgages for too long and offered only enough to pay off their mortgage. We didn't get a response to our offer for three weeks but they did agree in the end.

We are in a buyers market and you have to take advantage of it. Buying a house is a business proposition and if the seller gets insulted that's his/her problem, not yours.

When you say "my realtor," I hope you mean a buyer's agent. Get the facts from this person: how long as the property been on the market? how many offers? when was the last sale in the area and for how much? etc, etc.

Get the home inspected if you don't know how to do it yourself. Get estimates for the work needed whether or not you plan to do it yourself and, even though agents don't like that, try and meet the sellers. It's amazing the kind of stuff sellers will tell you...

My last piece of advice is to not buy a house because you fell in love with it. That's usually when you end up paying too much. Look at it as a business proposition and if you're willing to do some remodeling, believe me, just about any property can be turned into a dream home. You'd be amazed at how a little paint can totally change a house sometimes.

The best advice I got from how-to books was: buy the ugliest house in the best neighborhood.

Good luck.

Answer 3

Let the REALTOR give you the real information the 190000 isn't way off the mark if it needs what you say. Insulting is no offer and they wouldn't even know that it happened so no problem anyway. The idea is to get an offer thenyou can work it until you reach a win for both sides. There always is one if you try hard enough you will find it! Good Luck and congrats on having the sense to call the REALTOR!

Answer 4

Just keep in mind, when you make a low offer, that becomes the current market value of your property. You need to do your homework on values for this area, of before and after a renovation. That is a job for your Realtor. Just because you get it for a good price and renovate it, doesn't mean you will realize a gain in equity. Especially in todays market.

Answer 5

Hi...Wow the answers to this question,is your head spinning...first of all...its a down market..like the one guy said you would be crazy to by a house now?..why..if its a down market look for a great deal..buy..then in a few years the market will drive upward again..and you have bought yourself a good deal with the property increasing in value...Ok ..you'll want your realtor to get these answer for you...ask her to give you comparables..That sold...and ones that are still on market..That will give you an ideal what homes are worth..today..and always offer low...trust me i've never heard a buyer going backwards on the counter offer...

Answer 6

Sounds like you might be in the right neighborhood for a beginning offer. 1/2 as someone suggested and move on is riducles and a waste of everyones time.

The problem is that most people are so in hock with homes, having put nothing down and the property depreciation, that they can not afford to come down that much on the prices. It is such a circus out there right now.

Answer 7

What you don't want to do is waste your time. You need to determine an accurate fair value of the home using the sold prices of close by comparable properties. Another item to look at would be the purchased price and the year. Do a mathmatical progression using an estimated yearly appreciation rate.

Answer 8

Although I always advice my clients that this is business, not personal, sometimes feelings get involved. Don't offer half price, that is deal suicide. $190,000 is low, but not ridiculously low.

Your Realtor can give you a CMA of what comparable homes are selling for, and know that their Realtor will do the same. They will either counter, reject or accept, but know how you'll handle a counter if it comes in.

Answer 9

If the offer is too low, they will come back and meet you half-way in most cases. If they aren't including a house inspection, I would think it's a fair price because of the listed damages to the home.

Answer 10

You can offer anything you want to.

I say go for it. The worst that can happen is they counter.

Since you plan to remodel and live there, figure out what it will cost you to remodel and use that figure to help determine what you think a good offer will be.

Answer 11

Offer what you want it is up to your realtor if he or she wants to make any money in this time of struggle in the realestate business for them to advise you with how much you should offer.Do not get fooled they are starving right now.Ask the realtor for advice on how much to offer.