I am looking for a house in Burlington County NJ...is it the right time to buy?

Question

Looking in Browns Mills. I found a house that is completly redone for 219,000 asking...I want to offer 185,000. Is this too low?

Answer 1

I live in Burlington County, and my husband works near Browns Mills (at the base).

I dont think your offer is to low. The worst that could happen is that they say no, and you have to bring your offer up a little. I think they might accept that offer though, becasue the value of Real Estat in that town is hitting rock bottom.

Browns Mills is right next to McGuire Air Force Base. Which is fine, but the base is downsizing, and getting rid of alot of people. So that town is slowly dying. It used to be REALLY nice, but it is turning VERY bad, VERY fast.

Answer 2

You probably want to see what the house sold for to the current owner as well as when it was sold. If it was completely redone and just purchased recently it may be a flip. Having the previous sell information would give you a better idea as to where the seller may be willing to bend.

I am not sure about NJ, but in GA you can get previous sell price information as part of the basic tax record on the government tax pages.

I did find this page: http://tax1.co.monmouth.nj.us/cgi-bin/prc6.cgi?menu=index&ms_user=monm&passwd=data&district=1301&mode=11

Good luck!

Answer 3

It's not too low if the seller takes the offer. You're 15-20% below the asking price. Have you done a market analysis to see what comparable houses are selling for in that neighborhood?

Do you know if the seller is motivated to sell - IE, have they bought another house, or are they close to foreclosure? If they are in desperate position, can you live with the fact that you may be taking advantage of their misery, if that's the case?

Answer 4

You can read this VERY interesting advice (on the footer) and proposals here. Good luck! http://real-estate-note-buyers.blogspot.com/2007/09/first-time-home-buyer.html