Asking Price On Home?

Question

We are looking at a house, they are asking 197,000. They wanted 230,000 for it originally because an out of town relative told them it was worth it (NOT anywhere near market value in our area lol)

The house is still a bit overpriced. We really like it but honestly, in our area and at this time of year, 165,000 would be a fair price.

The owner has moved to a new place, the home is empty, and I was wondering what we should do. Wait until they inevitably lower the price after Xmas, or make a considerably lower offer soon?

Is an offer of 30k less than offering price not kind of insulting??

I feel like it's almost rude lol.

Answer 1

Are you working with a Realtor? I would highly recommend contacting your local Real Estate office and hiring a buyer's agent to work for you. Okay, now with that being said, it is not an insult to offer 30k less than asking price. But you need to decide if that is going to be your final offer? If it is, then the sellers need to know that. Your offer should have a time limit on it as well. I'd say no more than 3 days, (by a certain time) if they are out of state. Expect them to call everyone they know that's interested in the house, and they will let people know there is an offer on the table, to generate other offers, etc., etc., Now, the sellers will have three options, 1) accept, 2) reject or 3) counter if that wasn't your final offer. The other thing you need to do, when presenting an offer is to make sure you are pre-qualified......and you may want to attach the pre-qual letter to the offer or have it ready for when they ask for it, if your not dealing with a Realtor. Good Luck!

Answer 2

People worry way too much about insulting others in this process. If they really tell you to **** off, they are very well off, or have other buyers lining up. They probably REALLY want rid of this house since they have moved out.

They will probably counter offer, so know going in your maximum price. There is psychology at work here, they know once you make a bid that you have "invested" in the house emotionally. If you really only want to pay $165,000, offer $155,000 and be prepared to walk away if they won't come down that low. Frankly, at this time of year, I think they might just take it!

Good luck!

Answer 3

An offer below asking price is not rude if the asking price is out of line in the first place. You don't say how you determined that $165,000 is a fair offer, but assuming that you have docomentation to back that up, make your offer and include copies of your documentation with the offer.

Answer 4

In a buyer's market, do not ever consider yourself rude or second guess what you should pay for a house.

YOU are the rare commodity that the seller needs and is praying and crying for, literally! Do not determine your offer based on what a seller originally wanted for it (hey--tomorrow they may want a cruise and to pay for it might ask, oh....a million dollars for it.

Would you wait three months and offer them 800k because they had originally wanted a million--even though the house was only worth 165K? Of course not!

If you went to the grocery store and found apples for sale at $18 dollars a pound, you would laugh yourself out of the store and down the street to thier competition's store where they were selling for the "fair" price of $1.99 a pound.

But wait! That was YESTERDAYS price! Now they are on sale for $1.59 per lb. My point is, don't base your price on what the seller WANTS. The seller does not determine the price he will can sell his house for-- The market and buyers determine it.

Also--today's fair price offer could and probably WILL be tomorrow's upside down mortgage. Here are some links to help you learn more about how to wisely and safely (if there is such a way) to buy in todays market.

The best site you can possibly read and get educated about the market through is the following:

http://longislandbubble.com/sheeplesguide.html#market_value

Is this really a good time to buy? Read this:
http://longislandbubble.com/sheeplesguide.html#buyers_market

This guys website is www.longislandbubble.com. His information is priceless and a realtor and NAR's worst enemy.

My husband, is an economist and VP of financial forcasting for a large Fortune 100 company. He wants me to tell you to read LongIslandbubble.com's whole site. Not only is it an education, it will put a smile on your face.

Try to think of a house purchase as an investment that you are placing your money in. Do not get emotional about it until you own it. Until then, don't fall in love with a specific house and remember that you DO NOT make money when you sell your house. You ONLY money when you buy it! It is generally the most expensive type of purchase you will make throughout your lifetime.

For some sellers, it takes months to come to reality about the true worth of their home. Some will not get there for a few more years. Until then, look up the county records and find out what the house sold for originally and determine if that sales date was in a housing " bubble" then or not. Use this graph to see the dates of housing bubbles:

http://www.longislandbubble.com/boomsandbusts.html

Then use this calculator to determine the highest price you should pay for the house you are looking at:

http://www.longislandbubble.com/bubblomics.html#estimator

If the estimator gives a higher price than they are asking, then the dates it was sold on were in a housing bubble and need adjistment for reliablility.


Published Nov 30, 2007:http://www.thetrumpet.com/index.php?q=4505.2761.0.0

"The Standard & Poor’s Case-Shiller home price index shows that home prices dropped 4.5 percent from the third quarter of 2006. The past quarter saw prices decline at the fastest rate since the index was created.

Robert Shiller, the index’s developer, says homeowners face a historic downturn in the housing market and that the current market is “out of the range of historical data” because the boom itself was far beyond any for which reliable data exists. He says declining home prices in the neighborhood of 50 percent are feasible in many areas"

Good luck and remember to keep this project and investment FUN!

Answer 5

I'd suggest making an offer on it if you really want it. Afterall, if you make a lower offer on it and no negotiations bring the two of you together, then there was nothing lost... you gave it your best efforts.

However, if you wait for a price adjustment, and one does not happen before they get in a contract, you'll never know if you could have put something together!

Good luck!

Answer 6

If you really want the house make an offer of 165,000 now and see what happens.

Answer 7

Make an offer ... their financial situation will dictate how they respond to your offer.