How much should my first offer on a house be ?

Question

There is a 3 bedroom, 1.5 bath that is on the market for 78,900. A few months ago it was listed at 109,000, it was off the market for a while due to a bid going bad. How much should I offer? Is it a good price considering they went 25,000 less? I live in Michigan.

Answer 1

Get a realtor to help you come up with a comparative market analysis (CMA). It will let you know what the current value is compared to other homes in the area that are the same age and condition etc. If the new list price is 78,900 they are anxious to sell. The old price might have been too high to begin with or they are seriously pricing the house to sell fast. If you feel comfortable with offering list price (after getting comps) and you are prequalified for a loan (able to afford) of that amount, go for it. The house will have to be appraised by the lender for at least that amount to get the loan. If you offer less than list price and they refuse go back with another offer.
Keep the ball in play. Good luck.

Answer 2

Ignore the old pricing information. The only price you care about is the current price. Judge what you are willing to pay on what the home is worth today.

Many areas of Michigan are really suffering right now and prices are decreasing. Get a real estate agent's opinion on value (with RECENT comps) and decide from there.

Generally (historically?) you want your bid to warrant consideration and should be 90-95% of the FAIR asking price. Start with 70,000-71,000 and see what they say.

good luck!

Answer 3

have your realtor run some comps or due a comp check yourself on zillow.com. this will let you know how much similar homes went for in the area the last couple of months. also why did the bid go bad? are there any inspections done on the home? if so by law they would need to disclose that information to you. good luck!

Answer 4

Zillow.com is NOT accurate at all. The only way to get an accurate amount is to get a Realtor to do comps for you.