Asking price $479,000~What's a fair offer? (Westbury, Hope: mortgage, attorney, loan)

[happycamper5]

hurry before obama saves them...lol

[Kbinspections]

I guess this is "Shark Week"....I did not get the memo.......lol

[TomMoser]

Ever notice how the vitriolic posters pop up (join date Jul 2008), spew their hateful opinions (18 posts)and then go away (reputation 12)? Kind of entertaining, but not very helpful to the discussion.

[totallyfrazzled]

First, IMO the OP's offer idea is quite reasonable, assuming the house isn't already UNDERpriced for the market (a 'distress sale' scenario).... but if that were the case, it would have been either gone already or in the midst of a bidding war. Secondly, comps are handy as a reference but what it always comes down to in the end is, How Much Is That House Worth TO YOU as a buyer? (Based of course on what you can responsibly afford!) Many people fall in love with a house and end up willingly paying more than what the current market indicated it was "worth". Did they "overpay"? I'm sure many people would say so, but if the buyer is happy with the outcome, then so what? As for insulting a seller with an offer, well, we figure it this way: We offer what we feel the house is worth TO US, taking into consideration (but NOT being ruled by!) current comps. Personally we've rarely found comps that were truly representative of what we were looking at anyhow: They were either too old (in our opinion, in other words 9-12 months ago!) or truly NOT what we felt were comparable homes. Maybe it's easier when house-shopping in "cooky cutter" type developments, but we've always gravitated toward custom homes with unique characteristics that make them tough (or near impossible) to comp. So IMO comps can be helpful but should not be an overruling factor when deciding what to offer. Certainly the seller's emotional health should not be a factor at all! The 2 most important things should be (1) How much the buyer can responsibly afford to pay, and (2) How much that house is worth TO THE BUYER. (in that order!!)

[Elke Mariotti]

Absolutely!! Couldn't agree more

Originally Posted by totallyfrazzled

The 2 most important things should be (1) How much the buyer can responsibly afford to pay, and (2) How much that house is worth TO THE BUYER. (in that order!!)

[lxl]

If it is okay for the seller/agent to price the house at what they think it is worth, then it is okay for you, the buyer to bid at what you think it is worth as well. It is silly to even think about the seller's emotional response to your bid. It is a buyer's market out there. Take advantage of it the same way the sellers took advantage of the up market the past 10 years. Don't be the last fool!

[JSB1021]

First of all, Good Luck in your search for a home!

My DH and I have put offers on 2 homes since Memorial Day. One home listed for $429,900, and we offered $405,000. They countered at $420,000. Based on the comps, upgrades needed, I felt it was a very fair offer. Then, there was another house, $459,900. We offered $425,000, again based on recent comps, and upgrades needed. They countered first, at $455,000, then $445,000. We walked away from both of them. You know what, both homes are STILL for sale. Yes, this is a buyers market, but ultimately, the seller has to agree to your price.

Only you know what you can afford to pay for a home. You can't return it tomorrow.

BTW - We are getting ready to place an offer on another home. But, we will be firm in our price, no games being played. I am hoping that they will agree, but if not, there are more home available.

[totallyfrazzled]

Originally Posted by JSB1021

But, we will be firm in our price, no games being played.

I agree with you. We much prefer to come in with an offer and say "This is our firm offer, the absolute most we are willing to pay. Take it or leave it." But for some reason both realtors and sellers don't like this at all, and expect/prefer to do the "marketplace haggle" thing. Our opinion is, WHAT is the point of that???? The sellers clearly have an amount below which they are not willing to sell. We have an amount above which we are not willing to pay. So why the dance? Why is it so offputting for a buyer to say, "THIS is our offer, period" and then the seller must decide whether or not it's acceptable? Is it just some stupid psychological trick whereby both sides have to reach compromise in order to make everyone feel that they've gotten a "fair" deal? You know: like pricing a house at 599,990 instead of 600,000 because by shaving ten dollars off the asking price the buyer feels like they're paying "in the 5s" instead of "in the 6s". I know, that's advertising and so forth. In other words assuming that buyers and sellers can't or don't or won't simply use their brains and common sense.

[JSB1021]

"This is our firm offer, the absolute most we are willing to pay. Take it or leave it."

This is exactly what we are going to say when we make an offer this weekend. MY DH and I have very good terms. If "I" were a seller, I would jump at the chance to sell my house. Obviously, knowing that we did our homework, and would expect the buyer to have done the same.

MY DH and I are not dealing with an agent, and are doing this on our own. Every time I wanted to see a house, I would send it to the agent, we would go see it, and there would not be any more to see that day. Only what I sent them. I can look on MLS just the same as they can.

[TomMoser]

Originally Posted by totallyfrazzled

You know: like pricing a house at 599,990 instead of 600,000 because by shaving ten dollars off the asking price the buyer feels like they're paying "in the 5s" instead of "in the 6s". I know, that's advertising and so forth. In other words assuming that buyers and sellers can't or don't or won't simply use their brains and common sense.

Actually, there is a very sound reason that you see homes priced at numbers like 599,999. Most buyers today search for homes on the internet. Virtually every search service requires that you plug in a price increment, usually in $50,000 increments. So, if you think your home is worth around 600,000 you want it under that price point so that it will be picked up in peoples searches. If you exceed that amount a lot of potential buyers will not see it.