A good tip for you house sellers... (mortgage, loans)

[Rich_CD]

Originally Posted by CJFlorida

Great post....all the advice posted by realtors in this thread is not going to work in today's market. And this is only the tip of the iceberg, the market has barely begun its downward cycle. This is going to be a bust of historic proportions, those that do not react to it will simply lose more and more money.

The information people need to gauge how bad it will be is readily available, and always has been. Read some housing bubble blogs, educate yourself about the current economic condition of most Americans. Learn about historic housing prices vs area income, rents, etc. These blogs have been right for 5 years...unlike the real estate "experts". It is not hard to see how Florida is in big trouble going forward.

One agent talked about negotiating and batting prices back and forth between buyers and sellers...wow. With all this inventory and cheap rentals that is a great way to waste time and chase the market down.

Want to sell a house in this market? Forget what houses sold for last year or last month in some areas. Set the price based on some fundamental model...2.5 times area income, 120 times annual rent for a comparable house, whatever, but make it based on fundamentals.

If you don't get an offer within 10% of your asking price within 30 days....your price is too high for the market.

The buyers will determine what your house is worth, not an appraiser, not an agent, not what your neighbor sold for yesterday.

The bust seems to always be "of historic proportions". I think that's just because the economy is bigger as time goes on.

Everything else you stated is what I'm seeing in the market right now.

[CJFlorida]

Originally Posted by Rich_CD

The bust seems to always be "of historic proportions". I think that's just because the economy is bigger as time goes on.

Everything else you stated is what I'm seeing in the market right now.

57 months of inventory in Palm Beach County. This is going to be an interesting time down here.

[compelled to reply]

Originally Posted by CJFlorida

57 months of inventory in Palm Beach County. This is going to be an interesting time down here.

Yes, cant forget about foreclosures up more than 500% in Broward County. And remember, adjust our boom for inflation, and you will see what everyone is talking about.

[Lilybeans]

Originally Posted by Rich_CD

He's doin' pretty good so far. Everything he said matches the current conditions.

So? What did he say that everyone doesn't already know?

You guys are still locked into the speculation cycle. All you can think about is how to speculate on property. The whole cause of the boom and bust is rampant speculation. People that bought affordable homes as homes will be fine. People that bought homes to far out of their price range will get slapped.

The sooner we all start thinking of homes as just that-a place to live and raise a family-instead of a way to make a killing, the better off we'll be.

[amax41]

Come on Lilybeans, lets not cage itup just lay it right on the blunt line -

1) greed has created this situation
2) ingnorance has created this situation
3) ego has created this situation


a house's value is exactly, and no more than, what another person is willing to pay for it.

a homes's value is priceless - only in the eye of the owner

[nickindependence]

I am an Orlando Realtor and i have to agree with both sides of the fence here, but i have to say with the posters comments it does sound like you are trying to get something for nothing.

Of course as established we are in a buyers market, but guess what, there is a price that can be negotiated by both sides. But dont expect to get a house for well below what is being asked for.

Of course and we have all seen them where people list their houses for more than what they are worth. Guess what people, Realtors dont set the price. We advise our clients what a property is worth and we try to get our customers to go along with these prices for some good reasons:

1. the property has a far greater chance of selling so guess what, we actually get paid.

2. We dont want a property which will sit on the market and then expire because it looks bad against our name that we could not that sell that property.

3. Now is a great time for people with properties to buy also because the slump in the market affects all houses so if someone wants to upgrade their home then the upgrade home they want will also be worth less. Because it is worth less it may be in a price range they could actually afford now even if they dont sell their home for more than they paid.

Dont forget by going in with a stupid low ball offer a seller may simply not be able to afford to see the home at that price because they owe more than the offer made, so why would they consider selling. I wouldnt and you know you wouldnt either so of course your offer will be rejected.

To be honest if someone came to me with a verbal offer i would take it to my clients but i would advise them to be wary because their are no conditions attached to that offer, and no earnest money down.

Would you go to Sears and see a mower for sale for $300 then go to the sales assistant and say ill give you $100 for it. Of course not

If you are serious about buying a property then i dont understand why you wouldnt put an offer in writing or even use a realtor because as a buyer you are not paying the realtor

[Lilybeans]

Originally Posted by nickindependence

Would you go to Sears and see a mower for sale for $300 then go to the sales assistant and say ill give you $100 for it. Of course not

Actually, what the original poster said was more akin to calling Sears and saying "Will you take $100 for the mower, and if you will, I'll come and look at it and if I like it, I'll take it."

No retailer would ever go for that.

[Dee2e]

Originally Posted by GregTraub

I beleive what a seller says they will sell their home for is called their asking price. You know that going in, and if you like it you put your offer in, not to hard at all.

If all you're doing is calling them up out of the blue and asking for a discounted price, what you're doing is asking people to start negotiating against themselves because there is 0 commitment on your end, at least a written offer would show some bit of commitment. When negotiating, sometimes you have to give a little to get something back, especially at the outset of negotiations. No one will beleive your offer is remotely serious going about it the way you are, hence the lack of response you are getting. No one wants to waste their time.

Especially if your calling up the agent of the property, there's no way I'm going to my sellers and telling them all we have is a verbal offer of price without knowing any of the other conditions, and the buyer hasn't even seen it yet or said they even like the house!

Yes sellers are at a dissadvantage selling their homes now, but only a very ignorant seller would put themselves at an even greater dissadvantage by seriously entertaining verbal offers from someone who hasn't even decided if they like the home or not. Try at least putting offers in writting, that way they will at least be worth a look. Though it also wouldn't be advisable to put in binding offers on a home you haven't even seen in person.

Good post, Greg.

Also, verbal agreements to buy and sell real estate are not legal in Florida and to verbally negotiate is nothing more than a fishing trip.

[amax41]

Originally Posted by nickindependence

If you are serious about buying a property then i dont understand why you wouldnt put an offer in writing or even use a realtor because as a buyer you are not paying the realtor

Are we quite done with the offer in writing crap? Everyone knows this however every "agent" has to harp this BS. THE POINT OF THE THREAD IS PRICE!!! Understand????

And to that point Nick - IF the house they are selling at $425,000 they bought for $175,000 only a few years ago...then you are nuts dude. There is NO WAY that house in this market is actually worth $425K.

[nickindependence]

Amax, i feel it is a shame you have a distrust and hatred for all realtors. This is quite clear from what you have said in all your posts pertaining to this thread but you shouldnt label all realtors with the same label.

I completely agree that you should go in on an offer with what you feel a property is worth. But bare in mind in your previous example, just because somebody paid $175,000 4 yrs ago doesnt mean they havent remortgaged and owe $250,000 or more. You dont know what somebody owes on a property to be able to sell it at that price.

Secondly, we want properties to sell because having them sat on the market does not get me paid and guess what, i want to get paid. I dont do this job because i am such a nice chap that i want to help everyone i meet for free even you you waste my time. I have a wife, a mortgage and a daughter just like every other Joe out there. I guess you go to work for the fun of it every day right.

I agree with you that you should put in an offer of what a property is worth, after all thats negotiating, but you would actually be taken seriously if you had viewed the property and put it in writing, otherwise you are just a window shopper. You wouldnt buy a car you see in a lot without taking it for a test drive.

All i can say is i think perhaps there must be a communication break down between us somewhere along the line because in my mind you are flogging a dead horse. Consider this for a moment. We are in a buyers market. The market is flooded with properties and everyone who is in it to buy at the moment is getting some great deals. And if you dont secure 1 house there are 1000s or to choose from. Yet the Poster of this thread from what he says is having so much trouble in buying a property. It doesnt take a brain surgeon to work out it is because of the technique he is using. That is not just a realtor talking but someone with common sense.