When Making an offer on a house do you go by what realtor says?

[MN-Born-n-Raised]

Originally Posted by jimj

I concur with how you'd respond, especially if it's priced correctly and the market is moving along briskly. Trouble is many sellers list their homes with unreasonable expectations many times bolstered by their agents or with the idea that they'll have to bargain away some of the asking price so it's inflated beyond reason. The other thing that tends to happen is sellers act like they're selling their first born, inserting their love for a home and/or their memories into the deal and allowing that emotion to run things which is why some get so upset and insulted.

When I countered low ball offers it'd usually be a couple thousand below asking to see where it went from there. I figure it only takes a few minutes of my time to pass my thoughts on to my agent (along with my laughter) and then go on with my day.
Now if I was handling all communications personally I might see things a bit different.

I price a home to sell it and list it slightly below others to get a lot of early traction. I know statistically the best time to sell a home is in the 1st month. I attach no personal value to a lot of items (buyers preference) and I can keep my emotions out of it. I keep my homes in perfect condition and all of the showing were because I understand styles. staging, trends, the importance of pictures etc. Think HXGUY's type of a look and feel. Our tastes are similar.

But it offends me when someone thinks that I am desperate or stupid and they try to steal it. My response is I'd rather sell it to someone else out of spite for thinking I'm stupid. I think your approach is more common. I was addressing that "it doesn't hurt to ask" isn't always true. Additionally, agents don't want a bottom feeder reputation either. But that's another topic.

[Sunshinegirl7]

I don't think my offer was going to be offensive based on the research I did. I do know that I must have made my realtor mad because we didn't write an offer, she asked me two times if I was going to make an offer and and I felt like she was really trying to get me to and we said we changed our mind, we want to look at options of buying a fixer upper. Do I really even need a realtor? I can look them up, call up listing agent for information, view it, then if I love it and want to proceed go with the listing agent, does anyone do this? It's nice having a realtor but not when I feel like they expect something right away, we did love the house the first time, saw it the 2nd time and thought we don't need to spend so much money, why not buy something that won't string us out every month in payments.

[Zippyman]

Originally Posted by Sunshinegirl7

I don't think my offer was going to be offensive based on the research I did. I do know that I must have made my realtor mad because we didn't write an offer, she asked me two times if I was going to make an offer and and I felt like she was really trying to get me to and we said we changed our mind, we want to look at options of buying a fixer upper. Do I really even need a realtor? I can look them up, call up listing agent for information, view it, then if I love it and want to proceed go with the listing agent, does anyone do this? It's nice having a realtor but not when I feel like they expect something right away, we did love the house the first time, saw it the 2nd time and thought we don't need to spend so much money, why not buy something that won't string us out every month in payments.

If you're "looking up" properties on the internet, you're using the MLS (or a data-feed populated with MLS data), and there's a listing agreement already in place - choosing not to use an agent doesn't save you or the seller any money.

Most listing agents aren't going to want to deal with an unrepresented buyer, there's too much liability and no upside for them.

[apexin]

I think you all are missing the part where the op said she has not signed with the salesperson yet. In other words, the salesperson has not been hired yet and the op is not her client. She owes the op honesty and openness, but the fiduciary responsibility is not present yet. Why would she waste her valuable time throwing out lowball offers because a person not in the industry thinks it's a good offer. That said, not all realtors are good. You will know when you have a pro.

Would you expect an attorney to have your best interest in mind if you didn't hire them?

[Zippyman]

Originally Posted by apexin

I think you all are missing the part where the op said she has not signed with the salesperson yet. In other words, the salesperson has not been hired yet and the op is not her client. She owes the op honesty and openness, but the fiduciary responsibility is not present yet. Why would she waste her valuable time throwing out lowball offers because a person not in the industry thinks it's a good offer. That said, not all realtors are good. You will know when you have a pro.

Would you expect an attorney to have your best interest in mind if you didn't hire them?

Realtor® talking points posted above!

[jimj]

Originally Posted by Sunshinegirl7

I don't think my offer was going to be offensive based on the research I did. I do know that I must have made my realtor mad because we didn't write an offer, she asked me two times if I was going to make an offer and and I felt like she was really trying to get me to and we said we changed our mind, we want to look at options of buying a fixer upper. Do I really even need a realtor? I can look them up, call up listing agent for information, view it, then if I love it and want to proceed go with the listing agent, does anyone do this? It's nice having a realtor but not when I feel like they expect something right away, we did love the house the first time, saw it the 2nd time and thought we don't need to spend so much money, why not buy something that won't string us out every month in payments.

Fixers can be a great deal or they can be a money pit loser. I've done a couple and made out pretty good but it has to be the "right kind" of fixer. Cosmetic only bought at a price that allows enough room to absorb the $10-20k (or more) that you'll put into it and still allow a profit. Are you willing to put up with having the place you live torn up for a period of time?

The other question only you can answer is are you handy enough to put in the labor required to really get a profit out of it? Hiring people burns up $$$$$$ quickly.

[Sunshinegirl7]

We decided no on the fixer upper, the price to buy one already done compared to the price of one that we would fix up really isn't much and it would take us way too long to be able to fix it up ourselves to save money. I am realizing I can't compare the housing market out here to where I was from, it's much different here, asking $20,000 or more less out here doesn't seem to happen, it did where I was from but here the demand is much higher. I did my research and went back and looked and my realtor was right about the comps, I was basing some things off of comparing the way the houses looked and what upgrades they had and not the square footage, I had some that were same square footage but they weren't updated. After all the information you guys shared and looking at what she told me, she was right, I was wrong.

[Zippyman]

Originally Posted by Sunshinegirl7

We decided no on the fixer upper, the price to buy one already done compared to the price of one that we would fix up really isn't much and it would take us way too long to be able to fix it up ourselves to save money. I am realizing I can't compare the housing market out here to where I was from, it's much different here, asking $20,000 or more less out here doesn't seem to happen, it did where I was from but here the demand is much higher. I did my research and went back and looked and my realtor was right about the comps, I was basing some things off of comparing the way the houses looked and what upgrades they had and not the square footage, I had some that were same square footage but they weren't updated. After all the information you guys shared and looking at what she told me, she was right, I was wrong.

I think the thing to keep in mind is that there's really no reason to expect a major jump in prices or financing costs (or rents) for the next year or two - so if you're "on the fence" with a particular deal, wait for one that knocks your socks off.

In just about every subdivision, there are houses at the end of a cul-de-sac that have a little "extra" land, owners that have overimproved the property ( Disneyland backyards ), kitchen-bath remodels that went waaaay over the top ($7k stoves & $5k built-in fridges).. although the appraised value might not reflect the costs involved in the remodel, they're exactly what the doctor ordered if you're planning on staying & enjoying those features.. You need to be *first* on those homes, with your financing ready to go & the will to pull the trigger without hesitating.

Use the time you're looking to hone in on neighborhoods that are close to work or school that may not currently have anything suitable for sale - I.E. if you find yourself saying, "I loved that house, but it was too close to the main road" or, "I loved the neighborhood, but I want a one-story" - you can set up your MLS portal to send you an email whenever a home in "Shady Gardens" pops on MLS & check to see how close to the road it is, if it's a one-story, etc.....

Good luck! - remember, you only need *one* house..

[jimj]

Originally Posted by Zippyman

I think the thing to keep in mind is that there's really no reason to expect a major jump in prices or financing costs (or rents) for the next year or two - so if you're "on the fence" with a particular deal, wait for one that knocks your socks off.

In just about every subdivision, there are houses at the end of a cul-de-sac that have a little "extra" land, owners that have overimproved the property ( Disneyland backyards ), kitchen-bath remodels that went waaaay over the top ($7k stoves & $5k built-in fridges).. although the appraised value might not reflect the costs involved in the remodel, they're exactly what the doctor ordered if you're planning on staying & enjoying those features.. You need to be *first* on those homes, with your financing ready to go & the will to pull the trigger without hesitating.

Use the time you're looking to hone in on neighborhoods that are close to work or school that may not currently have anything suitable for sale - I.E. if you find yourself saying, "I loved that house, but it was too close to the main road" or, "I loved the neighborhood, but I want a one-story" - you can set up your MLS portal to send you an email whenever a home in "Shady Gardens" pops on MLS & check to see how close to the road it is, if it's a one-story, etc.....

Good luck! - remember, you only need *one* house..

Well said Zippy! According to Cromford and others home prices should remain fairly static or drop a bit for the rest of the year.

Take your time Sunshinegirl, there are new houses coming on line every week so you never know when you'll find the right one at the right price or one close enough that you can make it yours.