Okay, it's coming to That Time of the month.... (Portland: sales, real estate)

[linh]

[just a little friday humor] but now that I got your attention...

So, making an offer on a house - How-Low-Can-One-Go???

I've been emailing a guy who claims that offering up to 30k less than list price is deemed okay and "worth a shot" but my realto is really only teetering about the minus 10k mark. So, I'm headed up to Portland this holiday to make a purchse.

The data trends are telling me that the estimated values of homes are going down due to long listing times, not necessarily that home values are falling, but selling values are dropping, so...

-can anyone give any feedback on what's considered low-balling? and what just considered "negotiating savvy"?

-can someone give the definitive answer on whether or not real estate is a good investment in portland at this time?

my mind is racing as the time approaches - thanks for all your help - wish me luck!

[Lillietta]

Originally Posted by linh

[just a little friday humor] but now that I got your attention...

So, making an offer on a house - How-Low-Can-One-Go???

I've been emailing a guy who claims that offering up to 30k less than list price is deemed okay and "worth a shot" but my realto is really only teetering about the minus 10k mark. So, I'm headed up to Portland this holiday to make a purchse.

The data trends are telling me that the estimated values of homes are going down due to long listing times, not necessarily that home values are falling, but selling values are dropping, so...

-can anyone give any feedback on what's considered low-balling? and what just considered "negotiating savvy"?

-can someone give the definitive answer on whether or not real estate is a good investment in portland at this time?

my mind is racing as the time approaches - thanks for all your help - wish me luck!

Don't know how helpful I can be, but will try. You can offer anything you want and negotiate from there. This is tough because usually a person who really wants to get rid of a house has already priced it down $30,000. It wouldn't hurt to give it a try. The realtor, of course, wants to make a sale. Real estate is always a good investment if you can wait through the hard times.

I wish you luck. I have been house-hunting with a friend almost every weekend and have learned a few things. These are the best months to negotiate your way as sales don't move much Nov-Jan because of holidays. Hope this is helpful somewhat.

[tiffela74]

depends a lot too on how long the house has been sitting, the condition, sales around the neighborhood, how eager the seller is, lots of variables.
Our started out at 165thous, (when we first saw the listing) and we ended up getting it for 127thous.
My mom started her house at 455thous and they actually had taken an offer at 395thous.ouch (but the buyer fell through, my folks didnt take their second offer of 320thous. duh. lol) they have a lady in their neighborhood that is going the opposite direction and has refused to drop her price by more than 10thous. Her house has been on the market now for 2 years! jeez.
We superlowballed on a house, 3800sqft, 8bdrm, on 3lots, offered 100thous for it. Unfortunatly, it went to bidding just as we were going into closing on the house we have. If we would have chanced it, we could have lost both if we had been outbid, so we decided not to chance it. Found out, we would have gotten it. ugh. But, whaddya do?
Best of luck with your decisions!!!
Tiffany
btw, as a bonus, most sellers are paying closing costs too....

[blazen]

Anyone buying a house right now is making a huge mistake in my opinion. Real estate is in full crash mode and we're just getting started.

Real estate is a Ponzi scheme that requires greater fools to continually pay higher prices for the same depreciating home.

The bubble has burst and now losses are widespread as expected.

Enjoy!!

[Lillietta]

Ignore blazen. He posts negatively all over.

[nancy thereader]

related to supernova perhaps?

[linh]

thanks for all your information! [except blazen]

I'm definitely taking all of this into consideration when I go on my house hunt! I'm just afraid of putting out too many low-balls and end up with nothing.

thanks again! and i'm all ears for more input!

[luv the outdoors]

Originally Posted by blazen

Anyone buying a house right now is making a huge mistake in my opinion. Real estate is in full crash mode and we're just getting started.

Real estate is a Ponzi scheme that requires greater fools to continually pay higher prices for the same depreciating home.

The bubble has burst and now losses are widespread as expected.

Enjoy!!

If you find the house you can't live without and you pay a little for more it now it doesn't really matter unless you are planning on selling in a couple of years. We bought 17 years ago right before the last big bust and we paid high because it was exactly what we wanted. 17 years later it's worth more than double what we paid so in the long run it were pretty happy with that investment.