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Had a buyer make an offer (our 2nd offer) on our house yesterday at 88% of asking. We turned it down and didn't counter. Told our agent that if the buyer wants to get serious, let us know. Our first offer which we accepted was 97% of asking ($199900). While the the inspection and appraisal went fine, the buyer had a problem with his credit so the deal fell through.
Our plan now it to take it off the market until next spring.
Had a buyer make an offer (our 2nd offer) on our house yesterday at 88% of asking. We turned it down and didn't counter. Told our agent that if the buyer wants to get serious, let us know. Our first offer which we accepted was 97% of asking ($199900). While the the inspection and appraisal went fine, the buyer had a problem with his credit so the deal fell through.
Our plan now it to take it off the market until next spring.
Mike, this buyer is never gonna come up to the price we want to be at, so we felt there is no sense in just going through the motions. He was on the fence to begin with, as he thought about it for almost two weeks and then comes in with this insult of an offer. His agent told our agent right after the showing that he was thinking of making an offer of $180k, and we said then don't bother.
We don't have to move and have decided to wait until next spring and try again.
Mike, this buyer is never gonna come up to the price we want to be at, so we felt there is no sense in just going through the motions. He was on the fence to begin with, as he thought about it for almost two weeks and then comes in with this insult of an offer. His agent told our agent right after the showing that he was thinking of making an offer of $180k, and we said then don't bother.
We don't have to move and have decided to wait until next spring and try again.
People often do things they thought they would never do, when they are offered the opportunity to do so.
People often pay more, or accept less, than their final number.
Often they are just looking for the conversation to make it happen.
The fact that this buyer thought on it for two weeks means he was engaged with the property for two weeks and made an attempt to buy.
I'm with Mike on this one. ALWAYS counter. Sometimes buyers make a RIDICULOUS low offer (against their Realtor's advice) to see what the sellers' response is.
Counter. Give them $500 or $1,000 off your listed price. See where it goes. Don't be insulted. This is someone who likes your HOUSE (not your HOME) enough to do the paperwork!
MAYBE it will work out and MAYBE it won't but isn't it worth a try?
Try looking at this transaction as a business deal and maybe that will help you take the emotion out of it. Try to think of it as a house...not your home. Your Realtor should be saying these same things to help you through this and counsel and advise you. This happens all the time and believe me, more often than not, buyers will negotiate.
So he thought it would be a good idea to make an even a lower offer after we told him to not bother with the $180k? Why would we respond to that? It tells me he's trying to get a deal and isn't very serious.
So he thought it would be a good idea to make an even a lower offer after we told him to not bother with the $180k? Why would we respond to that? It tells me he's trying to get a deal and isn't very serious.
Buyers unnecessarily disqualify homes because of list price.
Sellers unnecessarily disqualify buyers because of offer amount.
Conversation is the fix.
While satisfying at the moment, walking away means one is not motivated. But there are many unmotivated parties who are unable to transact.
"Thank you for your offer.
Of course, it is a bit low, and doesn't reflect the obvious value of the property.
We would like to work with you, create a Win-Win and several happy people.
We are willing to do that, and hope you can see your way to increasing your offer to reflect the value of the property.
Let's make it $191,000 (Or, whatever you want) and get a deal done."
I'm with Mike on this one. ALWAYS counter. Sometimes buyers make a RIDICULOUS low offer (against their Realtor's advice) to see what the sellers' response is.
Counter. Give them $500 or $1,000 off your listed price. See where it goes. Don't be insulted. This is someone who likes your HOUSE (not your HOME) enough to do the paperwork!
MAYBE it will work out and MAYBE it won't but isn't it worth a try?
Try looking at this transaction as a business deal and maybe that will help you take the emotion out of it. Try to think of it as a house...not your home. Your Realtor should be saying these same things to help you through this and counsel and advise you. This happens all the time and believe me, more often than not, buyers will negotiate.
Vicki
He knew what our response would be after we told him don't bother with the $180k.
He knew what our response would be after we told him don't bother with the $180k.
I work with sellers and buyers so I hear this stuff all the time!
I have actually had a buyer's agent CALL ME and ask me if I would accept a VERBAL offer. I have said yes in the past. It is a total waste of time. A verbal offer is ALWAYS RIDICULOUSLY LOW. I will no longer take a verbal offer. A SERIOUS BUYER will put it in writing.
Was this verbal offer?
If it was a verbal offer, you are right, they are just wasting your time.
However, if they went to the trouble of putting this in writing, they are somewhat serious.
Some buyers think once it is on paper, the seller will re think.
By countering, you are showing that you DO want to sell the house BUT you are going to be reasonable and TRY to work with the seller. By refusing to counter, you are being emotional. Stop being emotional. Counter. But only if the original offer is written, not verbal.
I have had buyers give a low written offer just to "test the sellers". Sellers counter with $500 to $1,000 off and now buyers know that seller isn't "desperate". Most of these work out. Sellers are happy and buyers are happy.
YOU sound emotional. When a sellers says, "I don't have to sell", makes me wonder if YOU are testing the market to see if you'll get a higher price than the market will allow. If YOU want to sell this house, negotiate. If not, wait for the next buyer. It is your choice.
You may never know the buyer's motivation. All you can do is try to work it out.
I agree on thinking of it as a business deal, having just gone through myself. Our agent (another state) talked my into listing our house for a bit higher than I was thinking based on comps, not totally off base. Anyway, we had an offer that was 93% of asking but not close to where we wanted to be. I was initially annoyed, but then reminded myself it was just business. We countered and they declined to go further. I let the house sit at that price for a couple of weeks but wasn't getting much interest (and we did need to sell!). I then dropped the price to my original plan, did even more staging, and had another open house. We had tons of people, the people with the original offer were there, and within hours submitted another offer very close to our original counter. We accepted, everyone happy, and we sold our house in 3 weeks.
I think you just never know what the other side is thinking, so just offer/counter with whatever amount you feel is appropriate and see what happens. I don't really have a problem with verbal offers either from a serious buyer (their agent could probably shed light on that), so save all that back forth with marking up contracts.
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