Is this a fair offer on a presale??? Realtors?? (sales, lenders)

[alliecat6571]

Ok...I have a question for you. I am going to be making an offer on a presale when our lot gets recorded (Monday) It is in the 27524 zipcode...johnston co. First off, there is a house that closed two weeks ago (exactly our floor plan, same neighborhood)...list price of $189900. closed at $185000. Then another house in the neighborhood just closed... list price of $182900. closed at $179000. Okay.... here is our deal, we want the same house built as the one that listed at $189900. and closed at $185000...we want upgrades equaling $6200...so that puts us at a total of = $196100--- IF we offer full price. I was thinking of offering $192K or $193K and we will use his attorney and lenders and want him to pay closing costs. What do you think of that offer??? too low??? too high??? Thanks for you help everyone!!

[HappyNCGirl]

Hi Alliecat,

Sounds like you want to do a "presale", meaning that you want to have a house built rather than buying an existing inventory home? Is that correct?

Builders typically give larger discounts on "standing" inventory, homes that are already built.

In days gone by, Builders gave few incentives or discounts on presale homes.

Now days, that may not be the case. The builder I work for is now giving incentives on presales too. Larger incentives on the inventory though.

Sounds like you've done your homework on sales prices. One caution is that all lots aren't created equally - some are better than others. Homes on less desirable lots should sell for less. Also, front elevations of the homes aren't always equal either. A house with a front porch for example should sell for more than the same plan without a front porch.

Interior finishes might not be comparable either. Did the sold homes with the same plan have the same upgrades?

My advice is for you not to try to guess what is acceptable to the seller. Make your offer, and let the seller/builder counter back. With builders, its a numbers driven decision. They know what they have to net to make the sale work.

Resales homes are a bit tougher sometimes on the negotiating end because the seller's emotions natually come into play.

I'm not suggesting making some ridiculous offer like coming in 10% low. You've gotten an idea of what things are selling for, just stretch that some and see what they come back with.

Actually I'm amazed you can still find new homes for that price. That's awesome!

Good luck and let us know how it turns out