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Location: Halfway between Number 4 Privet Drive and Forks, WA
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Quote:
Originally Posted by InflationNation
No one is kicking anyone by making a lowball offer. It's not my problem if the seller owes more than that amount I'm offering. How do I know? Why would I want to know?
This mushy stuff about families living in the house is irrelevant and just smoke and mirrors, and a non-sequitor designed to make buyers feel badly.
A lowball is not a lowball if it's the only offer and the house (not home) was marketed well.
Like I said, mad sellers stay sellers. Get a grip on yourself and remove your emotions from your house (not home, house). When you live in it, it's your home. When you're buying/selling, it's a HOUSE.
My emotions are removed from selling my house, but they are not removed from my pocketbook!!!!
Nor my family's financial future....
And I am not mad, there is no smoke and mirrors. Hell since there's so much inventory, I'm sure you'll find exactly what you deserve in a foreclosure with the cheap price tag to boot... So why complain about sellers not lowering their prices enough to accommodate you??? After all, you can have your pick!
Linus, I think you can only speak for your market and this seems to be a general blanket statement to all sellers trying to sell a home, which, is unfair.
Just because a seller won't finance a buyer to take over their house means they're not a serious seller? C'mon!
I don't know any seller that would do that, and in our area, sellers have gone just about as low as they can go (or at least I have) without having to payback a debt at closing.
So, as a seller, if you (or anyone else) don't think I'm serious about moving my property, and I'm just one of several thousands "out to get one over on a buyer" you're mistaken...
"and in our area, sellers have gone just about as low as they can go (or at least I have) without having to payback a debt at closing. "
I wonder how long most of those sellers have been in their homes? Maybe your market has seen a sharp downturn. Buying a home is generally not a good idea for a short-term investment. There are a lot of costs associated with buying a house, especially in the first several years of a mortgage where all you pay is interest. Realistically, people shouldn't expect to recoup those expenses and make a profit after only being in a home 2-3 years. Some markets are so good that people can, but I don't think it's a good idea to count on that kind of turn around.
I've been in my home 13 years and house prices have dropped some recently and they never did rise dramatically. I plan on pricing my home aggressively when I put it on the market. And luckily I will have some room to price my home aggressively, but I doubt that I will make a lot of money. In my neighborhood we have about 5 or 6 houses for sale that have been on the market months without any substantial price drops... actually in 5 months one has dropped only about 4k overall.
I'm no expert, but it's my feeling, that if a home is on the market 4-6 months or more with no "acceptable" offers, it's not priced right for the market. Either the seller has unreasonable expectations or the house just doesn't show well. I know I wouldn't want to have the stress of living in a house on the market for a long period of time, after 6 months, I'd just try to cut my losses and accept reality or rent it if I'd already purchased a new home.
It seems to me that sellers should give themselves a reasonable time frame to sell their home and price it for selling or just take it off the market. I know I sure don't look forward to it.
i don't think you are talking about me playing dumb. ? i read someone elses thread and just thought of the question as to what people consider lowball. maybe it would be better asked like this:
to all of you who have homes for sale, what number below your asking price would you feel comfortable accepting? for me, we were listed at $335K dropped ultimately to $299K and accepted for $283K. It hurt, but we wanted out and even though we first thought it was "lowball" we went back and realized only one other townhome had sold in 6 months and then we felt lucky to get out.
Twinmma,
For statistical purposes in my area, the percentage of list price to sales price is calculated using the most recent list price. So, if you calculate $299K list to $283K sale, then the percentage is a little less than 95% which isn't bad at all! JMHO.
It's also possible that when your asking price fell below $300K, now it's in the buyer's range of affordability. The buyer may or may not have initially known you had reduced the price from $335K to $299K.
I can't speak for other RE Professionals, but I work with sellers based on a net sheet so they know how much they will gain (or lose) from the sale based on the offer price.
Either way, I hope your bottom line was not affected too badly.
What about marketing your home at the minimum you would take for it and then advertise that you will accept offers for a set period of time (30-90 days) and then take the best offer over your minimum? It's kind of like an auction with a reserve but with a larger window for offers. At least that way you have a period when it will all be over and you will hopefully have at least recieved your minimum price.
What about marketing your home at the minimum you would take for it and then advertise that you will accept offers for a set period of time (30-90 days) and then take the best offer over your minimum? It's kind of like an auction with a reserve but with a larger window for offers. At least that way you have a period when it will all be over and you will hopefully have at least recieved your minimum price.
This has been tried, and either you will get offers or you won't. It's certainly another viable alternative, but this changes nothing when it comes to pricing it according to current market conditions, which are much less favorable than just 6 months ago.
Check out reserves on eBay and see what happens. The item will expire unsold many times.
Here's your answer:
I will lower my price to a break even point. I will not (in essence) "pay" someone to buy my house. Meaning, I will take what I owe on the mortgage. I will not go less than what I owe. Why would I? Why should I? Why should any seller (well, unless they bought a year or so ago)?
Back in the 80's there was a huge run-up in housing prices in Texas. When housing prices crashed at the end of the decade, a lot of folks wound up "mailing the keys to the bank." In other words, they moved out, and let the banks take the losses. It took years for Texas real estate to recover.
I don't know if that's what you mean. But if you a decision to buy, based on getting 100% of any appreciation, while passing off any losses to the bank, I commend you.
In gambling, a bet you can win, but not lose, is called a 'free roll'. If you can get a free roll, you're a fool not to play.
When banks offer 100% financing, they're offering free rolls to home buyers.
You'd think grown men in business suits would know better to make an offer any prostitute in Vegas would know better than to accept... but apparently, they don't.
Quote:
And that is what I mean about "financing a buyer" A seller having to pay out thousands of dollars after closing so they could have lowered their price enough to sell? That is not a motivated seller, that is a desperate (and foolish) seller. And there is a difference.
Suppose I borrow money to buy a stock, and then the stock goes down. Am I financing the buyer, if I sell at market price? What does the amount of my debt have to do with the price of the stock, anyway?
Quote:
There is no need for you (or anyone) to kick sellers when they are down. If you don't like the price, go for a lowball. You might get lucky, you might not. But I hope that some of you have enough foresight to know that there are real families living in these homes that you're bottom feeding on. And if you do buy a home, and you ever have to sell YOURSELF, that the same doesn't come back to you.
Buyers have real families, too, and their obligation - to their families - is to buy as much home as they can, for a price they can afford.
When/if you become a buyer, that's what you'll do.
"Bottom feeding" sounds cool, but the truth is nobody has a right to sell a home at a price that they like, any more than anybody has a right to live in a home at all.
The truth is you're blaming the wrong people. It's not today's buyers who are screwing you, by not buying your home. It's the sellers who gouged you when you bought the home you're in now.
Quote:
Sorry, as a seller, I just had to vent....didn't really mean to take it out all on you Linus, just the general attitude of the lowballing ways...
(By the way, I haven't even had a lowball offer)....
Why is everyone using a dollar figure for lowballs? Shouldn't it be based on a percentage? Jorywalker, yes, reducing a home by $75K in Garland and other parts of Texas would be big given that median home prices are probably under $200K in many markets but reducing a home by $75K in SoCal wouldn't be too bad when non-starter homes typically run at $700K or higher. I agree with CJ that the role of the agent is to help seller's overcome the emotional aspects and sell the home at a price that makes sense given the market. I wouldn't want an agent that feeds my over emotional state by making comments like "this is an insult" or "lets not even consider this" like we're buddies hanging out and they "feel my pain". When I sold my home, I was so glad my agent was always calm, cool, and informed. She talked me off of the ledge a few times and helped me to look at all the offers objectively.
Why is everyone using a dollar figure for lowballs? Shouldn't it be based on a percentage? Jorywalker, yes, reducing a home by $75K in Garland and other parts of Texas would be big given that median home prices are probably under $200K in many markets but reducing a home by $75K in SoCal wouldn't be too bad when non-starter homes typically run at $700K or higher. I agree with CJ that the role of the agent is to help seller's overcome the emotional aspects and sell the home at a price that makes sense given the market. I wouldn't want an agent that feeds my over emotional state by making comments like "this is an insult" or "lets not even consider this" like we're buddies hanging out and they "feel my pain". When I sold my home, I was so glad my agent was always calm, cool, and informed. She talked me off of the ledge a few times and helped me to look at all the offers objectively.
For statistical purposes in my area, the percentage of list price to sales price is calculated using the most recent list price. So, if you calculate $299K list to $283K sale, then the percentage is a little less than 95% which isn't bad at all! JMHO.
It's also possible that when your asking price fell below $300K, now it's in the buyer's range of affordability. The buyer may or may not have initially known you had reduced the price from $335K to $299K.
I can't speak for other RE Professionals, but I work with sellers based on a net sheet so they know how much they will gain (or lose) from the sale based on the offer price.
Either way, I hope your bottom line was not affected too badly.
TampaKaren.
TampaKaren, what you just posted is a prime example of why % to list price is BOGUS and MISLEADING. This is again and again why realtors (NAR) get a black eye in the public's book...deservedly so for their MISLEADING statistics!
Didn't you read that she originally listed for 335K? She sold for 283K.
I ask you, tell me what the REAL % of list price is! Not the misleading # that she relisted after relisted for....
It ain't anywhere NEAR 95%......
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Don't count from the initial list price
