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I'm always very skeptical of the "there are other offers" line. Show me the offers.
No realtor would talk me into offering full price (or especially over) right off the bat. I would start low and go up, because you can't do that backwards. If they want more, they'll counteroffer.
But then, I'm naturally very skeptical!
I just had a listing that had 2 offers. I told the 2nd agent that the first offer was "very strong". Though I didn't disclose, it was full price with 25% down on a conventional loan. I would NEVER show the other agent the offers.
The 2nd offer came in 15K below list with a low deposit and FHA financing. The seller didn't even want to counter. She signed the first offer. The 2nd buyer was very sad and then verbally offered $5K above list. Too bad, too late.
When there are multiple offers, buyers often do not have the opportunity to start low and negotiate. Put your best offer forward at the beginning.
Generally a home that is sale ready in a strong market and desirable area sells with multiple overbids...
Just reviewed the last 90 days in my part of the SF Bay Area and 94% went for over asking with the rest within 3% of asking except for one property that is still listed and has had two price reductions... in needs a roof and has hillside foundation problems.
Never offer more than you are comfortable paying and make sure you have inspection contingency...
A very good investor friend always comes in strong to lock up the property and then picks it apart using multiple inspectors... I don't agree but he is very successful.
Since when do agents "advise" to offer the full asking price?
It's already been said in this thread, but it's very possible the agent has had similar instances recently where another offer has beaten out their buyers offer. If the seller doesn't offer up a highest and best situation to all offers in hand, you as the buyer get one shot to make your case.. If you don't want to adjust your offer in any way, so be it. But the market might show that offers are coming in at full list etc..
I had a client that offered below list NET to the seller, then adjusted sightly upwards when informed of another offer. After the listing agent advises me that they went with the other offer, my client asked if we could adjust our offer again (at that point, effectively coming up around $10,000 NET to the seller (on 600,000 house)).. No dice of course, the other offer had been accepted and ratified.. My clients were bummed, but when the next home came along, they came stronger than we did on the first house (and we got our offer accepted and settled 30 days later)
Point is, offer what you feel comfortable with, but keep in mind that you might lose out over a couple $1,000. If you really love the house, come strong.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Koale
The only person they care to help is themselves, think about it. They are working for the commission...not you. Guess you either have to play their game or call the agent on it and see what they say...then try to find an honest agent with scruples...Best of luck.
Koale
Even if we are talking a $25,000 swing in final sales price, that's essentially $750 to the agent.. I think most agents would take a $750 hit at the end of the transaction to get their client into a house faster..
I'm always very skeptical of the "there are other offers" line. Show me the offers.
No realtor would talk me into offering full price (or especially over) right off the bat. I would start low and go up, because you can't do that backwards. If they want more, they'll counteroffer.
But then, I'm naturally very skeptical!
You couldn't buy a house in Vienna, Va with that outlook.
Maybe the other houses in the neighborhood have similar problems. Try not to compare houses you haven't looked at.
No, they didn't. The comps were just a few years old, with vents and easily accessible doors to the back yards. The house I was looking at was much smaller, and 20 years older. Two facts that indicate off the bat that it would sell for less, w/o even considering the issues with the house.
And as I said, I was familiar with one comp just a block away. I hadn't seen it in person, but I drooled over it for months while they tried to sell it. Unfortunately, it sold before I could buy a house. It was listed for the same amt as the one I was now looking at. BUT it was GORGEOUS and new...and larger. Great floor plan. It sold for less than the asking price, I'm sure....because it was just sitting on the market unsold. THAT'S why the agent didn't include that in the comp list. She didn't know that I knew about it. But I did.
The things that you mention are not going to affect the price per square foot of the house. For all you know other homes in the neighborhood have other flaws that are worse to the average buyer. Flaws like you list above are going to affect someone's like/dislike of a house and whether they are willing to buy it, but they aren't going to specifically affect the price in any way you can measure.
That being said, it sounds like you are not happy with your realtor and don't trust their advice so it's time for you to find a new realtor.
I DO know. I've looked at homes in the area, and studied one in particular for months, as I drooled over it, hoping it didn't sell before I could be a buyer. It sold shortly before I sold my house.
The comps were 20 years NEWER and had more square feet. Just factual info about the houses that off the bat say that the price of the current house should be less.
We're talking market value, like city appraisal. Yes....flaws in a home affect market value. They are harder to sell, unless you find someone who doesn't need or care about those things affected by the flaws.
So yes...the home being sold currently is definitely worth LESS than the comps.
The realtor....it was two different realtors at different times.
You sound like a reasonably intelligent person. I suggest: (1) listen to what the agent has to say, (2) look at the comps, and (3) make your own decision. Then say to the agent "thank you for your effort, but this is my decision."
I obviously did that. That wasn't my question. I wasn't asking for how to respond. Did you read my OP?
Yes, I think so. I've tried telling people that before, and they disagree with me. But I think that's the case.
A matter of local law but I am not sure anywhere still does sub agency. Around here (NV) you represent the buyer period and present the buyer with a duties owned document that says exactly that. There are some places where you have to have a buyers agent agreement but that is not universal. I have never used one though I might under unusual circumstance.
So I would be very skeptical that any agent is a subagent of the listing agent without a disclosure to the buyer.
The "no other offers" shtick is a consumer fantasy.
After you had lost a few, or several, homes with your game plan, your skepticism would have you looking over your shoulder in hindsight.
Only a couple of times have I ever thought there were no other offers when I was told there were. I get to "see" the other offers when the MLS is updated in 12-36 hours with another agent's name listed as the successful selling agent.
Too often.
And, too often I have to explain to my skeptical clients why we need to move on to the next property, and leave the one they really liked behind.
I have completely fallen into multiple offers on my own listings when they were nearly ready to expire after a full listing agreement term.
Stuff happens in real estate, and multiple offers out of the blue is stuff that happens.
Oh, I believed that there were other offers. My price range is common, and I seem to be attracted to houses that others are attracted to. And the houses did, in fact, sell a day or two later.
Actually, when I hear there are other offers coming in, that makes me less likely to make an offer. I don't want to get in a bidding war. My view is that I would offer a little less than what the house is worth TO ME, giving me room to go up a bit. That's all I can do. If that's not what the seller thinks his house is worth or thinks he can get more, then that's that. I tend not to fall in love with houses. I'm very practical. Having said that, it's POSSIBLE I suppose that I would run across the perfect house...in some universe. But unlikely. I don't seem to have that gene that falls in love with one particular house or car or whatever. I wish I WOULD find a house that could be my dream house.
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