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We are looking at a FSBO house across the country, but may be seeing it in person very soon.
The property is in a fairly slow-moving area as far as house sales go; it has been on the market for over one year and the seller has reduced the asking by 15%.
The listing for the house makes mention of the amount of money recently spent on the house...it seems to be a focal point for the seller (which I understand), and the house shows a huge amount of good care and pride. We are in a position to buy the house, for cash, with a quick closing...but we would need to reduce the price by another 15%.
I realize that no one reading this is psychic, and that every deal is different. Since we may not have the buffer of an agent, I'm trying to work out the best way to approach the topic of price. I'd appreciate any thoughts on how best to do this without completely killing the deal from the get-go. Thanks!
Researching sold comp's in that area will guide your offering price and absolutely, see the home in person. Without either, there is no starting point.
No matter how you do it, you are going to be telling him that the house that he lovingly renovated at great expense is worth nowhere near what he thinks it is. And there is going to be no agent to break the news gently and talk him down.
All you can do is hope that you will be lucky and he has just had a revelation that what he has been doing is not working.
(After you see the house) make the offer, back away to escape most of the explosion, and be prepared to move on to another property.
The house is located in upstate New York. The 15% reduction was this past June, after over a year on the market.
Be sure you understand how high the property taxes will be. Just sayin'. I know it's not NYC but even upstate some of (maybe most of) the tax bills are just nuts there. Like $20K per year.
Be sure you understand how high the property taxes will be. Just sayin'. I know it's not NYC but even upstate some of (maybe most of) the tax bills are just nuts there. Like $20K per year.
Well, Mitch, I guess you can't be faulted too much for your view from 3000 miles away but it would be the rare house in upstate NY that has taxes anywhere near twenty thousand dollars a year. The fact that you insinuate NYC has high real estate taxes is also generally incorrect and indicative of your lack of knowledge about the area as the city has huge sources of commercial taxation to offset residential taxes. It is the areas surrounding the city that have high taxes because they often have very limited sources of tax revenue other than residential properties and also have high expenses due to their proximity to the city.
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The listing for the house makes mention of the amount of money recently spent on the house...it seems to be a focal point for the seller (which I understand), and the house shows a huge amount of good care and pride. We are in a position to buy the house, for cash, with a quick closing...but we would need to reduce the price by another 15%.
I realize that no one reading this is psychic, and that every deal is different. Since we may not have the buffer of an agent, I'm trying to work out the best way to approach the topic of price. I'd appreciate any thoughts on how best to do this without completely killing the deal from the get-go. Thanks!
Buying and selling is frequently more about the myths and stories between the two participants than what they're actually buying and selling. You've noticed they're proud about their house. If you try to find things wrong with it to lower the price, that will only make them grumpy.
Well, if it were me, I'd offer 20% under their price. BUT! Not because of any problem with the house, but because that's all I as the buyer could afford. Then, if necessary 'scrape up' another 5% to get to the 15% less than their asking that you want to pay.
This lowers the price, keeps their pride intact and keeps the house as a "wonderful perfect house", it's just that the buyer doesn't have enough money. If anyone asks, you adore the house, you love what they've done with it, you'll never change a thing. What you do after they sell it to you, well, that may be something different, but they will be far away by then and still remember their wonderful house being cherished by the new owners.
I know of exactly such a house in southern NJ. Beautiful house. Everything done current and correctly. The best tradesmen. The owner/rebuilder is the wife of a man who owns a large successful company. She rebuilt this house behind hers so she would have some control. At least that is what she thinks.
There is no way she is going to lower the price. I know this as fact. One of her goals is to rent it for major coin. She did this for several years. An insurance company rented it for a client while client's house was being rebuilt post fire. This girl is smart. This is not her first rodeo.
Keep in mind there are some deals such as above which just can't be done. Talk to the owner on the telephone. Start an ongoing dialogue before investing travel time.
Also, while I love upstate NY it is not on my list of consideration for a move. Taxes and regulations are hard for me to deal with. Same with PA, I absolutely love central PA. Because of reasons I stated areas of NY and PA are seeing people leave. When areas have net people outflows you are have less support businesses and stores.
I suggest you look elsewhere. Surry county, NC for one.
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