Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I routinely have negotiated 10%+ off asking prices, recently we negotiated 20% off. Many of the sellers I talk to nowadays finally realize the market has been in decline and many now think should get out before prices get to low....same mentality as buyers a few years ago, better get in now before they miss the boat.
For sellers though, it makes more sense to lower your asking price 10-15% before you accept a "lowball" as the lower asking price can lure in less aggressive buyers not willing to "lowball".
I put "lowball" in paranthesis just because an offer 25% under asking or may not really be a lowball if it's the seller asking to much compared to competition.
What kinds of lowball offers have buyers been successful with? Has anyone been able to buy for less than 75% of the asking price? How often have your lowball offers been turned down?
i shudder to think of the position i'd be in today if some of my lowballs were excepted a year ago.
Friends who come to see my house (house and property are beautiful) ask all the time if I got a great deal. My answer: I got a fair deal... what's a great deal in this market?
The house we bought is an older home (built in 1950) but had tons of beautiful updates. The sellers family had built the house and he bought the house from his parents 15 years ago. The house we estimated in a decent market was easily worth $400K. In addition it had a beautiful backyard with tons of finished landscaping projects worth another $30K-$40K. It was originally listed in Nov 07 at $379K. In Jan 08, with an accepted offer already on another house he dropped it to $359K (which was more in line with neighborhood comps). I made my first offer on Jan 20th for $315K... obviously lowball. He entertained it, however wouldn't counter with an offer that low. His realtor told mine his rock bottom price was $350K.
We waited one month... In March told them we were still interested in the house and we would offer $330 net-to-seller with a 6% concession to cover closing costs. He sat on it for 48hrs (obviously working the math) and accepted our offer.... for $330K net to seller, 'as is' pending a passing home inspection. We closed May 1. I later found out that we were his one and only offer. His house was listed for a total of 93 days. Average list in our market is over 180 days. In fact there are homes still listing since Spring 07.
So did we get a 'great deal'... no we got a fair deal. I'm confident that we got the lowest price we could've gotten for this home. He was able to list, sell and upgrade to a larger house in the the same town in less than four months. My realtor said it was the happiest closing he had ever been too. Both parties were completely satisfied. In the time since our closing he and I have become friends (he's obviously attached to the house he grew up in). He's helped me out with a few outdoor projects I've had and in turn I've given him some help with his computers (what I do for a living). He confided in me that he never expected to sell less than the number he had in his head, but when he factored in the great deal he was getting on his new home, it made sense to pass it forward and close quickly.
Really nice story. You are 100% right about great deal vs fair deal.
I wish there were more stories like yours.
We put our home on the market June 1. It was a great house on a golf course with pool/jacuzzi. We kept it like new and it showed even thought it was 12 years old. Had one to 2 showings a week then got a lowball offer, we were asking $268k and were offered $220k, we told our realtor they needed to come back in the $250k range. They came back at $245k and we took it. Last closest identical home sold for $249k. We did have an apprasial done when negoiating and it came back at $276k fair market value so they should feel fairly good that if market moves some down, they are OK. Oh, I do have to say my IDENTICAL house 2 doors down sold for $380k when the market was booming. I paid $201k in 1998 for it and really just broke even with my upgrades but in this market, felt good about that. The home is in Florida and I do feel this is going to be a soft market for several years to come, just my gut from watching and reading....
We put our home on the market June 1. It was a great house on a golf course with pool/jacuzzi. We kept it like new and it showed even thought it was 12 years old. Had one to 2 showings a week then got a lowball offer, we were asking $268k and were offered $220k, we told our realtor they needed to come back in the $250k range. They came back at $245k and we took it. Last closest identical home sold for $249k. We did have an apprasial done when negoiating and it came back at $276k fair market value so they should feel fairly good that if market moves some down, they are OK. Oh, I do have to say my IDENTICAL house 2 doors down sold for $380k when the market was booming. I paid $201k in 1998 for it and really just broke even with my upgrades but in this market, felt good about that. The home is in Florida and I do feel this is going to be a soft market for several years to come, just my gut from watching and reading....
Guntersville-- Congratulations on being a seller instead of a lister. In this market, most people are failing to realize there's a difference. We, too, took the hit and sold for today's price back in February. We could not get that much for the house if we were selling today.
What kinds of lowball offers have buyers been successful with? Has anyone been able to buy for less than 75% of the asking price? How often have your lowball offers been turned down?
You want to "lowball" go buy yourself a bank owned foreclosure.. !!!! Geez.. even the banks won't go that low and are taking a min of 90% of the appraised value!!
Whta goes around comes around.. lowball now... then someday when you go sell your home that youlve lived in , done work too etc.. and have someone come in and insult you with a lowball offer.. lets see how you feel then!!!!
You want to "lowball" go buy yourself a bank owned foreclosure.. !!!! Geez.. even the banks won't go that low and are taking a min of 90% of the appraised value!!
Whta goes around comes around.. lowball now... then someday when you go sell your home that youlve lived in , done work too etc.. and have someone come in and insult you with a lowball offer.. lets see how you feel then!!!!
Want a real bargain.. buy a foreclosure..
How is it an insult? It's an offer that can be rejected or accepted, that's it. Don't like it, don't take it.
How is it an insult? It's an offer that can be rejected or accepted, that's it. Don't like it, don't take it.
It's just a complete and total insult is all..
You wouldn't like if someone considered your home a bargain basement...
and it makes the person "low balling" seem like a.. well bottom feeder..
It's just insulting..
And it will be rejected.. if he's going to "lowball"everything he can continue to rent! I'm sure that person would be extremely insulted and certainly would never accept a "lowball" offer on their own home!!!
Friends who come to see my house (house and property are beautiful) ask all the time if I got a great deal. My answer: I got a fair deal... what's a great deal in this market?
The house we bought is an older home (built in 1950) but had tons of beautiful updates. The sellers family had built the house and he bought the house from his parents 15 years ago. The house we estimated in a decent market was easily worth $400K. In addition it had a beautiful backyard with tons of finished landscaping projects worth another $30K-$40K. It was originally listed in Nov 07 at $379K. In Jan 08, with an accepted offer already on another house he dropped it to $359K (which was more in line with neighborhood comps). I made my first offer on Jan 20th for $315K... obviously lowball. He entertained it, however wouldn't counter with an offer that low. His realtor told mine his rock bottom price was $350K.
We waited one month... In March told them we were still interested in the house and we would offer $330 net-to-seller with a 6% concession to cover closing costs. He sat on it for 48hrs (obviously working the math) and accepted our offer.... for $330K net to seller, 'as is' pending a passing home inspection. We closed May 1. I later found out that we were his one and only offer. His house was listed for a total of 93 days. Average list in our market is over 180 days. In fact there are homes still listing since Spring 07.
So did we get a 'great deal'... no we got a fair deal. I'm confident that we got the lowest price we could've gotten for this home. He was able to list, sell and upgrade to a larger house in the the same town in less than four months. My realtor said it was the happiest closing he had ever been too. Both parties were completely satisfied. In the time since our closing he and I have become friends (he's obviously attached to the house he grew up in). He's helped me out with a few outdoor projects I've had and in turn I've given him some help with his computers (what I do for a living). He confided in me that he never expected to sell less than the number he had in his head, but when he factored in the great deal he was getting on his new home, it made sense to pass it forward and close quickly.
This is how a deal is supposed to go down.. the buyer doesn't want to feel they overpayed and a homeowner doesn't want to feel they gave it away ..THAT'S key!
Congrats!
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
