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I always counter. I sold some property where people tried to low ball me. I blame no one for trying to negotiate. I do the same thing. You're not gonna know if the seller is negotiable until you ask. Hell I price myself over my real asking price by a sight amount 5-7k and then I negotiate. 5-7k isn't gonna stop someone from bidding
And when I am "negotiable" it makes the house look even better. Now I'm no marketing whiz but people love getting a discount. ANY discount. And all they want to see is a lower number so I give them one.
If the buyer thinks he's getting a deal then he's getting a deal.
Look at it this way. If the lowball walks so what? he would of walked anyway.
It means your offer was too ridiculous to even bother countering. There are a lot of people out there thinking that sellers will accept anything you throw at them because it's a "buyer's market". I've gotten some stupid offers on some of my properties too and I tell them to come back when they get back in touch with reality.
Are you doing this on your own, or do you have a realtor helping at all? It seems that you're asking a TON of information from a random message board and putting a lot of trust in people that you know nothing of, but you don't seem to be willing to listen to someone you've hired to help you do what they're an expert at, if you've hired someone at all.
Doesn't seem to be a sound business decision for such a large purchase.
Why do you automatically assume it was a ridiculous offer? Goodness knows, I've seen plenty of SELLERS who were unreasonable to the point where I privately wondered if they were off their meds. They establish a price and by God, that's their line in the sand, and anyone who comes in under that price is insulting their business acumen, their ancestors and their descendents . . .
Perhaps the seller doesn't have any wiggle room -- they're on the edge of a short sale, perhaps, or there are other life issues that are clouding their judgement (the death of a spouse, a divorce, etc.) I've seen LOTS of divorce cases where one spouse would dig their heels in on negotiations, just to annoy the other spouse.
Anyway -- let's not automatically assume the buyer's offer was ridiculous.
Not game over yet. You can continue to send offers, however, the seller is not obligated to respond to them. The way, and time frame in which a response is given is a negotiating technique in itself.
Real life example: I am currently working with a client who found a home he loves. It is way overbuilt for the neighborhood, and is 1000 SF larger than any other home that has sold within the past year. It also has a 400 SQ FT attached apartment, in ground pool, etc. It has a number of serious issues such as a cracked slab, interior water damage, possible mold, buckling laminate floors, and suspicious drywall patches. My client submitted an offer at 125k, with the asking price being 175k. I knew that this offer had very little chance of being accepted, but It does open negotiations with the other party. The listing broker was quiet for about 24 hours after I submitted the offer, not even a confirmation of receipt. After a few of my phone calls sending me a text he says "They need near full listing to break even, sorry.", so I requested that they send us a counter offer, which I have not received. Now my buyer is antsy and wanting to increase his price right away, the lack of response in itself is causing the other party angst, and making him want to pay more.
Conversely, if you are the buyer and the seller is distressed, you can do the same thing. You can submit an offer, and if countered, just not respond for a while. You can tell the listing agent that your client is going to also start bidding on a few other properties with better financial potential. The seller is now going to be hungry for an offer if they are distressed, and might reconsider your original submission. Sellers typically have more riding on the line than buyers, as most cannot move until they sell their home. They also might not be financially able to pay for the current home, and need to unload it before going into foreclosure.
Am trying to learn about the negotiating process when it comes to real estate. Scenario: If a seller rejects initial low ball offer and no counter offer was made, does that mean the game is over? Could the buyer up the ante? Is this where realtors spar w/ punches of numbers so to speak? Thanks all...Enjoy your Wednesday....
You always run a risk on low balling a seller.....I've seen it happen over and over...
1. You've insulted the seller. Remember...sellers think their house is the best thing ever.
2. The offer could be so low the seller doesn't even feel its realistic to get a deal together....or that you may not qualify for the sales price and you are throwing out "fishing" offers to accommodate your price range.
3. Could just be a jerk. Some sellers are just stubborn as everything. Just the nature of dealing with human beings. Every once in a while you're going to deal with someone that is extremely stubborn.
Now you've put yourself in the unfortunate position of being the only one negotiating....IF you are willing to go up and really want the house. Which shifts power somewhat back to the seller when you come crawling back. That's why I always counsel my buyers about making low ball offers I can't justify with sold data. When the agents are involved, we need to be able to back our argument with something to make our client's case stronger.
I just have to interject here that I get the concept, but this isn't the same as someone trying to sell a laptop computer or piece of IKEA furniture on Craigslist. I don't think there's much room for silly emotions like "getting insulted by an offer" when you're trying to sell what's usually the single most expensive thing a person will purchase.
If I had a place up for sale and someone went to all the trouble it takes to make the first offer (which does require a lot of effort on their part, getting pre-approved for a loan, working with an agent to put in the offer for them, etc.) -- I'd at least counter with something that sends them a message that their offer is way too low. (Say I ask $250K and they offer $175K? I'd counter with $245K or something like that. If the person was just fishing to see if I was desperate to make a deal -- that tells them, nope - I'm not one of those folks, but thanks for trying!)
My recent experience with this process, from the buyer's point of view? I think agents are overly nervous about helping you try to negotiate a lower price on homes. They're too worried that #1, it cuts into the commission they'll make in the end, if the deal goes through, and #2, they don't want to have to confront the seller in a more confrontational way when the offer is pretty much pushing them to sell at their bottom dollar price.
Personally, I'm used to the haggling process and I consider myself fairly good at it. I've gotten car dealers to come down on price quite a bit, on several occasions -- and they're known to be some of the toughest out there to bargain with. As much as I appreciate the help a real estate buyer's agent gives in navigating the process, I felt like it really did compromise my bargaining ability -- having them in the middle of our whole transaction.
Quote:
Originally Posted by LCTMadison
You always run a risk on low balling a seller.....I've seen it happen over and over...
1. You've insulted the seller. Remember...sellers think their house is the best thing ever.
2. The offer could be so low the seller doesn't even feel its realistic to get a deal together....or that you may not qualify for the sales price and you are throwing out "fishing" offers to accommodate your price range.
3. Could just be a jerk. Some sellers are just stubborn as everything. Just the nature of dealing with human beings. Every once in a while you're going to deal with someone that is extremely stubborn.
Now you've put yourself in the unfortunate position of being the only one negotiating....IF you are willing to go up and really want the house. Which shifts power somewhat back to the seller when you come crawling back. That's why I always counsel my buyers about making low ball offers I can't justify with sold data. When the agents are involved, we need to be able to back our argument with something to make our client's case stronger.
Its a risk/reward.
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Thanks all...Enjoy your Wednesday....
re: insulting the seller
