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I put in a 490k offer for a home listed at 519k that came on the market two weeks ago.
The sellers countered with 510k and seems firm about it because they paid 550k for it 4 years ago and did some work on it. According to my agent (who is with the listing agency), the house had another offer on it at 485k and may have another offer coming in soon from a buyer who went to see it 2-3 times.
She said its a done deal if we offer 510k.
The interest is there because the location is fantastic, the home is a good size, has great bones, lotsa charm and expansion potential.
The cons are the home has an old kitchen, unfinished attic and basement. Similar homes with finished attic and basement and better kitchen sell for about 550k but the location not as good.
Should I go in with 500k and ignore the 510k to see if the sellers would budge? Thanks!
Can't hurt to try the 500k, if they come down a little more then you get a better deal. If they're firm at 510k they won't budge and you can always come up if you think it's still worth it at that price.
Have you and your agent determined what the market value of the house is? You shouldn't care one bit about what they owners paid for it. Doesn't matter to you.
If you were to lose this house and buy a similar one how much do you think it would cost?
The fact that it's dual agency would seriously concern me about getting played.
I wouldn't go 1cent over what I thought it was worth.
The OP stated that the buyer's agent is with the listing agency. That doesn't necessarily mean that the listing agent and the buyer's agent is the same person, does it? I read the OP as the listing agent and the buyer's agent are both in the same agency but they could very well be in different offices and do not know each other if the agency have many locations. Please correct me if I'm wrong.
To the OP, it looks like the seller is willing to negotiate since they came down 9k already. If I were you, I'd try 500k and see what the seller has to say. If you really really really like the house and you believe this is your house, then I'd just go 510k and get it over with.
You're right, two different agents within the same brokerage is also considered dual agency. And yes, the listing and buying agent are two different people.
Thanks for the quick responses! I think the house is definitely worth 500k and considering finishing the attic, basement and renovating the kitchen will cost me about 50k, that evens out to the comp prices. However, I don't know if you can put a price on the fantastic location. It's one block to the town center and mass transit. Considering this is a commuter's town, that's a pretty good feature.
I like the house but am not in LOVE with it. I have seen about 15-17 homes in that town and nothing even comes close to it though. The town has low supply and high demand 'cus it's a small commuter town.
One thing my agent mentioned is that because I have a home sale contingency (current home is under contract), my offer may not be as enticing. Is that true even with a home under contract?
Suspect the answer to this is really what is preventing buyer & seller from seeing eye-to-eye
Quote:
Originally Posted by manderly6
Have you and your agent determined what the market value of the house is? You shouldn't care one bit about what they owners paid for it. Doesn't matter to you.
If you were to lose this house and buy a similar one how much do you think it would cost?
IS there ANOTHER HOUSE like this one? My gut says NO -- even without a renovated kitchen / finished attic & basement you have basically said this place STILL WINS on location but since the seller is willing to go down to $510K they see this as $40K toward your (probable) renovation plans.
As the buyer you see that $10K gap as the difference between high end finishes and a 'blah' renovation...
If you can't come agreement with the seller I would be worried that someone else will come along and still see this as a bargain for not-that-rough diamond in an exceptional location.
Have you done the calculations as to what that $10K would mean out of your pocket at current interest rates? Don't be penny wise and pound foolish...
One thing my agent mentioned is that because I have a home sale contingency (current home is under contract), my offer may not be as enticing. Is that true even with a home under contract?
Thanks.
Of course it isn't as enticing as a similar offer without the contingency.
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Suspect the answer to this is really what is preventing buyer & seller from seeing eye-to-eye
