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.
Here's your answer:
I will lower my price to a break even point. I will not (in essence) "pay" someone to buy my house. Meaning, I will take what I owe on the mortgage. I will not go less than what I owe. Why would I? Why should I? Why should any seller (well, unless they bought a year or so ago)? And that is what I mean about "financing a buyer" A seller having to pay out thousands of dollars after closing so they could have lowered their price enough to sell? That is not a motivated seller, that is a desperate (and foolish) seller. And there is a difference.
There is no need for you (or anyone) to kick sellers when they are down. If you don't like the price, go for a lowball. You might get lucky, you might not. But I hope that some of you have enough foresight to know that there are real families living in these homes that you're bottom feeding on. And if you do buy a home, and you ever have to sell YOURSELF, that the same doesn't come back to you.
Sorry, as a seller, I just had to vent....didn't really mean to take it out all on you Linus, just the general attitude of the lowballing ways...
(By the way, I haven't even had a lowball offer)....
I totally agree. I get so tired of all the talk of, "Let's see how cheap I can buy this house for." People live there! Maybe honest hard working people who you're taking advantage of during a hard time! Pi$$ off with your lowball offer!
Originally I asked a price for my house that was just a couple thousand more than I paid for it in 2003. I wasn't trying to walk away with a big profit. Hell. At that price I was taking a loss due to having to pay my realtor and all the other fees.
We're finally settling on a price that's about $8k less than that. And in reality it's a great offer considering how $h!tty the market is. When I go to closing I'll have to cut a check for about $6k. I'm not making money by any means. On the contrary. It's like I'm paying these people to buy my house. They're coming to the table with a VA loan and I'm covering all their fees. They've basically got not one penny invested in the purchase of my house. Tossers!
BUT...
They came to our realtor originally with a lowball offer and she set them straight from the beginning (God bless her). She basically told them that if they offered that price it would be turned away immediately. We told her what to do with lowballers. Then they turned around and gave us a decent offer. It was plain to see what they were doing. Their intent was to see if we were despirate enough to go that low. They were DEAD wrong. They loved our house and wanted to buy it....they just wanted to see if they could get it for nothing before they gave us a respectable offer.
this is my response to all south florida realtors on the issue of lowball offers. i will use 2 properties to illustrate my frustration with this market. i am looking for vacant acreage north of tampa.
the first property is currently listed at $299k. the seller purchased the property for $110k in 2003. the lot is 10 acres of land. personally i think this lot is way overpriced. i have several reasons for my conclusions. property prices, for anyone who knows how to negotiate, have fallen to 2003 levels, so i don't quite understand how the seller dreams of tripling his money in this market.
the area has been so over-built based on speculative demand that it will probably be 10 years before anymore houses NEED to be constructed. add to that, european economies are heading in the same direction which will result in more dumping along with rising credit costs, unemployment, tightening loan facilities, rising inventories blah blah blah. i would only be prepared to offer substantially less than the seller paid. perhaps $75k
this brings me to property number 2. exactly the same size, similar access roads, equidistant from cbd, similar vegetation and fema profile. almost the same property...........
listing price $4,500,000!
how can anyone involved in this market be taken seriously? i have the mls numbers if anyone cares to explain the difference to me!
I am sure the difference has to do with the zoning.
As far as offering $75K on the 10 acres, go ahead and offer but don't be flabbergasted when they don't except.
Even in this market some people do not need to sell and they will just hold.
I totally agree. I get so tired of all the talk of, "Let's see how cheap I can buy this house for." People live there! Maybe honest hard working people who you're taking advantage of during a hard time! Pi$$ off with your lowball offer!
Originally I asked a price for my house that was just a couple thousand more than I paid for it in 2003. I wasn't trying to walk away with a big profit. Hell. At that price I was taking a loss due to having to pay my realtor and all the other fees.
We're finally settling on a price that's about $8k less than that. And in reality it's a great offer considering how $h!tty the market is. When I go to closing I'll have to cut a check for about $6k. I'm not making money by any means. On the contrary. It's like I'm paying these people to buy my house. They're coming to the table with a VA loan and I'm covering all their fees. They've basically got not one penny invested in the purchase of my house. Tossers!
BUT...
They came to our realtor originally with a lowball offer and she set them straight from the beginning (God bless her). She basically told them that if they offered that price it would be turned away immediately. We told her what to do with lowballers. Then they turned around and gave us a decent offer. It was plain to see what they were doing. Their intent was to see if we were despirate enough to go that low. They were DEAD wrong. They loved our house and wanted to buy it....they just wanted to see if they could get it for nothing before they gave us a respectable offer.
those poor hard working people that you sold your home to are probably already sitting on negative equity. that is the reality!
Maybe I am a dinosaur, but "back in the day" when I had my broker's license, I was taught "Any offer is a good offer."
My training included how to take what seems like a "lowball" offer and negotiate to try to get it where both parties can come to a happy settlement.
Seems to me . . . offers that are 10% off the list price are NOT lowball offers. At 20%, that feels like a lowball offer . . . but if that is the ONLY offer and the house has been on the market for a while. . . both seller and agent have to ask themselves, "Why?"
I still maintain . . . "price" is what a seller can get at a specific point in time. That may be higher in a year; it may be lower in a month. But when you have an offer on the table, you better take a hard look at it if no one else is knocking at the door. "Value" and "price" do not always equal the same figure. If your home is competing w/ many other similar properties, "value" may be diminished due to falling market prices, market glut, etc.
The real estate market right now is anybody's guess. Feel insulted by an offer? Well, you can roll the dice and hope someone else comes along . . . or you can see what can be negotiated and cut your losses and get out. Just depends on your circumstance, what properties you are competing against for that qualified buyer . . . and how well you (or your broker) can negotiate a contract.
I think this market requires an attitude of . . . "all offers welcomed." It is, after all, just an offer . . . negotiate and see what is possible . . .
Great post...I love the word 'fair'. If a fair offer comes in, then we are willing to counter fairly to them. win-win.
But that's their own fault for putting 0% down. I've got nothing to do with their financing. My house has not depreciated in value. Based on the comps we're seeing it's pretty much hanging in there. The market is going to turn around and in a few years they'll be able to sell it for a pretty penny.
I am sure the difference has to do with the zoning.
As far as offering $75K on the 10 acres, go ahead and offer but don't be flabbergasted when they don't except.
Even in this market some people do not need to sell and they will just hold.
the $299k property has been on the market for 15months is zoned for agricultural use but surrounded by condo developments. the other is part agricultural and part timber also surrounded by condo developments. that however is not the point i was trying to make. in this part of the world no-one is building anything and it is likely to stay that way for some time, commercial or residential. the fact that these guys evidently don't need to sell is adversly affecting those who need to sell urgently. those who need to sell are basing their listing on these wildly overpriced dream appraisals. their properties then sit and gather dust while more and more real estate is forced onto the market thereby swelling inventories further. we in south florida are in unprecedented territory here and sellers have to get a whole lot more aggressive to bring inventory down to manageable levels. it is the responsibilty of realtors to stop playing the "paula abdul" with sellers and list real estate at prices that sell not prices that swell!
the $299k property has been on the market for 15months is zoned for agricultural use but surrounded by condo developments. the other is part agricultural and part timber also surrounded by condo developments. that however is not the point i was trying to make. in this part of the world no-one is building anything and it is likely to stay that way for some time, commercial or residential. the fact that these guys evidently don't need to sell is adversly affecting those who need to sell urgently. those who need to sell are basing their listing on these wildly overpriced dream appraisals. their properties then sit and gather dust while more and more real estate is forced onto the market thereby swelling inventories further. we in south florida are in unprecedented territory here and sellers have to get a whole lot more aggressive to bring inventory down to manageable levels. it is the responsibilty of realtors to stop playing the "paula abdul" with sellers and list real estate at prices that sell not prices that swell!
Well I am north of Tampa and inventory has been going down for the last few months.
There is also some building still going on.
But that is besides the point.
Every seller has their own motivation for selling but the overpriced parcels should help the parcels that are priced right to sell.
Of course I would like to see everyone that doesn't really need to sell that isn't priced right pull their home off the market but that is just not going to happen.
Of course I would like to see everyone that doesn't really need to sell that isn't priced right pull their home off the market but that is just not going to happen.
Well, since your a realtor and your financial interest lies in the health of the RE market, of course you would.
However, if you don't look at it selfishly, bloated inventory is a great thing for buyers in today's market.
Well, since your a realtor and your financial interest lies in the health of the RE market, of course you would.
However, if you don't look at it selfishly, bloated inventory is a great thing for buyers in today's market.
If people that did not need to sell and just have it out there to see if they get their price took their property off the market it would help the sellers and the buyers.
The buyers would not have to wade through as much overpriced property to find the one they really wanted at the right price and the seller would have less competition and a better chance to sell.
The overpriced properties thrown in with correctly priced properties along with mass media and analysts telling us property values are going down now and in the future makes it a major mess to try to come up with a good offer.
The seller may think it's a lowball offer, but the buy may not based on what they read and see what's going on around them. Mass media is making it sound like ALL homes are falling in value 10, 15, 20%.
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.
