Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > Real Estate
 [Register]
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.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 02-23-2015, 04:22 PM
 
3 posts, read 6,663 times
Reputation: 20

Advertisements

My husband and I are in the market for our first house and have put an offer in on one this morning.

After going over and over the paperwork, I just can't get over the fact that I think this house is seriously overpriced and things seem fishy. It's not enough to keep us from making an offer, but I do feel a bit uneasy about it.

The listing agent is also a total airhead, who keeps trying to play games with us. She can't give us straight answers to our questions, I don't trust the answers she gives us, very obviously has no knowledge of rural properties, and keeps dangling this supposed "other offer" out in front of us to get us to raise our offer (we're not).

Basically, this dude bought a house two years ago, likely for too much money (looking at the appraisal, the comps are not actually all that comparable), spent a sh*t ton of money renovating the house in a very "western" look, got divorced, and has now had the house back on the market for a year. My best guess is he is trying to get all of his money back out of the deal. The house is definitely nothing like what I thought we would buy, but fortunately it's mostly cosmetic things that we could fix with a bit of money (replacing shag carpet, repainting heavily textured walls and very dark ceilings, removing hideous tacky light fixtures - I've taken to calling it the western saloon ). The listing agent keeps harping on how it was appraised at 420K two years ago, and has been "updated" since then. It is in very nice condition to be fair, but the "updates" are mostly stylistic cosmetic things. We submit our offer for 375K this morning, which is still more than I really think it's worth (the list price is 412, which is $141/square foot).

She's already contacted us to ask if this is our "highest and best" offer, without offering any more information. I said yes, I believe our price to be reasonable without any additional information, and that we would entertain a counteroffer from the SELLER, since I don't believe she's even showed him our offer yet.

Any thoughts? We are first time homebuyers and I hate how murky all of this seems to be. Is this the norm?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 02-23-2015, 04:27 PM
 
Location: My beloved Bluegrass
20,098 posts, read 16,018,813 times
Reputation: 28265
You need your own relator. A buyer's agent cost the buyer nothing. Right now the only person she is really representing is the seller. As a general rule using the same relator is a horrible idea and is seldom in a buyer's best interest.
__________________
When I post in bold red that is moderator action and, per the TOS, can only be discussed through Direct Message.Moderator - Diabetes and Kentucky (including Lexington & Louisville)
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-23-2015, 04:29 PM
 
3 posts, read 6,663 times
Reputation: 20
We are not using their realtor, we do have our own (just not paying since she's a family friend). Using the listing agent as our realtor would be a huge conflict of interest.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-23-2015, 05:22 PM
 
Location: USA
2,830 posts, read 2,619,329 times
Reputation: 4906
That's quite a low offer and will like be countered high or rejected. The sq ft price is not important without knowing the area and what the extras are, such as acreage, out buildings, etc. If you aren't willing to pay what he's asking, you'll likely have to keep looking. That's how real estate goes.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-23-2015, 05:37 PM
 
Location: VA
211 posts, read 448,725 times
Reputation: 215
In my area, when a listing agent asks for "highest and best", this means that's it, there is not a whole lot of negotiating past that point. If you say this is your "highest and best" I would be surprised if they counter your offer. Where I work, when I am asked to present highest and best, it means there is at least one other offer on the table and only one (normally the best one) will be countered or accepted.

Your offer is low and I understand where you are coming from but you have to see it from the sellers side as well. He is in a divorce situation and might have to split the proceeds based on what the court decrees (which might be why there was an appraisal done).

Good luck and I hope you get it.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-23-2015, 05:52 PM
 
5,290 posts, read 5,195,820 times
Reputation: 18655
Has the price dropped since it was initially offered for sale a year ago?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-23-2015, 07:05 PM
 
13,011 posts, read 12,959,030 times
Reputation: 21912
If you think the house is overpriced, offer what you think is fair. The seller may reject your offer because he wants or needs more money, but don't let that become your problem.

Occasionally it is simply not possible to make a deal because the two parties just cannot agree. That is ok, move on to the next property.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-23-2015, 07:42 PM
 
5,048 posts, read 9,550,635 times
Reputation: 4179
I'm not certain what you are finding out or what your realtor is finding out and letting you know then.

Your own realtor should know whether it is law in Texas or Realtor Code of Ethics that the listing agent present all offers as quickly as possible. I believe it is at least Realtor Code of Ethics and a realtor could be called up on not abiding by the Code. That said, she could show you her seller's letter to her stating he only wants to look at certain offers or that he has other parameters such as when offers would be presented.

Your realtor should also be able to look up the last sale price of the property you're interested in. She should also be able to get better answers out of the agent...and even ask the agent what's behind her acting the way she is.

You would have an inspection as part of due diligence...or at least you should...and make your contract contingent on that. You could ask to have an inspection before making an offer if you like. In some areas, that is even common.

You will have an appraisor come out if you are getting a loan. You could have one come out if you want even if you don't get a loan and make that part of your contract as well.

You should also be made aware of local laws, local deeds of restrictions, rules for the neighborhood or actual HOA if there is such a thing.

No, professional licensed Realtors are not always airheads.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-23-2015, 07:59 PM
 
8,539 posts, read 12,266,597 times
Reputation: 16432
Quote:
Originally Posted by ReesesPieces87 View Post
We are not using their realtor, we do have our own (just not paying since she's a family friend).
Maybe you should look for a good agent and keep friendship and business separate. Typically, a buyer's agent is compensated by the listing broker by a split of the commission which is paid by the Seller to the listing broker.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-23-2015, 09:10 PM
 
Location: Howard County, Maryland
1,539 posts, read 2,289,459 times
Reputation: 2450
Asking for your highest and best offer is typical language used when the seller has multiple offers. I don't know where you are located but nearly every deal I've done lately has had competing offers, so its not unusual for this to come up. I cannot understand why you are dealing with the listing agent yourself and your realtor is not. ???
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
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.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > Real Estate

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top