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 think your agent made a mistake here. You haven't received any offers, and the one guy who comes in with one she doesn't bother to write? Silliness. Get him on paper, with proof of ability to purchase. It's much easier to negotiate from that point, and you may get him up to a number you can deal with. And if he doesn't come up, yu still have the ability to say no. She just threw away a chance to have a conversation with a buyer. I wouldn't do that in this market.
A simple "client will start from here" is the only way to go in this market...
I think your agent made a mistake here. You haven't received any offers, and the one guy who comes in with one she doesn't bother to write? Silliness. Get him on paper, with proof of ability to purchase. It's much easier to negotiate from that point, and you may get him up to a number you can deal with. And if he doesn't come up, yu still have the ability to say no. She just threw away a chance to have a conversation with a buyer. I wouldn't do that in this market.
Obviously, I am with Bill.
ALWAYS let the other party say, "No," or, "Stuff it."
You hire an agent to keep discourse OPEN, not to slam doors.
Thanks for the replies all! You've given me pause to wonder at what he might do to counter yesterday's conversation.. if anything. He said flat out that he knew the house was not worth what he was offering but said he didn't make much money and it was all he could afford. Which (a) we are 99% sure is bull and (b) if that's truly the case, then sorry.
Our agent has been chasing him for almost 2 weeks to get him to write his offer. She's been very persistent. She finally got him to name a price (verbally) and verbally countered with "a number that starts with a 4". So that was their back and forth. I think the ball is then in his court to write a reasonable offer if he's interested in pursing it??
I know it's hard to convey vaguely over the internet but we are confident that our asking price is fair and in line with the current market. Of course there's always an art to it... I scour the listings, what's closed, etc daily to rethink our pricing and strategy. We've done multiple reality and gut checks. Comps are hard for our property and area -- it's an antique with acreage/barn in New Eng where it's hard to find like properties.
The house is fully updated, decluttered to the nth degree, clean, all major systems updated, etc. Our feedback has all been positive about the house. The drawback seems to be the barn/horse property aspect. We need someone who really wants the whole package, which we know will take longer. (Though I hope it won't!)
Sigh... this whole process is so maddening on every level.
Thanks for the replies all! You've given me pause to wonder at what he might do to counter yesterday's conversation.. if anything. He said flat out that he knew the house was not worth what he was offering but said he didn't make much money and it was all he could afford. Which (a) we are 99% sure is bull and (b) if that's truly the case, then sorry.
Our agent has been chasing him for almost 2 weeks to get him to write his offer. She's been very persistent. She finally got him to name a price (verbally) and verbally countered with "a number that starts with a 4". So that was their back and forth. I think the ball is then in his court to write a reasonable offer if he's interested in pursing it??
I know it's hard to convey vaguely over the internet but we are confident that our asking price is fair and in line with the current market. Of course there's always an art to it... I scour the listings, what's closed, etc daily to rethink our pricing and strategy. We've done multiple reality and gut checks. Comps are hard for our property and area -- it's an antique with acreage/barn in New Eng where it's hard to find like properties.
The house is fully updated, decluttered to the nth degree, clean, all major systems updated, etc. Our feedback has all been positive about the house. The drawback seems to be the barn/horse property aspect. We need someone who really wants the whole package, which we know will take longer. (Though I hope it won't!)
Sigh... this whole process is so maddening on every level.
Thanks for the encouragement and advice.
-Allykat
I agree with you, given the details you've provided. He doesn't sound serious. But that maybe a blessing in disguise, because he also doesn't sound like he would be a prince to deal with during the transaction.
Only skimmed the thread, but we countered the low ball offer we received with one that was 1% off list. He walked away, but a week later his RE agent called and accepted the offer w/ no other stipulations. So why not counter?
Thanks for the replies all! You've given me pause to wonder at what he might do to counter yesterday's conversation.. if anything. He said flat out that he knew the house was not worth what he was offering but said he didn't make much money and it was all he could afford. Which (a) we are 99% sure is bull and (b) if that's truly the case, then sorry.
Our agent has been chasing him for almost 2 weeks to get him to write his offer. She's been very persistent. She finally got him to name a price (verbally) and verbally countered with "a number that starts with a 4". So that was their back and forth. I think the ball is then in his court to write a reasonable offer if he's interested in pursing it??
I know it's hard to convey vaguely over the internet but we are confident that our asking price is fair and in line with the current market. Of course there's always an art to it... I scour the listings, what's closed, etc daily to rethink our pricing and strategy. We've done multiple reality and gut checks. Comps are hard for our property and area -- it's an antique with acreage/barn in New Eng where it's hard to find like properties.
The house is fully updated, decluttered to the nth degree, clean, all major systems updated, etc. Our feedback has all been positive about the house. The drawback seems to be the barn/horse property aspect. We need someone who really wants the whole package, which we know will take longer. (Though I hope it won't!)
Sigh... this whole process is so maddening on every level.
Thanks for the encouragement and advice.
-Allykat
I suspect you know that what is a drawback to 99 people out of hundred is what the 100th person absolutely FALLS IN LOVE with. That low ball offer might indicate the potential buyer is willing to explore alternatives IF they really do love your property.
While I would NOT advocate going out of my way with any offer, it is possible that the "buyer" was honest about not having much cash. In situations like that it may also be that the "buyer" has a house that may be more easily sold than yours, so that a contingent offer might be appropriate. It is also possible that a "swap" or some sort might work out to your advantage.
Now I am not saying that this particular person would have been the right one to suggest any of these options to, but with a unique property it does lend itself to more creativity.
Afterall, I assume you probably 'fell in love' with the place and that is why you have done all the work you've done...
Location: Halfway between Number 4 Privet Drive and Forks, WA
1,516 posts, read 4,590,742 times
Reputation: 677
When we were selling last May we got a lowball offer. We countered and the buyers walked. We took our for sale sign down for just over a month while we had some tile work done. When we put our for sale sign back up, those same buyers came back with a full price offer (our counter offer was no longer valid) AND they paid their own closing. Crazy!
But we did initially counter and having left the ball in their court may have helped. And the fact they thought we had sold the house during the time the sign was down may have had something to do with it...
Oh yeah - we've had buyers walk away from one of our homes before because they thought we were unreasonable in our counter offer. They came back about two months later only to find the house under contract to a second buyer for more than our original counter offer! Sometimes - you, snooze, you lose.
Sorry sweetheart but the alt-a resets are going to kill the value of your home. Unlike subprime, alt-a were considered slightly better than subprime so the borrowers generally bought into upper class areas. Also they could borrow significantly more, like 400,000. This allowed them to buy more expensive homes. As a result the first wave of subprime mainly affected the lower class areas. Notice you saw the value of low income areas drop off a cliff very fast. Once foreclosures start popping up left and right in your area it will have the effect of a jackhammer hitting the value of your home.
You better be very aggressive with selling that home.
Sorry sweetheart but the alt-a resets are going to kill the value of your home. Unlike subprime, alt-a were considered slightly better than subprime so the borrowers generally bought into upper class areas. Also they could borrow significantly more, like 400,000. This allowed them to buy more expensive homes. As a result the first wave of subprime mainly affected the lower class areas. Notice you saw the value of low income areas drop off a cliff very fast. Once foreclosures start popping up left and right in your area it will have the effect of a jackhammer hitting the value of your home.
You better be very aggressive with selling that home.
Agree.
This is the back end of the financial storm and its potential devastation is grossly understated. Banks are going to subtly unload their bad assets in earnest ahead of this storm. Their cohorts running the Treasury will continue to 'assure' the masses 'not to worry' .... there is light at the end of the tunnel.
Meanwhile, Joe Seller will continue to hold out for top of the bubble prices .... all the while the banks continue to set the ceiling lower and lower.
Before long, sellers who had a chance to get out ahead of the curve but didn't will find themselves out in the cold and a lot worse off.
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.
thanks for the input everyone
