How low of an offer

did you make?

How much lower than the asking price? We are considering a house that needs TONS of work- so much that we feel the asking price is ridiculous compared to the similiar, mint homes in the area.
So how much lower did you (or would you, or can you) go?

Re: How low of an offer

how long has the house been on the market? the longer it sits, the more possible it would be for a buyer to negotiate. IMO

we saw a house that needed to be gutted and I told the agent I wouldn't pay a dime over $300K for it (even though original asking was 389 and it's down to 364 now). 8 months later, it's still for sale.

from my experience, people just don't want to do the work anymore. houses that we have seen that have a gourmet kitchen or are in awesome condition sell no matter what!

Re: How low of an offer

really depends on:
primarily the length of time it has been on the market
and the area

Re: How low of an offer

I would find out how much comps sell for in the area.

Then, total up all of the work that would need to be done. You can't include 100% of the cost for cosmetic work but if the baths and kitchen are really outdate you can include a lot of the cost.

Then I would subtract 3/4 of what it would cost to fix up the absolute necessary areas (kitchen/baths) and subtract that from the price.

However, if you can find out the position of the seller, even better.

1. Are they just a seller that doesn't have to sell and is just looking for the highest possible price.

2. How long has the house been on the market? What price did it start as? What are the comps going for now (your agent can pull these for you)?

3. Are they a family that is relocating... well, September is approaching?

4. Is it an estate sale? Usually sellers want to get rid of the home quickly but there can often be sentimental attachment so be careful of what you say about the house.

All things to consider.

Re: How low of an offer

I would offer what you feel is a fair price.

whats the worst that could happen? they say no? they counteroffer?

people say you don't want to "insult" they sellers. I don't believe that- i am insulted they think that they can get $100K more for the same P.O.S. two years later without putting any work in!!

ps. whatever you decide, good luck in your househunting!!

Re: How low of an offer

Well, the house needs so much work- kitchen is pretty bad- neds to be gutted. Same with bathrooms.

Needs new electric stuff (but dh is an electrician- good for us).

We plan on doing a lot of work ourselves, we are pretty handy. I can paint, tile, do all that stuff.

But if we had to contract everything out it probably would be close to $100k for everything.

The original asking price was 25k higher, they lowered it.

The people in it died and the children are selling it.

What we wanted was a house that was structurally ok, but need cosmetic stuff. That is this house, but the asking price is not that much less then the nice houses around it. Basically it is the crappy house in a nice neighborhood.

Re: How low of an offer

honestly...i think there is insulting the buyers

i do think low balling some houses really puts you at a huge disadvantage


I agree with Theresa...get the comps..

Think about the updates needed IN RELATION to the comps of the area

It also really dpeneds on how much you love and want the house

if you do love it..i am would be less hesitatant to really low ball them

Re: How low of an offer

Re: How low of an offer

Message edited 7/29/2006 11:53:27 AM.

Re: How low of an offer

I do love it- but it is SO much work that I can't see paying even close to what they are asking.

I don't think I would love it so much if I had to pay such a high mortgage for a house I couldn't even live in right away.

Re: How low of an offer

Posted by Tah-wee-ZAH

Posted by sunny

Well, the house needs so much work- kitchen is pretty bad- neds to be gutted. Same with bathrooms.

Needs new electric stuff (but dh is an electrician- good for us).

We plan on doing a lot of work ourselves, we are pretty handy. I can paint, tile, do all that stuff.

But if we had to contract everything out it probably would be close to $100k for everything.

The original asking price was 25k higher, they lowered it.

The people in it died and the children are selling it.

What we wanted was a house that was structurally ok, but need cosmetic stuff. That is this house, but the asking price is not that much less then the nice houses around it. Basically it is the crappy house in a nice neighborhood.

If there are several beneficiaries of the estate sale this could go two ways...

1. They are realistic... the house needs a ton, Mom/Dad was sick a long time and they just want to wrap things up and get on with their lives

2. They are money-grubbing, there is one or more of them like that, and the more of them there are the smaller their share so they won't want to budge on the price.

Whatever you do... do not tell them you and DH are handy and don't tell them he is an electrician!! They won't want to negotiate as much on the price if they know you are saving money doing the work. I had my FIL see my house the second time and I never mentioned he owned a Kitchen Design center that used to be located right near the house...lol.

Electrical was a big negotiation in my purchase because it was all aluminum wiring and was going to cost about 8K ( , I think) to replace so they deducted 4K off of our offer... we compromised with the price to pigtail it. If they know your DH is an electrician they won't budge because they figure he can do it for free. Oil tank and boiler are big too. I say this because this will be an issue with any buyer and these are not just cosmetic, they are the vital systems of the house.

How long has the house been on the market?

Re: How low of an offer

Sorry I'm laughing here but I'm getting a flashback.

It was almost exactly this time last year that I saw my current house... THE DISASTER HOUSE that you all saw the before pics of and did all that work to.

I can rent out my FIL to you for the day... real cheap so he could crunch the numbers for you. My MIL would probably like to get him out of the house.

If you need to know ball park estimates on anything let me know. If I didn't have it done ... could there be anything ... I can get a figure for it for you.

ETA: That's what I did.

This time last year 99.9% of Brookville colonials (just decent shape) in E.Northport were selling in one day... I swear... one day and were selling for an average of $675K to sometimes 700K in my area

Mine was on the market for 4 months... unheard of. She had four open houses and lowered her price three times which tells me no one was coming by to even see it. Her final listing price was 549K.

She already bought a town house in NJ in the same development as her son and wanted out... I don't think she thought it would take her so long.
My FIL and I did a second walk-through and he said it would be his cost... contractor's discount... 105K.

We made an offer of 519K WITH an agreement to close within 30 days... the quick close is what got her She countered and I said Sorry, 519K, with 200K down and 30 days to close.

I knew after the inspection I wasn't going to have to pay 519K because there were so many things that needed negotiating and I had already dangled that 30 day carrot in front of her The 30 day closing and a big down payment, to make sure the deal would go through, is what she was most concerned about. I later found out there was another higher bid but our terms were better.

We would up getting the house for 10K less that that... 509K plus 105K to fix it... we still came out WAY ahead even in this changed market.

I would try to find out as much as possible about the condition, what neeeds to be done and the sellers position/attitude. when you know the seller's weak spot you have all of the advantage.

Good luck.

Message edited 7/29/2006 12:08:42 PM.

Re: How low of an offer

Our original offer was 11% lower than asking price. We knew it was too low, but we were in a position to take a chance (basically we weren't sure if we LOVED the house, so we wouldn't have died if we lost out on it). They countered a few weeks later, and eventually after deliberation on our part and compromise on their part, we settled at about 5% below asking price. We decided we loved the house.