House buying question

[bellabear]

Hey mama's,

My dh and I are in the house market. We've found a house that looks potentially like the one for us (going to see it tonight). It has 2200-2600 sq ft, a basement, and even a greenhouse!! The asking price is $214,000 which is incredibly cheap for the area, though the street is busy. I looked at the zillow worth and it is between $171,000 and $241,000. If we do make an offer, what do you all think the lowest we could offer would be?

Thanks so much

Michelle

[Delicateflower]

Zillow is way way way off for our area. Talk to your agent about what the market's doing in your area.

[PapayaMom]

yeah our zillow is way off too. I would look at how long the house has been on for, if it is a long time like 100+ you probably can go lower than if it has been on for under 30 days. Also is it vacant or are people living there? It could be the people need to make a certain amount off of it in order to move. Our county has public tax records online you can type in the address and it gives you all the information including what the owners paid for it. Again if they bought it a year ago for $170,000 and haven't done a lot to it then they are obviously way off. There are so many variables on top of it you don't want to put in so low of an offer that the sellers are offended.

Good luck to you, we bought a house last night for full asking price as it came on the market yesterday and by the time we got there in the late afternoon there had already been 4 people through. We just wanted it and didn't want to play the game. I still think we got a great deal on it.

[bellabear]

Thanks, guys!

Good to know about zillow.
It has been on the market for 179 days...but...they have made some improvements. The carpets were blue and are now hardwood (I assume the hardwood was underneath the carpet, not new).
It is vacant.

Just looked this up:
Financial history:
Last assessed at $184,500 on 2007

hummm, this is before all of the improvements...

Previous assessments

* $184,500 on 2006
* $184,500 on 2005

Thanks again

[bellabear]

Originally Posted by PapayaMom

yeah our zillow is way off too. I would look at how long the house has been on for, if it is a long time like 100+ you probably can go lower than if it has been on for under 30 days. Also is it vacant or are people living there? It could be the people need to make a certain amount off of it in order to move. Our county has public tax records online you can type in the address and it gives you all the information including what the owners paid for it. Again if they bought it a year ago for $170,000 and haven't done a lot to it then they are obviously way off. There are so many variables on top of it you don't want to put in so low of an offer that the sellers are offended.

Good luck to you, we bought a house last night for full asking price as it came on the market yesterday and by the time we got there in the late afternoon there had already been 4 people through. We just wanted it and didn't want to play the game. I still think we got a great deal on it.

Congrats on the house!

[anywaybecause]

What other improvements have been done? It doesn't cost that much to rip up some carpet and throw some Murphy's Oil on the existing hardwood floors. If something else has been done, like a new bathroom or kitchen, or a new roof, or major landscaping (like adding sprinkler or regrading a slope), I would get a local average cost for each major improvement, add that to the most recent assessment, and that will give you a better idea of what the current value really is.

[SleeplessMommy]

In general, tax assessments have no bearing on resale value. They are based on square footage, lot size, # of beds and baths - not much else.

If the house has been on the market 178 days, it is well overpriced for this market. Refinishing or installing hardwood costs only a few thousand dollars in an empty house.

Ask your buyers agent to show you comps from the past 3 months. A busy street should reduce value by 10% or more compared to quiet streets - and will be harder to resell, as the owners are finding.

[PapayaMom]

Originally Posted by bellabear

Congrats on the house!

thanks!

[angie7]

I agree, what the house assessed at means nothing to how much it is worth. We just recently bought a house but before it, we found another one that we liked. It assessed for $114k in 2005 but appraised for $272k! It was on the market for $169k. It was a foreclosure that needed complete gutting and would cost at least $50k to make it liveable.

I would go see the house before thinking of numbers b/c you just never know. I have also heard that many houses are selling within 95% of their asking price. If the house is in good shape, you *might* get $10-15K off but if you are asking for closing costs and other things, you probably will receive a counter offer.

GL!

[sg784]

A house is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it. Period.

I'd start low. Real low, and go back and forth. Is it bank owned? Even better. The house we wanted was on the mkt for a while too. They were asking 145,000 for a house assessed/appraised at 174,500. I offered 70k. we went back and forth a bunch of times and they accepted it at 90k. We just had the appraisal and it came back at 174,000. We're supposed to close next week.

Seriously, 179 days is a while to sit with no action. has it been under deposit already? fallen through because...? any offers? What does YOUR realtor say?

[wildmonkeys]

Yeah, talk to your realtor. Depends on your market, we sold our house mde an offer on a house in our area and were turned down even though the prices we offer are only about 2% below asking...

[angie7]

Originally Posted by sg784

A house is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it. Period.

I'd start low. Real low, and go back and forth. Is it bank owned? Even better. The house we wanted was on the mkt for a while too. They were asking 145,000 for a house assessed/appraised at 174,500. I offered 70k. we went back and forth a bunch of times and they accepted it at 90k. We just had the appraisal and it came back at 174,000. We're supposed to close next week.

Seriously, 179 days is a while to sit with no action. has it been under deposit already? fallen through because...? any offers? What does YOUR realtor say?

Wow, I think you got incredibily lucky as this doesn't happen often at all. And likely the people you bought the house from didn't have a mortgage and were able to go so low. Many people are just trying to break even now a days and can't accept such low ball offers. My house is on the market now and if someone offered me such a number, I would probably just deny them and not counter as they are trying to get something for nothing and it's offensive.

[1littlebit]

Originally Posted by angie7

Wow, I think you got incredibily lucky as this doesn't happen often at all. And likely the people you bought the house from didn't have a mortgage and were able to go so low. Many people are just trying to break even now a days and can't accept such low ball offers. My house is on the market now and if someone offered me such a number, I would probably just deny them and not counter as they are trying to get something for nothing and it's offensive.

i disagree with this. i mean i understand how you feel but i don't see anything wrong with making a low offer. the owner can say absolutely not... but that is not always wise b/c usually someone is willing to pay more then they offer and you wont know unless you counter offer. i wouldn't shut the door on any offer unless i had multiple offers to consider. and even then i would want to be reasonably sure the other offers were serious and likely to get approved and such.

i would offer significantly lower then i was willing to pay. why wouldn't you? people are often willing to take less then they are asking as well.

[1littlebit]

also what may seem like getting something for nothing to one person may be another person who can't afford the asking price but loves the house and thought they would make an offer just in case.

[organicmommy]

Thats just it, any successful real eastate person would recommend starting with an offer of only 1/2 the asking price. Now you do run the risk of the seller denying your offer and refusing to work with you, but in all actuality the buying and selling of houses has absolutely NO place for emotions. The sellers need to let go of emotional attachments to their home as it makes selling harder and the buyers should not get attached to a house before the end of the purchase.
And while I understand not everyone can afford to go lower on their price there are many that can and will. It could mean the difference between selling their home and being able to move on or loosing their home due to financial issues after many years. And as a buyer you will not know how low a seller will go if you offer them their asking price or are afraid to make an offer.
That being said, if this is THE house you want Id be careful offering too low as it could in the end cost you the house. There was 1 house we looked at, like, loved the location but were only willing to offer them 30K lower and only willing to buy for 20K lower than asking due to the work that needed done. The house we are purchasing we offered 10K below asking and we are purchasing for 5k below asking.
Just be smart in your numbers, offer what you feel is right for the house and be ready to negotiate!
Good luck its a definate roller coaster!

[wildmonkeys]

Again, I think it depends where you live. I do not think ANYONE is going to offer (or accept) 1/2 the asking price in the market where I live. NO agent would suggest an offer of 1/2 off asking here. Things are still selling in about a week at about 2% off asking. We listed our 2 bedroom house for 320,000 and had an offer for 315,000 in 6 days. We just made an offer on a slightly larger (about 2,000 square foot) dated 25 year old house at 5% below asking and and they told us no, they will only take 1% off asking and not a penny less. They are original owners with no mortgage so they will be making pure profit - I am sure they will get what they want by the end of the week.

Talk to a local agent.

[organicmommy]

You are right it does depend on the area and of course an agent is not going to suggest you offer half. They make their money on commission so it is by far not in their best interest.
I however do know of a family that is friends with my family that got just over 1/2 the asking price as they needed to sell to avoid the house going into bankruptcy and loosing all profit that they were able to salvage to pay off other bills.
In my area some houses are selling for close to asking price, others not and some are selling quickly others not. The market in Iowa is up and down.
I still know that anyone that is successful in real estate will tell you to offer 1/2 the asking price and work up from there.
Good luck mama
Jessica

[bellabear]

Thanks, everyone for your insightful opinions!
We spoke with our agent last night and are waiting to be pre-approved for the loan...I'm soooooooo nervous. It seems like it is taking forever! The mortgage consultant has had the info he needs all day, why is it taking so long?

Anyway, we are going to offer 8k below the asking price and ask for 6k in closing costs...

Can I get some good vibes, please?

[angie7]

:

My word of advice is to find your OWN inspector. Do not go with who the realtor recommends. I found out the hard way that they work for each other and not for you.

[1littlebit]

Originally Posted by angie7

:

My word of advice is to find your OWN inspector. Do not go with who the realtor recommends. I found out the hard way that they work for each other and not for you.

: