Buying and Selling Homes - Offer/CounterOffer.... Offer?
 

I am In the process of buying my first home.

we think we have found a home, we have put in an offer on the home and the seller has come back with a counter offer... the initial offer we gave was 8k below what she was asking.... she then counter offered for 4k less then asking price..


We want to give another offer of 6k below asking price, and hope she goes for that or 5k below.... either way..


does this sound feasible, how many times should this go back and forth...


any help and info is greatly appreciated....

Nope. You either take their counter or you dont get it typically. If your local housing market is hot, then you are lucky to get a counter. If the home has been on the market for 2-3 months, then you MIGHT be able to counter.

Depends on how long the house has been on the market and how hot the location is.

If there are other offers your 1-2k savings will look like a waste of money when you lose the house you want and spend another 6 months trying to find another. Time is money. When you are that close don't let the whole process get in the way of your long term happiness.

the house has been on the market for 30 days with no offers

Exactly. When we bought our home we made an offer and the owner countered. The house had been on the market less than a week. We took it even though it was a 2k more than we wanted to pay. And it was good thing we did because there were two other buyers waiting for us to blink.

btw the market is Johnson County..

66061

Johnson County is a hot market that is cooling with the rest of the housing industry. It's still hot but properties are on the market longer than the previous years. It really depends on how attached you are to the house and how long you want to play the game.

I've only bought two houses, but I'd have to agree with this assessment. In my limited experience, if they counter, there may be some room for maneuvering. You might also try to get your closing costs paid for. If you've got a real estate agent, they can give you some insight, but remember the bottom line for them is making a sale.

Do you happen to know how much the property is valued as far as the county goes? If she's way over what the JOCO appraisers office has valued then you might hold off knowing that she's fully aware she's way overpriced her property.

Also, your real estate agent should be able to give you a break down of what properties in the area have sold for and how long they were on the market. This is a good gauge of how hot the area is and if you have time to sit or not.

Had not looked it up til now... her asking price was 143k

Well, she's asking almost 20k more than the county has valued it and it's appraised value rose only 1.45% in 2005. It sounds like maybe she's asking a bit too much.

You should probably check the nearby addresses to see how much they're appraised value increased. It's been my experience that the county is usually pretty close in their valuations. The way to check that would be to compare what the rest of the neighborhood is valued at.

Have you had the property independently appraised yet?

I'm not sure that's a good indicator of how much the house is worth. My house is assessed at $116K, $3000 less than we paid for it in 1999. Of course I'm in a different county in a different state....

As a warning, the assessed prices are often inaccurate by several percent, and if it's undervalued people tend to not appeal it. While it's useful to look up the assessed value, I think it's appropriate to use your judgment based on other homes you're seeing for sale.

However, in a situation like this, it's a good negotiating tool to mention that the assessment is much lower than the asking price.

sorry I looked up the wrong house..

I looked up the one across the street... that is also for sale that we did not like


My Inital offer was 135k

Exactly, it's not the measure of what the house should be worth but A measure. Our independent appraisal ended up being very close to what the country appraised on this property.

I guess an extra bathroom is worth 10k?

Moooo

Well then she's asking pretty much what the county says it's worth. I'd feel pretty comfortable paying that if the rest of the neighborhood is within the same price range given the same specs.

the lady has kept the house in AMAZING shape..

she has lived there for 41 years.....
kinda crazy

Original Hardwood floors under the 70's Lime Green Shag Carpet...

view of a "Lake" from the front -(they call it one anyway)-

we really liked the house above anything else we have seen

For some reason, my house is assessed at a significantly lower price per square foot than the other houses on my block. I don't have an issue with that, though if I ever decide to sell it maybe I'll look into it.

Good shape, reasonable price, best you've seen...

I think you could drive yourself insane over a couple of grand. How much is your sanity worth?

Do you have a basement or 'family room' that is not considered 'living area above ground?'

We have a walkout basement that goes level to the backyard. On the back side it's half below ground level . That half saves us more than 15k compared to our neighbor with the same sized house.

Amen.

Yep, yep, yep.

A house is an investment, but more importantly, a house is a home. If it feels right, a couple of thousand bucks shouldn't be a big issue.

We got a call from them several years back informing us that our house had mistakenly been classified as a "single-family home broken up into apartments" and they cranked up the taxes pretty good. I think the classification occurred because we've got a mother-in-law apartment in the basement, and I think they might still downgrade it as a "multifamily unit" for that reason - which is of course ludicrous because the apartment generates a nice income for us every year, and would probably be worth $50,000 if we were to redeed the house and sell it.

That's my theory, anyway. I have no facts to back it up.

Hey, if it's saving you tax money then I wouldn't complain. It sounds like you've got a win/win. :clap:

Hey Slag, where did you get that Appraisal information? We are also in the market...

nice home, I think I will offer a couple grand more than you.

I think you should make your best offer the first time and don't come off your price. If they don't come down to what you want to pay, you move on to the next deal.

what site did you use to get this information? And isn't what you're judging the worth from also something the city uses to assess how much in taxes you have to pay? I'd say take it if you really do like it, accept her offer, a few grand isn't worth it losing it over.

I bought my first house in 2002, when the market was really hot, and I lost a few houses I really wanted trying to skim a few grand off the asking price.

Do what your gut tells ya Slag. Trust me on that.

You don't want home owbership tips from me; I got stuck in the real "Money Pit".

Did you get your house painted yet?

Just finished vinyl siding it. Now the window wrappers are starting up. Close. Oh so close!!!!

Did you do it yourself?

Yep. Started the first weekend of May and finished yesterday. :shake: ROFL

I will post pictures when we are completely done.

EDIT Geez - had an illiterate moment there. :shake:

Outstanding! :thumb:

Original owner...house free clear.?

She may have time to get her price. or may want to move before school starts.

Go with your gut she may have thrown you a bone coming down a bit.

Her pay your closing? Maybe... I doubt it.

the real estate fee drove the price up some (seller payers but it goes into the price) so figure it out.

ROFL Cruel. ROFL

http://appraiser.jocogov.org/

Again, this information is one factor to consider in your decision. Rain Man made the valid point that people do not complain when their property is undervalued for purposes of property tax and thus the value might be lower than actual market value. But it gives you one more piece of information not only about your home but the tax assessment of that of the neighborhood. If there have been recent real estate transasctions in the neighborhood then the County appraisers valuation should be pretty consistent with what the property sold for as they use that as one of their factors in evaluating the property...or so we were told by the County.

If you like the house quite a bit then move on it immediately. That $1-2K is going to be peanuts on the monthly payment. Hire a good inspector and you can negotiate further if they find problems with the house all while under contract. That's a much stronger negotiating position.

Your agent should be able to tell you of the other houses sold in the same area and specs from within the last 2 years.

That should tell you if you're in the ballpark or not.
Give me the address (and/or subdivision name) and I can get some comps for you

Agreed. That's a strong angle to work the price.

If she has maintained it well. You know immediated problems won't exist.

Age of furnace,AC, WH.....

Does she have records of her utility bills. Water won't tell much 1 person.

rule of thumb... every $1k is equivalent to $7-$8/month.

There are a lot of things that you could ask her to throw in rather than lowering the price. Especially if it is an older woman moving into a small apartment, you could agree to the $2k higher price, on the condition that she leave the dining room set or riding lawnmower. You can agree to the price and try to save some out of pocket expense. For instance, have her agree to have the chimney cleaned, hottub serviced, or ducts cleaned prior to closing.

Thanks for the advise everyone,

I think we will take her counter-offer, and hurry up and move on to the Inspection's.... I'm sure something may turn up that will lower it down maybe a bit.


Thanks everyone this has been one helluv a process, this house we see our selfs in for a very long time

we just went through this Thursday & Friday of this week. Our house is listed for $111K; initial offer to us was - $101K (9% less), we pay $3K in closing, include a home warranty, and all of our appliances stay, and wanted to close by 07/26

We countered with $108 (4.5%), we pay #3k in closing, include the warranty & appliances and close 08/09.

They countered again...$104K,...and all the other terms above. His agent is apparently is a cocky SOB; he told my realtor "I can go down the street and get the same deal tomorrow; anyone would take it. I need an answer tonight". Well, hate to break the news to him, but the other homes that are still up for sale are not that great, etc. If he's going to let $4K mean the difference between a great house (mine has all new carpet, stainless appliances less than 2 years old) and a turd, fine with me.

I told my agent "Fine...here's the deal; if you want, I'll counter with $105 and he gets nothing else mentioned above (no closing costs, appliances, warranty, etc), or my original counter stands". I'm not the one who has to move - he does (his lease is up 08/01). This guy was not even negotiating. I met him 1/2 way on his offer and all of his other demands, and he STILL counters. Essentially moving up $3K from his original offer.

Pain in the a**. I realize it's a buyers market right now, but I"m not going to sacrifice 9% in equity for this guy.F that.

The house I'm in now, I made a pretty low offer, because I knew they'd already bought a much more expensive house and were nervous. They countered, and I re-countered their counteroffer at the midpoint of the 2, but $500 in my favor with a "we'd like the house, but this is our final offer, take it or leave it"

They took it, I got a good deal.

If you're going to play poker with them, you have to be willing to walk away. Sometimes, even after they decline, they'll come back. They may be in a pickle, or they may not...but you have to be willing to lose the house. They make alot more of them anyway.

IF they decline your 2nd counter.....you can always come back in a week or two and see if they'll still take that price.


If you decide to accept their counter.....push for them to pay the closing costs. I sold a house this year, and had to pay that to make it happen. It pissed me off a little, but I still signed the papers and sold it.

I'm a fairly tough negotiator by all accounts to date....As a seller, I don't move alot, but I price things fairly. As a buyer, I don't want a deal unless the seller makes that "uhh" sound as he's accepting my offer.

When they do that(just like a Rb getting hit by LT)...you know you've got a good deal.

If you want to know what the right price range is, don't look too heavily on the Assessed value.

What you want to look at, is Comparable sales.

Find houses in the same city, neighborhood and or school district, built within 10 years of this one, similar in square footage, same bedrooms and baths, and "arms lenth transactions".

That should put you on the money, if you can find 2-3 of them within the past year to 6 months.

I'd imagine you could find a website of that county that would have the comparable searches available on their assessor websites.

i wouldn't think another counter offer would hurt :shrug:


make another offer .... let them think week


if they don't take it then just change your mind and accept their offer.

in fact, i would think by the fact that she "split the difference" would indicate her willingness to negotiate.

the only downside is if someone else comes along and makes a big offer.

so time is a bit of an issue...

to save time, tell your agent to immediately counter offer any offer by splitting the difference. It indicates a non-aggressive, pure negotiating spirit.

"no hard feelings ... just meet me in the middle"


as soon as she stops giving counter offers ...... take it.


tis all good.

That weighed hard with me... I thought very hard about doing exactly that... but I did not want to waste any more time...

We have been looking for a long time now and our lease is up Aug.31 so we needed to find a place QUICK.... The house just really fit our family perfect. Good location close to work, close to family, still in the KC area..

I Just accepted her counter offer now... our agent is taking the paper work to the sellers agent now. I'm pretty happy with the decision.

Thanks everyone again for their insight

Here is a Picture of the home

Thanks again

http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7...001-765837.jpg

Looks like a wonderful first home. Good luck and Congrats.

That tree has a perfect branch for a tire swing.


And house prices in your area make me envious. The same house in my area would cost well more than double. Oh well, at least you're subsidizing my tax deductions.

If you have a good agent, your questions would already have been answered and fully explained. That is her/his job after all.

JP

congrats ... i hope it all works out for ya. :clap:

Slag looks nice. Hope all inspections etc check out.

He'll sign the papers monday, and get called into the office for hacking at work tuesday.

Hey SLAG, did ya ever finalize the buy?

Not yet... We are finnishing up the comparing and contrasting the mortgage's should have a decision made by tomorrow on what lender...

the Inspection came back good we are going to take a few things to the seller ask her to fix it or give cash allowance. its a process

We just got approved for $180K loan and FHA loan, due to low debt to income ratio. So we get Prime rate. But Doubt we go over $160... found some killer homes in Lee's Summit.

Nice...


We are getting prime rates... i was surprised because im so young.. but i guess my credit is just barely sufficent...

we did get approved for $150 but are trying to get this house for $139

I'll never sell another house to an FHA loan.

Its a huge pain in the ass for the seller.

Never, ever again.