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

[SLAG]

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....

[Moooo]

Originally Posted by SLAG02

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

I guess an extra bathroom is worth 10k?

Moooo

[memyselfI]

Originally Posted by SLAG02

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

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.

[SLAG]

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

[Rain Man]

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.

[memyselfI]

Originally Posted by SLAG02

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

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?

[memyselfI]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

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.

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.

[SCTrojan]

Originally Posted by memyselfI

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?

Amen.

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by memyselfI

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?

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.

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by memyselfI

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.

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.

[memyselfI]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

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.

[teedubya]

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.

[Halfcan]

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.

[GoTrav]

Originally Posted by SLAG02

Description:   	 Single Family Res.
  	Value:  	 $125,600
  	Square Feet:  	 1,126 sq. ft.
  	Year Built:  	 1961
  	  	  	
  	Taxes & Values
  	Year 	Appraised Value 	Assessed Value 	Change In Appraised Value
  	2006 	$125,600 		1.45%
  	2005 	$123,800 	$14,237 	 
  	  	  	  	 
	Residential Record: 01
	  	  	  	 
	Lot Information
	Lot 	Square Feet
	1 	10,584 sq. ft.
	2 	0 sq. ft.
	3 	0 sq. ft.
	  	  	  	 
	Main Dwelling Information
	Land Use:  	 Single Family Res. 	# Bedrooms:  	 3
	Style:  	 Split Level 	# Family Rooms:  	 0
	Story Height:   	 1 	Total Rooms:  	 6
	Upper Floor:  	 No 	# Full Baths:  	 1
	Roof Material:  	 Asphalt Shingle 	# Half Baths:  	 0
	Exterior Walls:  	 Wood Frame 	Total Plumbing Fix:  	 5
	Foundation:  	 Concrete 	Recreation Rm:  	 0
	Basement Type:  	 Part 	Finished Basmt:  	 0
	Heat/Cool Sys:  	 Central/A.C. 	Total SFLA:  	 1,126 sq. ft.
	  	  	Note: SFLA = square feet of living area above ground.

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

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.

[007]

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

[greg63]

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