Sellers-how to respond to low-ball offers?
jane__ny
14 years ago
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ncrealestateguy
14 years agolast modified: 9 years agoc9pilot
14 years agolast modified: 9 years agoRelated Discussions
quick-realtor won't deliver low ball offer
Comments (18)I would never *not* deliver an offer. However, if I've worked with the listing realtor before and know how they are, I may advise the clients to that effect. For example, we have a few agents in our area that are notorious for verbally abusing other realtors who bring them less than full price offers. No joke. They will yell, scream, berate, and carry on in a most unprofessional manner. I have suspicions that they often don't even present lower offers to their sellers. (Yet they are usually older, seasoned, high volume producers, so their brokers give them a pass on such ridiculous behavior.) If you've started with a low offer and then come up, they can be absolutely unbending on other issues as well, making the entire process unnecessarily stressful for all parties involved. I warned one client about a realtor with whom I'd worked in the past that was as described. My client wanted to present an offer than I *knew* the listing realtor would have a fit over. I told the clients what to expect and we presented the offer anyway, only this time I asked for a written acknowledgment from the sellers so that I would know for certain that she presented it. I steeled myself for the verbal onslaught, and sure enough, it came. She yelled, she screamed, she told me I had no business wasting her time and her client's time showing houses to people "like those" who couldn't afford to pay asking price. She then proceeded to list for me all of the reasons why this home should sell for no less than asking, and shortly thereafter sent me a counteroffer from her sellers. Full price-no concessions from the seller. (Did I mention that the offer we presented was 97% of list with no contingencies? All we asked was for the hot tub out back to remain.) I wanted my clients to get the best deal, but I had strong suspicions that this realtor would be so difficult to work with that the deal would not work out. Now to an outsider looking in, I'm sure it would appear that I was "steering" my clients to pay more so I could get more. In actuality, however, I just knew how this realtor worked, and had a pretty good idea that the price my clients were willing to offer would not fly with her. I wanted them in a house that they were comfortable in, and for a price that was right. For the OP, it sounds like this realtor has ulterior motives in wanting the house either for himself, or another pocket-buyer....See MoreOffering a low ball offer....
Comments (30)njtomato - I wish you much luck - please let us know how this all turns out. I have to agree with the triciae and the other posters who said you have nothing to lose by making a low offer. Seventeen years ago, my parents were going through a messy divorce and put my childhood home on the market. It had the potential to be a wonderful family home - had great bones, on acreage lot, in old, very affluent area, and was surrounded by beautiful, expensive properties. Unfortunately, my father had not wanted to put any money into the home for years, and it was badly in need of updating. Structurally it was sound - just needed paint, carpet, updated cabinetry in kitchen/bathrooms, landscaping, etc. It sat on the market for months because it did not show well and most buyers were not looking for a fixer-upper. Also, the real estate agent that my father insisted on using did nothing to aggressively market the home. Finally, a close friend of the real estate agent's son made a lowball offer - about $80k less than asking price. My father was ready to sell and accepted the offer, against the pleas of the rest of the family. (We always suspected that the real estate agent recognized that my father had reached the end of his rope so advised her son's friend to make the lowball offer....) Anyway, the house sold, and the buyer completely remodeled the inside and landscaped outside - it is absolutely beautiful and rivals the rest of the homes in the neighborhood. Moral of story - you never know the sellers circumstances and how ready they may be to sell.......See MoreGot a low ball offer - what do you think?
Comments (11)Thanks for answering, everyone. We can't buy without selling, no down payment. (We are not struggling financially, but coming up with 50,000 for a down isn't realistic and we are loath to go the "funny" mortgage route and end up with two properties and upside down on one of them.) I considered getting an appraiser, but we seem to be one of those areas where an appraiser "hits the number." They are in the real estate agents' pockets. The property is assessed for 220,000$ and last year those numbers were running pretty close to selling prices. My husband and I have decided not to go lower than 175,000$ (maybe 174,000$? I've seen some people on this board recommend countering like that.) That was our rock bottom price and it did get an offer; so who knows, maybe another one will come along before the end of the month. Also, although the offer was represented over the phone to me as "cash", it would be equity from the buyer's home and still has a financing contingency and an appraisal contingency, as well as a feasibility contingency (and only 1000$ earnest money.) I would be more likely to say yes if the guy actually had money in the bank and wanted to close next week. Oh, and our agent is working both sides of the deal, so I have to take what he is saying with a grain of salt, also. Margaret...See MoreWhat qualifies an offer as a "low ball"?
Comments (18)Best advice here: Base your offer on the comps. Second best advice here: Communicate with the seller WHY you're making this offer. Example: We're kicking around the idea of making an offer on a lot. I'll simiplify the whole thought process, but two are available. They're catty-cornered across the street from one another, and we like both -- but for different reasons. We're not decided yet, but we're assembling our thoughts on what we'd offer for each lot: If we go for the less expensive lot, we'd make an offer of about 95% of the asking price. Snooping through some public records (so easy online), I know that the current owners, who appear to be a mother and daughter, bought the property less than a year ago. The price they're asking is almost identical to the county's tax assessment. Other lots that've sold in this neighborhood have sold for roughly this same price over the last couple years. The lot has been on the market only a few months. I'd offer slightly less just because -- as someone else said above -- it's a dance, and you always try to get a slightly better price, but they're already starting at a decent price. If we go for the more expensive lot, we'd go with a lowball offer. Our online snooping shows us that a now 65-year old couple bought this lot in 1995, and they now live in another part of the state. My guess is that they bought with intentions of building, but then "life happened" and they're established elsewhere ... now they're retiring and have decided this lot just isn't for them. They put the lot on the market two years ago for almost double what the county says these lots are worth; they've reduced the price twice since then, but this lot is still 50% more expensive than the one right across the street. My guess is that they based their asking price on nothing more than a wish. The lot has some negatives: It has a moderate slant towards the road, which will make building more expensive. The back of the house faces North, which is less than ideal for the pool we plan to build. It is heavily wooded, meaning that we'd have to pay to clear it. This couple did not pay to "tap into" city water when it came through a decade ago, meaning we'd have to pay a large cost now to do it. If we make an offer on this lot, the circumstances are different: We'd offer what the lot across the street is asking -- and we'd detail why. Hopefully these carefully ennumerated reasons would help them realize that their asking price isn't realistic, and they'd be wise to go ahead and accept our offer. And, the two biggest details of all: If we offer on this lot and are rejected, the less-expensive lot is still sitting there waiting for us. And we'd be perfectly happy to walk away from both lots. If I bought one of them TODAY, I still couldn't start my building project for another year, so I'm not going to be upset by hearing NO....See MoreLinda
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