Everything you do to make you a more educated buyer is NOT a waste of time. See if you can find out why she's selling after only 15 months.
I actually already know that. She is getting married in a month and her fiance owns a house that they will be moving in together so there is no need for 2 homes and payments.
Thus your negotiations depend upon whether or not both of their houses are up for sale or just hers. If it is just hers, then I suspect they will want to move the house quickly so that should help in your bargaining.
i guess it's more common than i thought. but in this case, it's only in his g/f's name. i was assuming it would be in both SO's names. i mean, i'm all for love and everything but it doesn't always last forever. again, sorry for the derailment pun.
No problem, like I said I would prefer it this way and if we change our mind the Realtor said we can eventually put my name on the deed.
We submitted an offer today and my agent talked to the owner of the house. Earlier she said that she would have to discuss it with her fiance. Later she calls my agent and says somebody else made an offer earlier but she will call him tomorrow to talk further. Does that just seem like bs to me or is it normal? I mean, why not mention that in the earlier conversation? It seems to me that this is just to give her more leverage. Like I said though, this is the first time buying a house so this might just be normal.
She could be looking for leverage. What you have to ask yourself is, is this the home that you know you WANT and you do not want to be beaten out on? If so, she's kind of got the ball in her hands...
Remember...there are 1000s of homes you haven't seen yet, that are as cool or cooler than this one. You live in a world of abundance...and no one will make you feel needy or rushed...ever. Take all the time you need...and relax. This means nothing....in the grand scheme of your life. Make your best deal and buy a good place if it's right for you...never if it's a burden or trouble.
We want the house and it would be a letdown not to get it but we won't go crazy if we don't get it because as the poster above says, there are lots to choose from and we haven't been looking that long.
If she is insistent that she has other offers, and you really want it, I would come back with a slightly different offer, just to see what she says. See if her games are consistent.
I'm surprised that in today's market, in Arkansas (no offense), that a house on the market less than a week with a sales price higher than comps in the neighborhood, already has multiple offers.
You never know if they're lying. It's a 50/50 chance. If you think they are, and the aren't it's going to cost you the house.
If I were her, I'd probably do something similar. It may be true, but it is a negotiation. Years ago, we put in an offer on a house and essentially offered about $1000 less than the asking price. The house had been on the market for 18+ months. The sellers countered and we had time to think about things and realized that it was more house than we could afford at that time. We declined. The sellers told their realtor that they can't believe how stupid they (the sellers) were. In over 18 months we were the first people to even make an offer and they essentially lost a probable sale over $500. My advice is to be prepared to walk away if the need arises. From all the things you have posted, in today's market, you appear to be in the driver's seat.
^ This is the best advice. I also agree in the multiple offer bs theory. You put in a solid offer, wait and see what actual response you get (either no counter, a counter, whatever) and then decide from there. If the seller says they have another offer and need you to put in a second one, I wouldn't budge on price much, if at all...
Thanks bobrek and JayZ750 for all the info. I've given you both some rep points for the help. Stay tuned to the thread in case I have other questions.
Im a little late to this thread. Be prepared to walk away. Something that puzzles me is that its tax value is 118k, comps are 105-115k, and the asking is 125K? Sounds like she has overpaid and wants you to foot the bill. You should be paying on the lower end. Also, with trying to sell w/out a realtor, It makes me think she can't afford to include that in the price. Is this a two year old house? Remember, its a buyers market. Newer developments will be a bit more difficult to find a good deal vs some older developments. You can find some good deals with stagnant developments. Its important for the developer to sell the house at the highest price as to keep the comp value for the neighborhood up for future sales. Take advantage of this by putting in an offer for the going rate of the comps, but ask for the house to come loaded. (good appliances, fully loaded entertainment center, and even some have offered vehicles.) if you don't mind an older home (10+ years), you should be able to pull the deed and find out how much the home sold for. (not the tax value). For example, a house might be on the market for 150k, they originally bought it for 120k, and owe 80k(you won't know how much they owe). You know they can walk with selling it at 120k and break even, if they are that desperate. Knowing how much a person truly paid for a house vs how much they owe (you can roughly figure this out by using an amortization calculator and how long they've owned the house) is one of the best bargaining chips you can have.
