80LS1T Posted February 13, 2007 Share Posted February 13, 2007 Ok guys I need you to settle a little discussion between me and the girlfriend... For those of you who have bought a house new or used(not built one to your specs), did you pay full asking price. If you did, what were the circumstances? If you did not, how much below asking price did you pay? Thanks, Guy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted February 13, 2007 Share Posted February 13, 2007 I paid the asking price and the seller covered the closing costs. The way that this should be approached varies by where you are located and what the market is like. When I bought it was moving fast and furious. The only reason that my wife and I were able to buy our house in CA was that we were there within a few hours of it going on the market. We also engaged in a somewhat unscrupulous deal because the buying and selling agent were the same guy. But that's how we knew it was for sale, so I guess we kinda had to. We were using another agent prior to that and everything was sold before the first day was done. We kept going to houses only to find out they were already sold. Our agent didn't have the hookup I guess. I don't know what the market is like in WI, but I can't imagine it's anything like it was in CA 6 or so years ago when I bought. For what it's worth when we sold that same house it sold in 2 days. The market was still red hot but not quite as bad as when we bought. Check realtor.com and watch and see if you can find the same house for sale for a month or two or three. If that's the case then there is no way in hell you should be paying full price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MatMan Posted February 13, 2007 Share Posted February 13, 2007 Two years ago, we got into a bid war with another buyer, causing us to spend about 20K more than the asking price. BUT, this house is the lil lady's "Dream House" so we will never move agian. Money well spent to keep her happy, and with the 3 acres, plenty of room to expand. As the "Mortmeister" (I like that) said, it all depends on your local market conditions. And the 3 bay barn was a bonus for me (and hopefully soon, for the Zs). Why do you ask? What's your situation? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeeZ Posted February 13, 2007 Share Posted February 13, 2007 The seller jacked up the price so they could negotiate down. But in the end, I paid a fair price for the house. The seller had painted to hide the rot in columns in the front of house and other things. Don't chase the price of a house. Decide how much and stick to it. In CA the prices were ridiculous. The "greater fool" theory applies here. Good Luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Mike Posted February 13, 2007 Share Posted February 13, 2007 Mine was a HUD home. I got it for $25K under market value:rockon:... then spent $30K on the repairs:evil: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
280Zone Posted February 13, 2007 Share Posted February 13, 2007 Location, location location. This question really depends on where exactly you are and your local market. If you have time to be asking us to settle this discussion I will assume you have time to spare on your offer. So Offer 20% off the asking price and see what happens. Let it sit until the first of the month again and then offer 15% less than asking. Sooner or later they will sell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrFancypants Posted February 13, 2007 Share Posted February 13, 2007 A quick bit of research will show you similar home values in the area youre looking... that will tell you if their price is reasonable. Days on market is a huge thing to watch out for. I think it would be a waste of your and the seller's time to offer lower than 10% under asking, unless it's been on the market for 6 months and similar homes in the area are selling for much less. It's a lot like buying a car.. it's about what it's worth to you and what youre willing to pay. Everything else is just negotiation. If you bid low, be prepared that you may lose the house. Do you have a realtor? - Greg - Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GEMINITWIN111 Posted February 13, 2007 Share Posted February 13, 2007 Being An Invester Myself Always Put Your Money In The House Not On The House.unless Its Your Dream Home Or You Plan On Staying In It More Than 5 Years Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qwik240z Posted February 13, 2007 Share Posted February 13, 2007 This subject all depends on the way the market is going in your area. For the past 4 years the overall real estate market in the US was waht is called a sellers market. Lots of buyers and not as many homes for sale. This forced up prices and started bidding wars. In our area it was not uncommon for someone to pay from $10K -$100K over the asking price for a home. We bought our house in 2002 after loosing 8 other homes we were outbid on. We paid full asking price for it and offered the sellers a fast settlement and a large cash deposit to get them to accept our offer over the next offer which was $10K higher then ours. The other offer had a very low deposit and marginal financial statement so the seller thought he had better take the sure thing. The US housing market has shifted to a buyers market in the past 9-12 months. In this market, depending on your area, buyers have many more houses to choose from and have been offering less then the asking price for most homes. My wife is a Realtor and I am a Mortgage Broker so we keep close tabs on the market. If you are looking to buy, now is a great time. There are creative ways to structure an offer that may help you more that just offering a low price. I will be happy to share some of them with you. Contact me off list. Good Luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
(goldfish) Posted February 13, 2007 Share Posted February 13, 2007 If the Wi. market is like here in Minneapolis, you should pay less than asking. I'ld guess 10%. Most of what I see around here lowers by like 20k before it sells, but I don't think you suffered the same increase in pricing we did. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stony Posted February 13, 2007 Share Posted February 13, 2007 The market in anchorage Alaska is stupid hot... slowing but still hot. My first house was new I bought with an agent that said there is no way they will take less then asking price (builder). I had to say to her 'MAKE THE OFFER" if they don’t take it I will keep looking. They came down 10K and paid closing costs. It was a model home and one of the lasts ones to sell in the area so they wanted to get rid of it. 3 years later I sold it and made over 40K on it :> The second house I bought was 10 years old. 1900sq feet 3 car garage on 8k sq feet of land. I got it for 256K now 3 years later you can’t touch a house like this for under 340K!!!!! I paid the asking price for this one as it was already under the asking value for the house. They had another offer but they wanted too many nit noid stuff fixed so the seller took my no strings attached offer and sold it to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSM Posted February 13, 2007 Share Posted February 13, 2007 Bought mine 1.5 years ago. Paid whatever the model was plus upgrades and closing costs! I'm still feeling the pains of no K-Y and the public humilliation! But then again on paper I'm up 200K. Location makes a huge difference in price though. I'm in a real good area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Mike Posted February 13, 2007 Share Posted February 13, 2007 Hah... That's a paradox. The real estate in Alaska is hot, heh, heh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavyZ Posted February 13, 2007 Share Posted February 13, 2007 qwik240z hit it correctly. I'm a real estate appraiser and I can tell you that it... 1) Depends on the market where you are & what's happening with it. 2) See #1 I bought my home in 1995 just when the market here started to go up. I paid maybe $5,000 less than the asking. It's worth over 3 times what I paid for it...but all that's on paper until I sell it. The market will dictate the price then too. It could change in a day, so frankly I "bank" on nothing at all until then, which is one reason why I don't pull money out and go further and further in debt; I know my limitations. My one piece of advice: know your market and what it's doing BEFORE you just put a bid on a house. Davy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
80LS1T Posted February 13, 2007 Author Share Posted February 13, 2007 Basically the topic came up because I will be looking for a house in the next year. Then I said how her sister & husband were "stupid" for paying the asking price for their new house. Not because they payed it but because they didn't even try to offer a lower price. She thinks that because the house is new that you can't offer a lower price. I tried to say that houses are like cars, there is always room to work with the price. I will be looking for something either in town that needs some minor work and that I can resell in a year or two..........or something out of town that has room to build a shop. Eitherway IM SICK OF RENTING! Guy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSM Posted February 13, 2007 Share Posted February 13, 2007 Just don't buy it together! Get it in your name and yours only. If you get married change it to both names later. I've seen many burned. Basically the topic came up because I will be looking for a house in the next year. Then I said how her sister & husband were "stupid" for paying the asking price for their new house. Not because they payed it but because they didn't even try to offer a lower price. She thinks that because the house is new that you can't offer a lower price. I tried to say that houses are like cars, there is always room to work with the price. I will be looking for something either in town that needs some minor work and that I can resell in a year or two..........or something out of town that has room to build a shop. Eitherway IM SICK OF RENTING! Guy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kuntry Posted February 13, 2007 Share Posted February 13, 2007 We closed on our house last thursday. It appraised for 110k, but we got it for 99k. My wife has been friends with the seller since 3rd grade... so he really helped us out. Somehow on paper he made it look like we were paying the full 110k, but had give him 11k down. We're really happy with the house.... now for all the things to make it feel like home. Best thing is the garage is twice the size of the shed Ive been stuck in for the last couple years... cant wait to get the Z in there and get to work on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DemonZ Posted February 13, 2007 Share Posted February 13, 2007 Paid slightly below listing for 6yr old house. Prev. owners lost money from what they paid, not including fees (they sold at the bottom of market). As a former realtor, I recall some statistic that houses sell 2-3% of their listing price, and from my experience that is true. I would always try and get it for less, but if you know the market (seen enough comparables, 10 or so...) you can gauge the market fairly well. If houses are moving, or there are multiple offers, best to put in your best offer, get the P/S agreement signed "subject to inspection" and try asking for repairs/money later after the inspection turns up issues. As a buyer there is no drawback from using an agent, in WA at least, the seller is paying for it. Obviously you have to trust your agent. If the agent is representing both ends of the deal, then you have to trust your agent even more. Most times it isn't a problem, and is not uncommon. If you feel uneasy, or that the agent does not have your best interest at heart, find another agent. There are plenty that would be happy to get the job. A buddy of mine recently went with a nightmare buyers agent who was totally favoring the builder (probably had multiple deals with him) and kept getting completion pushed back a few months at a time. I told him to get out of the deal, and find something else. Good thing he did. They finally completed the place 9 months later, and he likes his new house better to boot. Personally, I've never met a scum bag like that. But they do exist. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mayolives Posted February 13, 2007 Share Posted February 13, 2007 The price paid is determined by, believe it or not, only a few factors in most cases Buying and reselling houses is my business and I have been doing this for many years. On average, I complete about ten deals each year. Factor number # is determined by how much the BUYER wants the house and is willing to pay. The other important factor is, you guessed it, how bad does the SELLER wants and needs to sell the property. My first offer is normally twenty percent less than asking price with an offer to close in ten days., no strings attached. Then the ball is in the seller's court. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteelToad Posted February 13, 2007 Share Posted February 13, 2007 In some places, the asking price is just the starting point, in others, its the fantasy number the seller would like to hit. You could offer asking+20K in some hotspots and get a chuckle and a polite "no thanks", while in other locations 80% of asking gets the seller scrambling for a pen. It's very much NOT like car shopping. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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