Buyer's market?!? Looks like somebody forget to tell the people selling houses that I want to buy! Seriously, there are some pretty stingy sellers out there who aren't budging much off their asking price. I have made offers on two separate properties now and haven't been able to reach terms with either one.
I am finding out what I already knew about the nature of a slow market. Chiefly, it all depends on the seller's motivation/need to sell. Sellers who have a lot of equity in their home (and thus, more financial flexibility to give on their asking price,) are more able to strike a deal with buyers. Sellers who, for one reason or another, do not have much equity are forced to be stubborn and get the price the need to get whether the market bears that out or not.
In any case, the two properties in question were decently priced but a little more than what I wanted to spend. Still, it doesn't cost me anything to write an offer so I put in a fair but admittedly low offer. Alas, neither seller was in a position to give and, at the end of the day, no deal was to be had.
However, the third time is a charm, right? I've got my eye on a place that is priced very attractively and has what I'm looking for. I am in the process of reviewing comperable sales to determine what I want to offer for the home. Check back soon for an update...
It's so important for buyers to take advantage of the information that is out there. If you are serious about buying a particular property, make sure your Realtor does his/her homework: find out what the home is worth; when did the current owners buy and what did they pay for it? What improvements have been made since they bought? Try to find out why they are moving. Have they had any offer on the property thus far? A good, tech-savvy agent can access many of these answers online. The more info you can get, the better you can negotiate your price!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment