Re-post: Need advice on buying a house

Soooo, me and FH have recently begun looking for houses again!!! We ended up seeing two on Sunday and three today.

Today, we completely fell in love with one of the homes. The house has everything we are looking for and more. I really, really, really LOVE this house A LOT!!! Also, there is minimal repairs,if any!!!

Anyways, do you think it's reasonable for a homeowner to accept an offer $100,000 less than what they are asking? I'm thinking $75,000 less is probably a more reasonable reduction.
What are your thoughts and experiences on this? Any tips would be soooo helpful. I'd actually be pretty sad if we lose this house.

Sorry for the repost, but I need all the help I can get.

it depends...did you look at similar houses in the area and see what they are going for??

the worst the thing that happens is they say no or they counter offer

and you can continue to haggle..

in this market tho, i dont think any offer is unreasonable...

how long has the house been on the market? if its been awhile then you might have a chance...

if its fresh on the market they might be less likely to accept it

I have a friend who just recently put an offer on a home and the offer was accepted. They offered less than the asking price and I believe it was around 70-75k less. Of course depending on the individual house I think that 100,000 is a lot for someone to go down. However, I guess it doesn't hurt to offer less and then negotiate from there. It would be sad to lose the house but there really is no guarantees unless you pay the full asking price which then the buyer would be jumping for joy lol and probably throw the keys at you.

Good-Luck though. I can't wait until we start house hunting

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Posted by LoveyDovey

it depends...did you look at similar houses in the area and see what they are going for??

the worst the thing that happens is they say no or they counter offer

and you can continue to haggle..

in this market tho, i dont think any offer is unreasonable...

how long has the house been on the market? if its been awhile then you might have a chance...

if its fresh on the market they might be less likely to accept it

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It's been on the market almost 4 months. We've seen a few houses this week and a few others months back. It's scary because you want to make the right decision. I don't know if it's too soon. But, I'm sooooo impatient and don't want to wait. I'm afraid that we will miss our chances with this house.

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Posted by ElovesJ117

I have a friend who just recently put an offer on a home and the offer was accepted. They offered less than the asking price and I believe it was around 70-75k less. Of course depending on the individual house I think that 100,000 is a lot for someone to go down. However, I guess it doesn't hurt to offer less and then negotiate from there. It would be sad to lose the house but there really is no guarantees unless you pay the full asking price which then the buyer would be jumping for joy lol and probably throw the keys at you.

Good-Luck though. I can't wait until we start house hunting

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My mom told me that 75k is probably a more reasonable reduction as well. I just hate to lose this house. It just feels right and has a ton of closet space. It feels soooo cozy.

Was the house your friend bought on the market for a while?

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Posted by cc2011

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Posted by ElovesJ117

I have a friend who just recently put an offer on a home and the offer was accepted. They offered less than the asking price and I believe it was around 70-75k less. Of course depending on the individual house I think that 100,000 is a lot for someone to go down. However, I guess it doesn't hurt to offer less and then negotiate from there. It would be sad to lose the house but there really is no guarantees unless you pay the full asking price which then the buyer would be jumping for joy lol and probably throw the keys at you.

Good-Luck though. I can't wait until we start house hunting

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My mom told me that 75k is probably a more reasonable reduction as well. I just hate to lose this house. It just feels right and has a ton of closet space. It feels soooo cozy.

Was the house your friend bought on the market for a while?

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I don't know the exact time it was on the market but it wasn't newly on the market I know that. The seller also was really motivated to sell I think because of financial reasons. If you really love the house I wouldn't offer less than 75k of the asking price. Like some have said you don't want to insult them or make it seem like you are not a serious buyer.

for our house we basically put and offer very very close to the asking price, cuz we were told there were 3 other offers on it...and it has only been on the market for like 2 weeks, so we new we had to go close or we would never of gotten it...

how long has the house been on the market for? were there any other offers? i mean they could always come back with a counter...

i just think if its your dream home, then you need to think what the best way to get it is. ask your real estate agent, what he thinks

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Posted by NYMETBRIDE

We just bought a house, and honestly even 75,000 seems like a lot! I guess it depends on the asking price...we leared that you really have to start out lower and usually you meet somewhere in the middle. One thing we learned is that if you make too low an offer, they don't take you seriously.

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I couldn't agree more. We are currently in contract on a house (thank god) after about 7 months of looking... If it is a house that you absolutely love, I would say put your best foot forward in making an offer. You don't want the homeowner to be offended and not even bother counteroffering with you....

ETA: If you are working with a broker, ask the broker for the comparables in the area so you can get a better idea of what you should offer...

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Posted by julesrbf

It depends ... if it's a million dollar home then $75K is reasonable ... but honestly that is a HUGE reduction in price, it doesn't sound that good to me to be honest ... sorry!

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Agreed. I think if we're looking over $500K then $75K is reasonable. Anything less than $500K would require less of a reduction IMO.

I think thats a huge reduction in price. If the house has only been on the market for 4 months then dont be surprised if they laugh at the offer.

When we were looking we i think only ever offered about 30K less than the asking price.

I would look at comps in the area. If its priced about right then there is no way they will take it unless they have to be out for some reason.

I have a feeling this house hunting thing is going to S*U*C*K!!
FH was going to talk to our broker today and see what he thinks a good offer would be. I can just see me comparing every house to this one!

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Posted by cc2011

I have a feeling this house hunting thing is going to S*U*C*K!!
FH was going to talk to our broker today and see what he thinks a good offer would be. I can just see me comparing every house to this one!

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its really rough. I remember loving a house and having it be sold and being so sad over it. You'll find your house.

Honestly having a house and paying for a wedding at the same time is so stressful! I sometimes wish i had a condo or coop where maintenance was included.

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Posted by leesah85

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Posted by julesrbf

It depends ... if it's a million dollar home then $75K is reasonable ... but honestly that is a HUGE reduction in price, it doesn't sound that good to me to be honest ... sorry!

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Agreed. I think if we're looking over $500K then $75K is reasonable. Anything less than $500K would require less of a reduction IMO.

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ITA. Its all about the comps, and how motivated they are.

We are getting ready to look at homes soon on Long Island. I actually have been watching 'my first place' on Hoe and Garden? channel.

Its great stuff.

But 100k sound very lowball. Talk to your realtoe and see what they say.