How to make an offer on a House? How Low Can You Offer?

Everybody wants to get a good deal which is normal and understandable. BUT there is a difference between making an offer and insulting the seller.
The market in Houston is different than the rest of the country and it is way better than the national averages that they talk about on the news. We don’t have the 30-40 cents on the dollar type of deals. Let me rephrase that, we have them but very very very few and most probably will be in horrible condition to sell for that amount and will not even qualify for finance. AND the market is improving. So it will be harder and harder to negotiate.
So what is a reasonable offer?

You will have to check the average price in the neighborhood to see if the house is overpriced, within range or already below the average. If it is:
· Overpriced: I would say don’t bother to make an offer, it is either a seller who loves his house too much or not motivated. Either way, don’t bother, 99% of the time, it doesn’t sell
· Within range: The average negotiation in Houston is 3-5% and can be a little higher if the house is not in a good condition.
· Below average: Usually foreclosures and short sales, if it is already in a good condition, I would recommend offering the full price. It is already a good deal so making low offer might not be the smartest move because most probably you will not get it.

In the Houston market, if you are looking to offer 20-30% less than the asking price under the impression that the sellers or banks are desperate and should be happy to get an offer. Sorry to tell you that you are so wrong and you will be very frustrated getting rejected on each offer after the other.

Houses that are priced right or below the average are getting multiple offers in their first week on the market. Last week, a client wanted to see a house on its 2nd day on the market and turned out that they already had 3 offers …….3 offers in 2 days and many of these houses sell for higher than the asking price.

I have tons of examples but will share them later. I am writing this for all the buyers who started looking for houses to know what to expect so they wouldn’t be frustrated and in some situation, people gave up because it didn’t the way they were expecting.
Jimmy Farag, REALTOR

Realm Real Estate Professionals
Phone: (832) 303-5000
Cell: (832) 744-7424
Fax: (281) 598-5402
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