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I'm getting married in October and the fiance and I have been doing a lot of house shopping. Our realtor is a really close friend of mine, so we just go out looking all over and it has been a lot of fun.
We have found a few houses we really like, but one in particular that we are really considering putting in an offer next week. This is where I am looking for any advice possible. The house was originally listed at $580k, and after it was on the market for 32 days, it dropped to to $558k. There isnt a lot of turnover, so there really arent any comps to compare it too. There was one house that sold in January of 08 for $475K and it was a little smaller house on a liitle less land.
An appraiser friend said that his best guess without actually getting inside would be that it would appraise for about $535k.
We are going back and forth on what our first offer should be. Some houses in the local area (not that specific area) have been dropping a lot because they have been on the market so long....so do we wait?
I'm not an expert. I'm not a realtor. I've purchased two homes in my life and sold one (FSBO).
But from what you've told me, I would be thinking about offering around $500-$510. At about 10% off of the current list price, I don't think that's at all 'lowball' in today's market. It's a bit more than the smaller home went for (do you know if that one was 'comparable' in other respects - quality of finish, age, state of repair, lot placement/configuration, etc.?), and a bit less than your friend thinks it's worth (I'm assuming you've told him/her about the details of the inside, so the appraisal is probably not TOO far off).
If they don't take it or counter, you can always offer higher if you want.
I'm not an expert. I'm not a realtor. I've purchased two homes in my life and sold one (FSBO).
But from what you've told me, I would be thinking about offering around $500-$510. At about 10% off of the current list price, I don't think that's at all 'lowball' in today's market. It's a bit more than the smaller home went for (do you know if that one was 'comparable' in other respects - quality of finish, age, state of repair, lot placement/configuration, etc.?), and a bit less than your friend thinks it's worth (I'm assuming you've told him/her about the details of the inside, so the appraisal is probably not TOO far off).
If they don't take it or counter, you can always offer higher if you want.
JUST my humble opinion.
What does your friend/agent think?
Thanks for your advice, thats all im looking for is different opinions.
I've shown the appraiser pics of the inside and stuff, so he has an idea of it. I was thinking about an offer of 505/510 too, but my fiances father thinks we should put in something lower. He buys and sales commercial real estate, and thinks we should start lower.
That's basically where im at right now, we dont "need" to put in the offer right now, but we do like the house. Watching the houses and market, it seems like everyday the houses just keep dropping.
Nobody on this board is qualified to give you offer price on a home we've never seen. Your agent should be helping you with this by running a CMA on recent closed comps (even if they are limited he should still be able to guide you if he's any good). Your offer price should be based on recent sales. Listing price has nothing to do with offer price or value.
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