topic Re: What's a Fair Offer in Home

What's a Fair Offer

Mistreatedbycs — Wed, 08 Jun 2016 03:34:26 GMT

What do you consider is a "fair offer" to accept in selling a home?

Generally, I understand the "low ball" trying to get it for nothing approach but if you have some people that are very interested what should you consider?

Re: What's a Fair Offer

sandraskates — Wed, 08 Jun 2016 03:44:23 GMT

Ah, interesting question. I know you just put your house on the market.

I'll tell you from my past home transactions what I have thought was fair:

1. Sold a house for about $2000 under the asking price. The buyers wanted deduction for the crappy, worn out carpet and I thought that was fair.

2. Bought an investment property and roof was an issue. There was nothing wrong with it technically but for insurance purposes it needed replacing. The seller was going to take the house off the market and then put it back on the market for $10,000 more. Instead, we agreed to meet him halfway and split the roof cost.

To us, that was fair.

3. Sold a house for over the asking price but after inspection there were some things that needed attention. Some things we fixed and for those we could not we adjusted the sale price (which was still over the asking price).

Now maybe for some none of that would be "fair." But to us, it was "fair."

If you just got an offer after the few days your house has been on the market and you think it's low then counter offer it. But if the buyers are making what you feel are "unfair" demands then don't even bother. Just wait for the next, BETTER offer. You will have to decide what you think is fair and your real estate should be able to offer some guidence.

Re: What's a Fair Offer

DiAnne — Wed, 08 Jun 2016 03:49:35 GMT

The last house I sold the first offer I got was really low and I turned them down. The second offer was full price - same people.

Re: What's a Fair Offer

hyacinth003 — Wed, 08 Jun 2016 03:50:35 GMT

That depends on a lot of things!

What the market value of the house really is, how badly you need to sell it, how quickly you need to sell it, if you believe the buyer is going as high as they really can, what you are willing to accept. What you NEED to get out of it.

Your realtor should be able to tell you if they think it is a fair offer too. If it's a hotter market, counter offer closer to your asking price. It does depend on the housing market and how badly you need to sell it. And, how long you are willing to keep on going through the process.

When we sold our house, I was so worn out of the whole process. Plus, we had a deadline to close on the house we had bought. So, we we ended up about $2,000 lower as a compromise.

I hated every minute of it! Good luck to you!

Hyacinth

Re: What's a Fair Offer

tansy — Wed, 08 Jun 2016 04:06:35 GMT

Do you know that your home is priced at market value? Has your agent shown you the list vs sold prices for your neighborhood?

Re: What's a Fair Offer

CAMOGIRL — Wed, 08 Jun 2016 05:07:58 GMT

A fair offer is one that you are comfortable with and accept. It depends on how much money you have put into your house for updates. It depends on when you need to move - whether it is either quickly or you have plenty of time to play with. It depends on your area and/or your neighborhood. We have lived in four homes - the first one, I wanted to sell because I needed more space with the two kids, we basically broke even on the house, we just wanted to move. The second house we were there for quite sometime, we made out good when we sold it - but, could of made out better with a few more improvements that we never got round to getting done, the third house - we rented since it was in a different city - and stayed there until we found and bought the house we are in now. I am NEVER moving again!

Good luck with your selling of the house!

Re: What's a Fair Offer

qualitygal — Wed, 08 Jun 2016 08:51:59 GMT

Have the house appraised.

Re: What's a Fair Offer

gardenman — Wed, 08 Jun 2016 09:41:36 GMT

Property values are constantly in flux. Locally, prices are nose-diving. A nearby home that sold for $140,000 in 2008, just sold for $26,000. Smaller houses here are now selling for $10-$30 a square foot. The bottom has completely fallen out of the local market. It's getting to the point where any offer is a fair offer. A large home up the road from me last sold for $350,000, but has been on the market for months at $149,900 with no takers. You have to know what's going on in your local market to truly understand what's a fair offer. Many of the local realtors haven't adjusted their asking prices to the new reality and their homes just aren't selling. You really need to know what's happening in your immediate area to know what's a fair offer.

Re: What's a Fair Offer

ID2 — Wed, 08 Jun 2016 10:49:49 GMT

@tansy wrote:
Do you know that your home is priced at market value? Has your agent shown you the list vs sold prices for your neighborhood?

These questions are key in selling your home. We sold ours a year ago so its all pretty fresh in my mind. It all boils down to how much your homes are going for around you and how much your house appraises for. We got a decent price for our home but it was appraised lower so the buyer and us met in the middle and settled on a price. All in all we were pretty happy.

Re: What's a Fair Offer

hopi — Wed, 08 Jun 2016 13:04:30 GMT

@Mistreatedbycs wrote:
What do you consider is a "fair offer" to accept in selling a home?

Generally, I understand the "low ball" trying to get it for nothing approach but if you have some people that are very interested what should you consider?

My first consideration would that be a is it a seriously fair offer. Some people over value their home and some people just want to or have to move. If you don't have to move and do not think it's fair just sit on it.

If someone is lowballing than you should turn it down.

Your second condsieration should be a counter offer at just a small drop in price or somewhere inbetween.

Re: What's a Fair Offer

151949 — Wed, 08 Jun 2016 13:06:31 GMT

When we sold our house the agent told us upon his first visit what he thought the house was worth. We added $5000 to that to allow for negotiation. A neighbor 3 houses away had a house almost exactly the same as ours for sale for about $3000 more than we listed ours for , and we had a much nicer yard and we had done updates over the years and they had not. When we got the first offer it was very lowball and we did not even counter - my DH said he was not interested in discussing it with them, they came up $10,000 and we came down a couple thousand and in the end we sold it for EXACTLY the amount the realtor had said it would sell for. That house 3 doors down the street never sold, they still own it and rent it. Our realtor told us right from the start - and this was in 2010 , the worst time to sell a house - that you can only sell it for what it is worth, the biggest mistake people make is to set the price by how much they need to get from the home, instead of by what the house is worth.

Re: What's a Fair Offer

novamc1 — Wed, 08 Jun 2016 15:13:45 GMT

Generally speaking (and everything said about real estate is a generality), if you cannot make a deal at a dollar amount that is within about 95 percent to 98 percent of the list price, you have overpriced the house, or the buyer should not have been making an offer on it in the first place (either because he can't afford it or he just doesn't like it enough).

Depending on market conditions in your area, a good strategy is to very modestly price the house and attract a bidding war. Selling for 100 percent or more of a list price is quite possible when the house is priced right to begin with.

Important to remember that buyers determine the fairness of a price. The seller's wants and needs often have nothing to do with deciding what is "a fair price"..........the seller can only decide what he can feel good about accepting. Usually buyers and sellers reach a meeting of the minds on this issue.

Re: What's a Fair Offer

novamc1 — Wed, 08 Jun 2016 15:05:37 GMT

Regarding advice that you get your property professionally appraised before putting it on the market, be aware that this will cost hundreds of dollars, the appraisal often has nothing to do with the market value of the house in the eyes of buyers, and is as about as useless in determining market value as the tax assessor's estimate of value or how much you feel you need or want to get out of the house.

Any Realtor and even any astute internet surfer can determine the approximate value of a home by studying comparable prices and sales in the area. A seller must be competitive with other current sellers and must sell for a price that will satisfy the eventual buyer's lender (which will involve a separate appraisal of recent comparable sales by the lender's chosen appraiser.)

Re: What's a Fair Offer

151949 — Wed, 08 Jun 2016 16:58:13 GMT

@novamc1 I agree - people should use a realtor who knows the neighborhood well and is a professional - a soccer Mom who does this for spending money in her spare time would not be a good choice - then the realtor should be able to tell you right what your fair price is and how much to list it for. Then as soon as it goes on the market you need to have an open house for agents so it can be shown by multilist realtors and then soon after a regular open house. The realtor should be using every possible means to get your house noticed. After all you are paying him a lot of money. A realtor who does not show your house a lot is useless - ours showed the house at least once a day every day - many days more than once - and it sold in 9 days for exactly the amount he told us it would go for.

Re: What's a Fair Offer

riley1 — Wed, 08 Jun 2016 17:41:34 GMT

@Mistreatedbycs - Get in touch with your Realtor and have them come in and give you an assessment of what the selling price would be. Also, have them show you some comps from your neighborhood. I can remember many years ago, colonials were all the rage in my area and the top of the $ range - now you can get one for a song - the market really took a beaten.

Re: What's a Fair Offer

novamc1 — Wed, 08 Jun 2016 18:22:17 GMT

I see some statements here that have worn quite thin over the years and are nothing more than specious complaints made when houses don't sell quickly.

In fairness to Realtors everywhere, we should not judge how hard they are working for a client by how many times the house is shown. That would be absurd.

You can't show homes to nonexistent buyers, or buyers who can't afford that property, or buyers who have clearly indicated that they don't want to look in that neighborhood, that street or at any house of that style.

Agents will show any house as often and as long as they possibly can, but they don't work miracles---up to and including creating a qualified buyer for a particular home, or generating fast and frequent showings when the market is slow and buyers are staying home.

Most sellers in my area would not appreciate a steady stream of foot traffic from unqualified buyers, anyway. (That includes curious neighbors who cruise open houses just to look at the decorating.) If the agent wants to make any money for himself and the seller, time is better spent on productive marketing activities, which do not always involve open houses.

I'm also sure no sellers would appreciate it if agents tried so hard to impress them with their frenetic activity that they start dragging family, friends and other agents through the house posing as prospective buyers. How silly that would be.

Again, a real estate license does not enable human beings to pull buyers out of thin air. Trust me, if a seller's agent has a real buyer to show that listing to, that house WILL be shown......as often and as long as possible.

Re: What's a Fair Offer

Hooty — Wed, 08 Jun 2016 20:33:32 GMT

Use Zillow and see what the house is worth, see what it sold for the last time it was sold and go from there.

If you are selling to make money, it maybe on the market a while, if you are selling to get rid of and to move to another place, I'd try to sell to maybe make even, IMO, each circumstance is different!

Re: What's a Fair Offer

Sooner — Wed, 08 Jun 2016 22:04:22 GMT

@Mistreatedbycs wrote:
What do you consider is a "fair offer" to accept in selling a home?

Generally, I understand the "low ball" trying to get it for nothing approach but if you have some people that are very interested what should you consider?

I don't think this question can be answered by anyone but the seller. There are too many factors involved. Also, different areas of the country have different ways of negotiation and different regional ideas about bargaining.

Re: What's a Fair Offer

novamc1 — Thu, 09 Jun 2016 19:22:26 GMT

@Mistreatedbycs

There isn't any way for others to decide here on the "fairness" of an offer, but I would urge you and anybody else selling a home to never refuse to give a counteroffer, no matter how low or "insulting" the original offer is. Those are maddening, I know.......seen a million of them, don't like them any better than clients do, but..............

When people make lowball offers, they generally expect a counteroffer. In most cases, every effort should be made to keep an interested buyer engaged, and the only way to do that is to go along with the negotiating (not forever, but at least for a while).

Even a counteroffer at your full list price is fine......it politely and respectfully invites the buyer to make a better offer.

Refusal to engage with a buyer at all is guaranteed to get the seller absolutely nowhere in the process of selling a home. It also sends a bad message to the person making the offer.

The caveat, of course, is that sellers should determine first whether the purchaser is even financially qualified for the price range at issue. If not, send him packing with no counteroffer.

Re: What's a Fair Offer

Mom2Dogs — Thu, 09 Jun 2016 19:51:21 GMT

@gardenman wrote:
Property values are constantly in flux. Locally, prices are nose-diving. A nearby home that sold for $140,000 in 2008, just sold for $26,000. Smaller houses here are now selling for $10-$30 a square foot. The bottom has completely fallen out of the local market. It's getting to the point where any offer is a fair offer. A large home up the road from me last sold for $350,000, but has been on the market for months at $149,900 with no takers. You have to know what's going on in your local market to truly understand what's a fair offer. Many of the local realtors haven't adjusted their asking prices to the new reality and their homes just aren't selling. You really need to know what's happening in your immediate area to know what's a fair offer.

@gardenman...That is a big drop in price, is there something specific happening where you live that would cause this. In our area things are down but nothing like what you indicated.