trying to buy house, please advise.

[jmebonner]

We're in a modular that I've completely redone, but as the family gets bigger, the house seems smaller

We're looking at an older house w/ almost twice the square footage (2200 sq ft or so). Decent place, needs some work, which I'll do myself. No central heat/air. In fact the heat is the old hot water radiator type.

Here's the deal. They're asking 75000 but it's been on the market for more than two years. They're willling to give a concession of 5000 for the heat and 2000 for closing costs. That puts us at 68000. The owners live somewhere else now and they've had rentors (sp?) in it the last couple years, so I know they're feelin' the crunch.

Is it rude to offer as low as 60000? The house market has declined a bit here, but I know they paid around 80000 about 5 years ago. IMO, I would NOT be able to turn around and sell it for 65000, so I don't want to pay over that.


Any ideas, home buying tips, etc? I purchased the one I'm in now through a friend, so no realtors or anything, that's all new territory for me.


Thanks!
jme

[Martoch]

Well, jme, I have no experience in that dept. either, but I did find this site that may help you at least somewhat.
http://www.housebuyingtips.com/usedhomes.htm

There are no rules of what appreciates or depreciates. So don't be bashful about offering a low price on a house. Some homeowners who are selling their homes get the idea in their head that their house should sell for say $200,000 because they bought it a few years ago for $175,000.The seller may become indignant when you present them with a low ball offer. They may have bought the house when the market was hot, and in a soft market, their house may not be worth the asking price.

Good luck to you, I'll be keeping an eye on this thread.


Mike

[daveleau]

Not rude at all. It can't hurt to ask.

[implexant]

I'd say offer em what you think is a fair price. No need for them to get a killing or for you to get a steal. Just fair market value.

-Chris

[jmebonner]

Nice site, Martoch. Helped me get my 'game face' on I'll keep y'all posted. I hope to get a real estate attorney and make an offer sometime this week. But if they want too much, I walk.

[Xeroid]

Make the offer. The seller or his agent will tell you if it's too low.

[Omardeth]

ya offer what ya think it is worth , no never hurt anybody .

[Sweet]

hire your own appraiser and get another opinion on the price. It may cost alot more than 5000 for a new complete heating and cooling system. make sure that the title is clear, clean. that could pose problems. a relator can be costly, but they also can save you alot of money in the long run. Is the foundation ok, sewer, septic, radon, fire alarms, what kind of water pipes in the house, how old is the hot wateer heater, do faucets need replacing, termites, etc. find a home inspector and get it checked out before making any offer.

[shahani]

I would:

1) Offer what I can afford.
2) Not think of resale value but value as a home for me
3) Always try and get the best deal for yourself. If you don't look after your own interests, who will?

The price they paid 5 years ago has no relevance to the deal.

At all.

Had real estate prices risen and they asked a fair market price of $300,000, would they mention that they bought it at $60,000? In real estate, past has no impact on present as far as prices go. You are not buying a car.

Decide on a firm price you can afford and are comfortable with then start the offer by quoting 5% less. So you can negotiate.

If they don't accept your top price, walk away.

Sweet makes some very good points -just so you don't get a lemon. Don't forget to visit the house at different times of the day, particularly at night- 9 pm or so.

Just to imbibe the atmosphere, as it were.

Good Luck.

Oh, BTW, try and stay away from lawyers.

[Sweet]

check the house after a hard rain too.....