Nathan

My wife and I are looking into buy a house here in the next couple months. I was wondering how much exactly I should offer them in regards to their asking price. It is a 40ish year old ranch style house. 2 bed, 1 1/2 bath 1700 sq ft, 2 car attached garage, with a 30' x40' poll barn on 1.89 acre. Any suggestions?

rich

try to find out what it is appraised for should be public record. then try to find out what houses like that have sold for in that area over the last 6 months or so. that should give you an idea of what to ask for

Hopalong

This might be helpful...http://www.zillow.com/howto/Comps.htm
Even if it's not, real estate values are all about comps, at least they used to be.
With forclosures, short sales, and the like, things may have changed.
Remember, real estate agents generally are working for the seller.
Get a good agent that will work for you and your best interests.

tx_2500

My Fiance and I are just a few steps ahead of you but ill say this:

GET A REALTOR!!!!!

Seriously, rather than rack your brain and come up with a loose number, realtors will do all the homework that you never knew existed. They look at other houses and get it broken down to what your going to pay per sq/ft. From there they can start setting floors and ceilings and do their very best to advise what a good starting number should be.

The house we are working on has a listing of 125. We started off offering 118 and they pay 5400 in closing costs. They countered with 121,500 and paying 5600 in closing. A good realtor will walk you through all the steps and really takes the guesswork out of doing it all. Sure, even they never know what the buyer will come back with, but theyll have a better idea that us normal people who just take shots in the dark. Ours also set up the appointment for our main inspection and a secondary one for our foundation inspection. Going up against the listing agent yourself is like trying to defend yourself in court...its not gonna be pretty.

Also, they will tell you, its also what the house is worth TO YOU. And without seeing it, knowing your situation, etc...nobody but you can say for sure.

Good luck and get ready for one of the more stressfull times in your life!

Foxborough

X2 on a realtor !!!!! A good one will have a good pulse on the area. If you don't like the one you are talking to, go somewhere else.

Nathan

We have a good Realtor, she has helped us a bunch so far. They are asking $84,500 right now. I checked the assessed value with the assessors office and they said it was assessed at $80,700. We were thinking of going with a $78,000 # and seeing if they would take that, right now I know they will be paying closing at around $3200 so I need to work that in there too. I just don't want to pay more than I have to especially in today's market.

jumper

How long's it been on the market at $84.5? Tax records (or zillow.com) should tell what they paid for it and when, especially if its changed ownership in the last decade or so. How is it priced relative to others of similar quality, amenities, upgrades, schools, neighborhood, and overall location? Zillow will also give you relative valuation data by zip code, city, state, etc. Take those valuations with a grain of salt, however. Have your Realtor get comps for recent sales and see how this home compares.

As for the assessed value, how have home prices fared this last year in your area? The assessed value may be quite high if you've suffered the collapse we've seen on the west coast.

In general, as for the price, maybe there is a huge locational difference, but I don't see how one could even buy the materials to build a nice clean 1,700 sq ft home for 50 $/sq-ft, much less cover the labor, and get a garage, pole barn AND almost two acres of land for that. Sure, its 40 years old, but replacement cost has to figure in somehow. What would it cost to duplicate the whole package new?

Best wishes on purchasing your home.

oldmikegraham

The tax office assessed value is what they base your taxes on, basically what the tax man WANTS it to be worth. Look at simliar property that has recently sold, what does the local market support.

If you were thinking of offering 78, try 74.5 and make 78 your counter.

Raspy

I agree with oldmike. The tax value means nothing in this market.

Try not to be too attached to any one house and really see what is selling and for how much in your area. How many forclosures are there in the neighborhood. Confidentially ask your realtor what the real bottom line is on the place. Or, if the listing has expired, you can approach the seller yourself and knock off another 6%.

I say get really agressive and start way low on something you want. If they even respond with a counter they are hungry and willing to deal. You can always offer more but you can't offer less once they accept.

I bought a very nice place on the Big Island for a stupidly cheap price of 110. I was just ecstatic. Later I found out my neighbor paid 90 for his. Oh well, I was still overjoyed.

This is a great time to be buying if you can and if you can get pay 20% down you can avoid mortgage insurance.

6cylinders

A guy at work just had his house appraised, the appraiser told him most houses in our area were now appraising for less than the county had them accessed at for taxes.

saddiesel

This ^^^ is great advice. A good realtor is worth their weight in gold.

My .02, dont pay more than you have to, now its a buyers market in real estate, I would offer 5 to 10K less that what your realtor is saying. They may take the offer or give a counter lower than the 78. Either way, good luck with your purchase.

Nathan

Thanks guys, it's really nice to have some more input on this. I have to admit it's a bit scary going through all this for the first time, and starting a new job as well.

Thanks!
Nathan

waldersha

We bought our place in 2000 when things were going much better and housing was a little higher than now. It is a little smaller house than what you are looking at, but has 2 pole barns, and 2 good size sheds on 6 1/2 acres.

We paid $85 then and comp prices are pretty much in line with that now, except for one place that sold in November for $130. Grrr. Glad they didn't raise my taxes on it this year because of that.

You've got some good advice up above. Use your realtor and make her earn her money. She should be able to tell you what to expect. Doesn't hurt to do some homework of your own though just to keep honest people honest.

Good luck!

horsinaround

You can always raise your offer if they don't accept the first one, but if they accept it right away, then you will wonder if it should have been a couple thousand lower....but then again, don't offer something crazy low and make them mad. In today's market, there are the ones that are thinking about selling and list it at what the have to have and then there are those that have to sell and will consider seriously all offers... Have fun and enjoy it. Don't stress out. If you miss this one, there will be others.

Nathan

Yes there are others but we are moving May 10th regardless, just hope to have something by then.