negotiation techniques
Question
Buying a home, and need some advice please help!!?
There is a house on the market that we were interested in buying. It is a large house, 5 bedrooms, with a large yard. This house is apart of a community that is required to pay home owners associations dues. The house was being rented before it went on the market, and so the tenants did not take the best of care of the home. There needs to be extensive work done on the home- laundry room needs to be gutted because the floor is damp, weeds are growing wild, aluminum window panes, old carpets, and the entire heating system (water heater/boiler) needs to be replaced. The seller is using an agent to sell their home. The home was appraised at 250k, and is now down to 199k, because it was on the market for a while. We are first in line, but are thinking that the sellers should be more willing to reduce the price a bit more or @ least repair SOME of the stuff that needs to make the home comfortable. It would be nice if there was some negotiation strategy, or some kind of proven persuasion technique that we can use to get them to repair some of it, or reduce the price a bit. If you're a big hitter investor, then what methods would you use to getting this done. Any sound advice is appreciated. ok- even it is a 'short sale', there still has to be something I can do to get them to appeal to my meager request.
3 months ago - 5 answers
Best Answer
Chosen by Asker
What the home appraises at vs. what they are asking does not indicate a short sale situation. A short sale would be if they owe more than the home is worth, but unless it as been stated by the Realtor, you have no way of knowing how much they owe on their mortgage. That being said, you cannot force them to lower the price or make your requested repairs, you can only place an offer and hope that they bite. There are really no "tricks" to get them to appeal to your meager request, they either want to agree to get the home sold, or they may want to hold out for a better offer. The only thing that you can really do in this situation is explain what you are looking for to your Realtor and offer your best offer. If they choose to say no, that is their perogative and one that you must accept as their choice. You may get lucky and they want to get rid of it so badly that they will negotiate. You never know until you place the offer. Good luck
Source(s)
FL Realtor
by FLRealtorCB
3 months ago
Asker's Rating: 
Other Answers
if the home was purchased for 250 and is now on the market at 199- sounds like a short sale. So you won't be able to do big negotiations on this property. It is most likely being sold "As is" with the right to inspect.
by pink elephants- 3 months ago
Jake it doesn't sound like such a great deal to me. You may not want to bite off more than you can chew. Have you even been pre qualified by a lender? Then you're putting the horse before the cart. You need to talk with several lenders first to see what you can afford. There may be one loan program 203K that could help with repairs, but you would need to have some cash. If you don't have the money to make the repairs, then this isn't the property for you. I'd find something more aligned with your budget.
by Alterfemego- 3 months ago
first get it appraised!! that will tell you what it is really worth as it stands TODAY!! if the damage is more then the seller says it will show on the report? if not satified with that get a home inspection done. that will tell you how much damages is done and the costs to repair? or have a contractor you know look at it and give you an estimate of repairs? the agent is working for the seller and has to get the most money for it as he can? the more he gets the bigger his cut will be too! don't totally rely on his word!!
by Robert W- 3 months ago
Offer them what you are willing to pay for it, which sounds like it should be much less than 199k, and see what they come back with. If they want to get out of the property they will be willing to negotiate, if they aren't willing to negotiate let them keep it! Never let on how much you want this (or any house) if they believe that you could walk away at anytime they will try to keep your interest by offering you thier best counter offer. This is a buyers market and there is no reason to settle for a deal that you think is the slightest bit unfair.
by TJ- 3 months ago