What is a reasonable offer on home w/ assessed value by town of $225,000 yet listed by agent at $270,000?
CaseBasket asked:
My wife and I are interested in a MA home It is assessed by town for taxes at $225,000. It is listed for sale at $270,000. We are told this is a buyers market. This is a “desired” town for public schools, so the market seems rigid & controlled by realtors. We are first time buyers. Our rent is over $1200/month. We’ve paid rent for years. We hear we will get tax break by owning .
We want to make an offer, open up dialogue etc but we want to get a good deal. It is a three story dwelling & only has one bathroom. It is over 100 years old & does not have heat throughout the house-lead also likely. It is nice though…the issue is not the home –it is the price. We’d love to walk into something like this near the assessed value….but are we naive? The realtor (seller’s agent) really is working for seller, trying to keep the price point as high as possible, honesty questionable. What can we do?
What should we offer? We have pre-approvals letters, pre qualificatioin, good credit.
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My wife and I are interested in a MA home It is assessed by town for taxes at $225,000. It is listed for sale at $270,000. We are told this is a buyers market. This is a “desired” town for public schools, so the market seems rigid & controlled by realtors. We are first time buyers. Our rent is over $1200/month. We’ve paid rent for years. We hear we will get tax break by owning .
We want to make an offer, open up dialogue etc but we want to get a good deal. It is a three story dwelling & only has one bathroom. It is over 100 years old & does not have heat throughout the house-lead also likely. It is nice though…the issue is not the home –it is the price. We’d love to walk into something like this near the assessed value….but are we naive? The realtor (seller’s agent) really is working for seller, trying to keep the price point as high as possible, honesty questionable. What can we do?
What should we offer? We have pre-approvals letters, pre qualificatioin, good credit.
December 2nd, 2008 at 8:23 pm
how long has it been on the market? Have you done comparisons to see what other houses similar have sold for recently. You can check your county assessors website for some comparisons. This is definitely a buyers market so the ball is in your court. You don’t want to low ball the offer and be offensive, that will just annoy the sellers. It sounds to me if you are buying the house ‘as is’ you have more bargaining, buying it ‘as is’ I would start with an offer of $255. If you want the sellers to fix some things before moving in then I would go up, maybe around $262. Try and check some comparisons and find out how long it’s been on the market. Be sure you have a home inspection done, even if the sellers have done it, you want to have your own, it could save you a lot of money and headaches in the long run. I hope things go well and you get to move in soon! My husband and I were apt. dwellers for way too long. We were so excited to move into OUR house and do whatever we want! It’s such a great feeling, knowing all your hard work is going into something for the two of you and not some landlord.
There are some tax benefits, typically the interest paid annually is deductible. Be sure you live there for at least two years or more to avoid possibly paying capital gains tax.
Hope some of this helps you.
I just wanted to add that you should have someone representing you and your best interests. Also, one other thing to consider, if they come back with a counter offer of let’s say $10k more than your offer, you have to then consider how badly you really want that particular house, b/c 10k spread out over 30 years is a drop in the bucket for a house you really want.
December 3rd, 2008 at 1:13 am
let me keep it simple:: a decent offer is 10% assessed value. keep that in mind. anything lower than that… you got lucky. but remember that they may counter bacc at you so offer prollie 15%-20% so you can meet in the middle somewhere. and buying a house that expensive..you’re rent (including tax and insurance) will be higher than what you’re paying now. and depending on where you are…i think you’re getting ripped off.
December 4th, 2008 at 8:19 pm
You need to ask the agent if they have a list of “comparables”. Comps are homes in the area that have sold recently. You find homes that are the same one you seek with the same bedrooms and baths and roughly the same design and you look for how much they cost. If all the homes like yours sold for $225K then THAT is what YOUR house is worth. Where I live in California everyone looks at the asking price and then they offer $100,000 less. Mostly to the track builder/sellers. We’ve had a serge in home sales recently but it’s b/c people are giving their homes away and running to Florida or anywhere where it’s not 120 in the summer. But they will be back to vacation in December when it’s 70F.
You can also ask the local bank what houses in that area are averaging in price.
The title companies in the area will be able to give you comps for the area as well.
The county recorders office will have raw data that you’ll have to sift through and find homes in your area first and then narrow it down to the same type of house as yours.
Peace … Good Luck!