How much to offer for a house?

[Scutter01]

Yup. I get paid bi-weekly, so I pay my bills bi-weekly as it is. Good tip though. Same with rounding.

You may want to see if your lender will let you make bi-weekly mortgage payments, too, then. Any time you chip away at principle, you lower your interest payment. Plus, 26 bi-weekly half-payments per year is an extra half-payment (over 12 monthly full payments).

 

[Sgood]

With PMI falling off, I need to talk to my lender, but if I remember correctly from what I read, the FHA PMI is required for a minimum of five years, no matter what portion you have paid, or if the property value goes up. I could be wrong, if someone wants to chime in.

You are right, it is at least five years.......then if you are at 78% LTV or once you reach 78% LTV you can initiate having it removed....

 

[JoshuaW]

The comparables turned out to be all over the place, and really did not help at all. I offered $65k with $2500 sellers assist at the recommendation of my realtor. Maybe I should have gone lower, but when you factor in the sellers assist, that is pretty decent. I should have a response before the end of the day.

 

[Naptown]

I should have a response before the end of the day.

Awesome. Let us know.

My guess is they will have a soft counter and the ball will be in your court.

 

[JoshuaW]

Awesome. Let us know.

My guess is they will have a soft counter and the ball will be in your court.

Not so soft. They got another offer this morning at $66500 no sellers assist. So they countered me at $69500 with my $2500 sellers assist. Im content with that, so I just signed the paperwork. Really, I was content with the $74900 it was back when I first saw it a few months ago, and was hoping I would be able to get them down to $70000. In the end, it is all basically the same. I am just glad I was able to get this particular house, and I know my fiance will be thrilled when I tell her. (Or pissed if she finds out I told INGO first )

Now for the fun part! Inspections, appraisal, and everything else!

 

[88GT]

Not so soft. They got another offer this morning at $66500 no sellers assist. So they countered me at $69500 with my $2500 sellers assist. Im content with that, so I just signed the paperwork. Really, I was content with the $74900 it was back when I first saw it a few months ago, and was hoping I would be able to get them down to $70000. In the end, it is all basically the same. I am just glad I was able to get this particular house, and I know my fiance will be thrilled when I tell her. (Or pissed if she finds out I told INGO first )

Now for the fun part! Inspections, appraisal, and everything else!

Good for you!

 

[Naptown]

Now for the fun part! Inspections, appraisal, and everything else!

Nicely done. You are going to have fun with this!

 

[eatsnopaste]

What part of town is it?

 

[ATOMonkey]

Congratulations!!!

 

[Tripp11]

Not so soft. They got another offer this morning at $66500 no sellers assist. So they countered me at $69500 with my $2500 sellers assist. Im content with that, so I just signed the paperwork. Really, I was content with the $74900 it was back when I first saw it a few months ago, and was hoping I would be able to get them down to $70000. In the end, it is all basically the same. I am just glad I was able to get this particular house, and I know my fiance will be thrilled when I tell her. (Or pissed if she finds out I told INGO first )

Now for the fun part! Inspections, appraisal, and everything else!

I might offend some ethical realtors on this board with this comment, but I have a hard time believing all of these "second offer" situations. Every single person I know who has put in an offer in the last 12 months has had these phantom "second offers" appear out of nowhere, and typically on homes that haven't seen any activity in over 6 months.

The same thing happened when we bought our house last time. The seller's realtor told our realtor, "They might want to come with a real strong offer because we're supposed to get another offer today too." BS.

Anyone else think all of these second offers are just a way for the seller's agent to try and force a prospective buyer into increasing their initial offer?

 

[hornadylnl]

I might offend some ethical realtors on this board with this comment, but I have a hard time believing all of these "second offer" situations. Every single person I know who has put in an offer in the last 12 months has had these phantom "second offers" appear out of nowhere, and typically on homes that haven't seen any activity in over 6 months.

The same thing happened when we bought our house last time. The seller's realtor told our realtor, "They might want to come with a real strong offer because we're supposed to get another offer today too." BS.

Anyone else think all of these second offers are just a way for the seller's agent to try and force a prospective buyer into increasing their initial offer?

This same thing just happened on my house I just sold and wonder if the second offer was real as it was withdrawn the next day. I wouldn't put it past them. It helps the buyer and seller agents.

 

[rhart]

Sorry I didnt take the time to read all the posts here but here is my opinion.
First of all, Inspections are expensive. If you are not construction savvy get one but not two. The last one I saw at a closing last week was 450.00. I buy houses as an investment and in 7 years have never gotten one. (And I've never been sorry) But I'm fairly construction savvy. Again, if your not real savvy, get one. Two is a waste.
Comps can be manipulated. Remember that. Your realtor wants to see the deal go through so they get paid. Remember that too.
One of my first rules for buying is that it must have 3 bedrooms or more. Resale, resale, resale. You might think 2 bedrooms are ok now but you will wish for more room some day. Office, workout, reloading, guest room.....
Now, since an investor is selling it, find out what he bought it for. Its in the comps. Then assume he put 7-10K in rehab. Then allow him 10k profit. Thats your selling price. Make a bid 5-7 K below that. If you go too low, you can tick them off.
Dont worry that you're asking for assistance with closing costs. Investors expect that in this market. However, include your Bank approval letter with your offer, include at least 500 in earnest money, and a fast closing date.
There are so many deals on foreclosures right now. My advice is to buy from the bank or HUD. (stay away from short sales) Do the work or hire a contractor. You are paying retail in a wholesale market.
Good luck

 

[88GT]

I might offend some ethical realtors on this board with this comment, but I have a hard time believing all of these "second offer" situations. Every single person I know who has put in an offer in the last 12 months has had these phantom "second offers" appear out of nowhere, and typically on homes that haven't seen any activity in over 6 months.

The same thing happened when we bought our house last time. The seller's realtor told our realtor, "They might want to come with a real strong offer because we're supposed to get another offer today too." BS.

Anyone else think all of these second offers are just a way for the seller's agent to try and force a prospective buyer into increasing their initial offer?

No offense taken.

The great Realtor will inform his buyers that the 2nd offer might not actually exist at all, and it is up to the them (the buyer) to determine how much it affects their offer/counter-offer. An expected offer is no offer at all. If one comes in during the negotiations, strategy can always change. There's no reason to out-bid yourself.

 

[Tripp11]

No offense taken.

The great Realtor will inform his buyers that the 2nd offer might not actually exist at all, and it is up to the them (the buyer) to determine how much it affects their offer/counter-offer. An expected offer is no offer at all. If one comes in during the negotiations, strategy can always change. There's no reason to out-bid yourself.

Is there some sort of ethics clause which you have to abide by to keep in good standing and retain your realtor's license? One would think a realtor would not want to jeapordize your license and ability to put food on the table, just so they could squeeze a little more money out of a sole bidder by lying about a second bidder.

With our house, there supposedly was a second offer written on the house. When I asked our realtor to confirm whether it really existed or not, she told me that she was not privy to the other offer as knowing what it would be would be unfair. After we moved in, we talked to our neighbors and they said we were the only couple who even looked at the house to their knowledge.

So, at the end of the day, the seller's agent could fabricate the second offer just to drive up the initial bid (and secondary bids) of the sole buyer. I guess if they can sleep at night...

Thanks for the response, much appreciated!

 

[88GT]

Is there some sort of ethics clause which you have to abide by to keep in good standing and retain your realtor's license? One would think a realtor would not want to jeapordize your license and ability to put food on the table, just so they could squeeze a little more money out of a sole bidder by lying about a second bidder.

With our house, there supposedly was a second offer written on the house. When I asked our realtor to confirm whether it really existed or not, she told me that she was not privy to the other offer as knowing what it would be would be unfair. After we moved in, we talked to our neighbors and they said we were the only couple who even looked at the house to their knowledge.

So, at the end of the day, the seller's agent could fabricate the second offer just to drive up the initial bid (and secondary bids) of the sole buyer. I guess if they can sleep at night...

Thanks for the response, much appreciated!

Licensed salespersons and brokers are governed by state license law. There are ethical aspects to the law inasmuch as what we can and cannot do is based on the fair and ethical treatment of clients and customers.

Realtors (members of National Association of Realtors; not all licensed salespersons/brokers are Realtors, but the vast majority of them are) are governed by the Realtor Code of Ethics. And it's far more comprehensive than a mere clause.

Violations of license law can result in suspension or revocation (temporary or permanent) of the real estate license. Violations of the Realtor Code of Ethics will not affect the ability to practice real estate legally. But given that most Code violations are essentially license law violations in practice, it's just best not to screw up in either sense.

At the risk of looking unprofessional and bashing the "competition," your agent failed to represent you to the fullest of her ability, and nothing in the license law of Indiana nor the Realtor Code of Ethics would preclude her from attempting to find out the information you requested. Furthermore, I could make a damn strong case that her refusal/failure to do so was an ethics violation in itself as it is her legal fiduciary duty to seek or at least attempt to seek any information that will help you in your efforts to secure a new home (or sell if you were on the sell side). There is no such thing as an "unfair advantage" unless a single licensee is representing both parties (buyer and seller) in a single transaction.

She could have asked the list agent directly if a 2nd offer actually existed. (And should have IMO.) A dishonest answer would put him at risk of code violations, and possibly, license law violations. Even though about 75% of the deals in which I represent the buyer get a "expecting a 2nd offer" statement, none of them have falsely claimed one existed when in fact it did not.

However, she is partially correct about not being privy to the terms of any such offer, assuming it existed, because the list agent is not required to disclose those terms, only the existence of an offer. But since you only asked for her to confirm the offer's existence, it should have been done. Or attempted. We can't really hold one party responsible for the dishonesty of answers given by another.

If my clients request me to find out something, I will always ask. I may tell them up front that my ability to get accurate and honest information is limited by the integrity of the person to whom I am making the request or that the information may not be passed on to me because they are not required to do so and want to keep it confidential, but I will always ask.

 

[Tripp11]

^ I've repped you too much today, but I appreciate your candid and professional reply. Do you have your own realtor website which you use to market yourself? If so, would you mind sharing it, and I'll keep you in mind if we ever decide to make the transition into another home/property.

 

[88GT]

^ I've repped you too much today, but I appreciate your candid and professional reply. Do you have your own realtor website which you use to market yourself? If so, would you mind sharing it, and I'll keep you in mind if we ever decide to make the transition into another home/property.

Thanks for the kind words.

I'm actually in between websites. My current host/provider contract ended but I haven't found a replacement yet. So the practical answer is 'no.' But it's temporary.

However, when I get it up and running again, I'll PM you a link. Fair enough?