A question by gofish : We are trying to get a house it was on the market for over 5 months it was way overpriced. A new agent now took the listing and listed it 50 under the old list. We are trying to get it but they told us we are 25 apart. We keep fighting saying the house will not appraise even at the offer I gave. We are in love with the house but dont want to over pay. I know the sellers put in a lot of work but it’s not our fault they overpaid from the beginning. I also told my agent I would list 2 houses with them if we get this house but they seem unmotivated for some reason but I feel they are just greedy. How can we wrap this up??
Answers
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I’m afraid that all you can do for the moment is to try to keep negotiating. The sellers simply don’t want to come down in price that much, no matter how much the house appraises for. Denigrating their original choices isn’t going to help your case much.
You might try this trick: write the sellers a personal letter explaining how much you love the house and want to live there to raise your family, put down roots, etc. DO NOT say in your letter that they made bad choices or put too much work into the home–just tell them how much you want to live there, and what you are offering for the home. See if that works for you–be as NICE as you can, and as complimentary. The house has been on the market for 5 months, so they may reconsider if you schmooze them a bit. The agents involved aren’t going to help you much because they want to make as much commission as possible. And do try to come up JUST a bit in price if you can–maybe a third to half of that 25 you are apart? If you really do love the house, it might be worth it to pay a bit extra for it, simply because you love it.
And if this doesn’t work, keep looking.
Vaor
“Trying to bribe the agent to advise their current client against their better judgment is hardly ethical. If that agent agreed to this and the current seller found out there would be hell to pay.
The fact that you’re showing you want the house so bad doesn’t help your case that they should lower the price. Any car dealer knows this.
What does your realtor say about the price? What are the comparable sales in the area at? You can always put in an offer at or just below asking with a contingency on the appraisal. If it appraises, then that angle is gone. It’s not uncommon to have an unmotivated seller who is willing to wait for someone to pay his asking price. When they’re ready to really sell, they’ll drop their price.
Man….did you really try to close a deal by offering the agent future business? They don’t work for you. They work for the seller. I’m still amazed at this.”
D
“Unless YOU are paying your agent a commission for buying, and not the seller, then the agent is working for the seller. They have a fiduciary duty to the seller to get them the most money on the best terms. The agent owes you honest and fair dealings and nothing more. What seems to you to be a lack of motivation is the agent’s hands being tied by their duty to the seller. They CANNOT negotiate for you on price. They can only bring your offers to the seller.
If you were to list your property with this agent, how would you feel about the agent YOU are paying when the property sells if they were actively trying to get a better price for buyers? You wouldn’t be too happy about that. Well, it goes both ways…”
curtis
“You offer what they ask.”
Anonymous
“Prove your offer! Show them the comps (and other reasoning) you are relying upon that led you to make the offer you made. If you can’t back up your claim, they are asking too much you sound like someone trying to “steal” the house.”
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