Spin-off Buyers vs Sellers (more a vent than anything else)

I didn't want to hijack Diana's post, so I started a new one. I also want to add- I live in MD where the price of housing is a little bit lower.

Many of you have seen some of my posts regarding my long, drawn-out home selling experience. It's been rough to say the least, trying to sell in a buyer's market.

I am surprised at some of the attitudes people have about sellers in general.

Posted by veeandrich

Some of these sellers are out of control and way too greedy. I hope the house sits for another 7 months

Re: Spin-off Buyers vs Sellers (more a vent than anything else)

I have to agree. When a house is reasonably priced I do not see anything wrong with offering asking price (in a buyers market or sellers market).

The low ball offers, although a starting point, are often a waste of time and make the sellers think the buyers are not serious.

A personal experience - over the summer we got an offer of 25% below asking and we were offended....especially since we priced the house at 15% below the appraised value from the start. That person called back a while later offering a more reasonable price but we said HECK NO!

Message edited 3/4/2007 1:58:31 PM.

Re: Spin-off Buyers vs Sellers (more a vent than anything else)

As a former buyer and a seller, I agree 100%.

I think most of the posters on this site are first time buyers, perhaps when, and if they sell, in the future, to purchase another home, they will feel differently.

It is unrealistic as a buyer to think that you can offer significantly less then asking price for every house out there. Just like a seller, as a buyer, you must be realistic and do your homework on each particular situation.

Very good points in above posts.


ETA: The single most contributing factor to a home's value on LI is the land it sits on, not the condition of the home. For this reason, prices will only come down so far.

Message edited 3/4/2007 2:35:46 PM.

Re: Spin-off Buyers vs Sellers (more a vent than anything else)

i see where you're coming from, and, as a seller, eventually you'll have to buy, also... which obviously you can't do if you sell your house for $300K and hope to buy one for $600K.

But, i agree with that poster. SOME sellers ARE greedy and ridiculous in thinking that their POS is worth what they're asking. If a house is priced right for the area and condition that its in, it will sell... but not all sellers are logical in their expectations- nor are all buyers.

Re: Spin-off Buyers vs Sellers (more a vent than anything else)

I have been a renter, a landlord, a seller and a buyer several times.

And YES, some buyers have totally unjustified expectations to lower a price of a house by such and such % or $, just so that they feel they WON and they got a great deal, while in fact the house was really at a fair price to begin with. I think this is sometimes an "ego" thing so they don't feel they have been "ripped off".

People are so used to being ripped off (on other financial transactions in their life), they compare housing expenses to other states for what they could/should/would have paid somewhere else that they lose the perspective of the reality.

Re: Spin-off Buyers vs Sellers (more a vent than anything else)

As I posted on my thread...

Just to clear things up for you...

These people bought this house 2 years ago for 40,000 more than they are selling it for. The price they are asking is on par with others in the area. I dont see why it has to be my problem that they paid 40,000 more than they are asking now. I shouldn't have to pay more for this house just because the sellers were ripped off when they bought it.
eta... my realtor told me that the price we initially bid was a FAIR price, which is why we offered it. They came back with an amount that was $5000 less than their asking price, and cut our request towards closing fees in 1/2. So in essence, they ARE being greedy. I could see if we offered something that was more than 20,000 under their asking price, but we didn't. Plus, the taxes in this area are insane and the HOA fees in this development per month are what most people down here pay a YEAR. These are all contributing factors to the price we bid.

Message edited 3/4/2007 2:59:19 PM.

Re: Spin-off Buyers vs Sellers (more a vent than anything else)

I think there is greed on both sides--buyers and sellers. Also some sellers haven't reconciled themselves to the fact that this is a far different market than a few years ago and insist upon prices their neighbors got a year or two ago. But then, I think some buyers figure they should just offer 10% less than the asking price and do not take into consideration the condition of the home, it's location, comparable prices in the area, etc.

DH and I have been trying to sell our co-op for 7 months now. In that time, we had one ridiculous offer, and two others that didn't pan out. One person changed their mind after making the offer, the other person sat on the contract for a couple weeks and then backed out. A couple other people were interested supposedly, but they are waiting to see what happens with prices. We have bought a house, and yes, we would really like to sell quickly, but this is our investment, and we can only go so low on the price. I already mentioned this in another post, but if we don't get another reasonable offer by summer, we will look into renting it out for the next couple years and try again later.

Basically, I think there are reasonable people and unreasonable on both sides. We were lucky with the house we bought, since the sellers were reasonable with their price and the contract. But then, we were reasonable with our offer also.

Re: Spin-off Buyers vs Sellers (more a vent than anything else)

I see your point, but what many sellers are having trouble coming to grips with is the harsh fact that prices have come down considerably from what they were 2 years ago, and what real estate agents refuse to admit, they are STILL going down. The stock market is not doing well and the real estate market and the stock market go hand in hand. We may be facing a recession, and then prices will really go down. The sellers that are holding out on a few thousand dollars, should just cut their losses and sell before they lose their shirts. For example, my neighbors were trying to sell their house for 625k. They got an offer 6 months ago for 550k and refused to take it. They just sold their house last month for 500k. They should have taken the 550 when it was offered instead of scoffing at it as unreasonable.

Re: Spin-off Buyers vs Sellers (more a vent than anything else)

I understand your point. There are definitely sellers out there who are not looking at reality.
Still, some offers are just too low. Our lowball offer was for almost $100K below what we are asking--and this is a co-op! We did counter, with our rock-bottom price, but these people wouldn't budge, so that's that.

Maybe I'm taking this personally, but some buyers are also being unreasonable IMO.

Re: Spin-off Buyers vs Sellers (more a vent than anything else)

Re: Spin-off Buyers vs Sellers (more a vent than anything else)

Oh I understand the unrealistic attitude of some sellers. Had we decided to sell our house just one year ago- we could have gotten well over 350,000. We weren't even thinking of moving. We had gotten our house for a VERY reasonable price (considering the market we bought in) and planned on staying for a long time.

When the opportunity came up that we needed/decided to sell, we knew the market was slowing down and the limitations of our home (3 bedrooms, unfinished basement, septic), and priced accordingly. We just wanted to make enough money to roll into a SMALL down payment for another house.

Sadly, the market down here screeched to a dead halt last summer. We SLASHED our price to well below what it's worth in this area- plus we knew our limitations. It piqued interest- but instead of serious offers, we got jerked around by people who felt the need to "get us" it seemed.

We actually had an offer that was incredibly low and the buyers actually defended the offer by stating- "Well, the garage smells like gasoline." We have a detached (i.e. not near the house) garage/workshop that contains 2 lawn mowers, a snow blower, gas cans and a chain saw. What the hell did they expect it to smell like?

Another buyer wanted us to put a fence up before he made an offer And my personal favorite was the lady who would show up with various relatives at all times of the day to "get another peek" before submitting HER ridiculous offer.

Generally, I found it was the people who didn't have seasoned real estate agents or no agents who pulled this crap. Every agent that came to our house raved about the place and felt it was very reasonably priced. Our problem is that as great as our house is- it is a starter home, and in my area, most people moving here are selling their own starter homes.

Re: Spin-off Buyers vs Sellers (more a vent than anything else)

Message edited 3/4/2007 3:51:05 PM.

Re: Spin-off Buyers vs Sellers (more a vent than anything else)

We just found the same exact house in the same subdivision for the same price ... with a washer, dryer and fridge.... Perhaps we should make a bid on that one. Plus, the back of the house overlooks a pond, instead of the side of someone else's house.

Re: Spin-off Buyers vs Sellers (more a vent than anything else)

the markt is changing - if a house is listed at a price for a year and all the bids are lower, its not the buyers being greedy, its the sellers not being realistic.

the buyers make the market, not the sellers.

Re: Spin-off Buyers vs Sellers (more a vent than anything else)

Re: Spin-off Buyers vs Sellers (more a vent than anything else)

Re: Spin-off Buyers vs Sellers (more a vent than anything else)

Re: Spin-off Buyers vs Sellers (more a vent than anything else)

I am talking as a homeowner here and not a real estate agent - we bought our house - and we live across the street from the Southern State Parkway. We also put 30K into the house - even though it was brand new and bought by a builder. When we bought this house there were 3 other offers on the table.

I will not sell this house in a market like this. I don't care if I have to wait 10 years for the market to turn and I can make SOME sort of profit on this house - BUT - I will not take a loss. That is my own issue and I will not put my house up for sale until I know that I can get more then what I paid. I personally feel that it would be silly for me to sell this house for less then what I paid - when I put money into it - and did increase the value of my home with the changes that I did.

I didn't read the other post (I looked and couldn't find it) but I have to say that each and every circumstance is different. I do feel that there are certain buyers that feel that this is a buyers market and they are not putting the true value against a home. They just want to worry about the % less then asking. I paid asking price for my house. I didn't care. I loved it - and wanted it - and knew that we would have a great life here. I also knew that it was fair for the market and the time I bought.

I am in no means saying go out there and overpay by 50K on a house that still needs a ton of work. Be smart. Know the market. Know the areas you are looking in. Compare houses and the worth. I have read many posters on here just trying to lowball any house - even if it is in Diamond condition and priced perfectly.

Sellers have been smartening up for the most part - and I do feel that they are more in line with where the prices should be (I think it took them a good 6 months to get to this point but alot of them are there right now)

Each house is different, each seller is different, as is each buyer. If you feel in your gut that you are getting ripped off - or taken advantage of then move on because there are plenty of other houses out there that need to sell and will be easy to work with.

Sorry to ramble!

Message edited 3/4/2007 8:24:50 PM.

Re: Spin-off Buyers vs Sellers (more a vent than anything else)

I think as a buyer you can say that a seller might be unrealistic in your opinion, but to say they are greedy doesn't make sense. It is all about what the buyer is willing to spend for a particular house and what a seller is willing to sell it for. Maybe the seller would rather not sell it below a certain price.This doesn't make them greedy, but will prevent them from selling to a particular buyer.

Re: Spin-off Buyers vs Sellers (more a vent than anything else)

I can completely understand both sides and both sides also have to realize this is a message board and on both sides we are venting. No need to single anyone out or single anyones post out.

Thanks

Message edited 3/15/2007 4:59:12 PM.

Re: Spin-off Buyers vs Sellers (more a vent than anything else)

When we bought our house two years ago, the sellers would not budge on the cost and the house needed a new roof (and windows, if you ask me).

At closing she said that we should really get on getting that roof fixed because it wouldn't last through the winter. She also said that they were going to leave the Jaccuzzi (which we didn't want anyway) but she didn't want to be tooooo generous. What the!!! Some people are impossible, sellers, buyers, neighbors, people in the store. We are now selling the house with the new windows, new roof and updated bath.

Hopefully the inspection will go well tomorrow but I am a seller by my word. We took and offer and gave our word that if they bought at a certain price we would not accept any other offers. I stand by that but......some people don't. Some buyers put in multiple bids and then pull out at the last minute on the poor seller.

I hope all goes well tomorrow.