What's the lowest you can bid on a house?

So DH and I have been looking for a house and we have found 2-3 that we could work with. One we absolutely LOVE!!! it's slightly above our price rage, but doesn't need ANY work! (best part)

so what is the lowest you can bid w/o completely offending the owners?

TIA

Re: What's the lowest you can bid on a house?

I don't think there is a real answer to this--to me it totally depends on the comps for the area. Are you working with a realtor? We offered asking because our house was priced well for the neighborhood, so I don't think there is any set percent or dollar amount....

Re: What's the lowest you can bid on a house?

Theres no real rule of thumb, my bro just went into contract on a house it was listed at 399, he offered 370 and they settled on 380.

You have to have an idea of what other houses are going for and you what are comfortable payihg

Re: What's the lowest you can bid on a house?

It's so hard because the houses truly vary over here!! I have seen them as much as $50 over and under asking, for more and less!

This market is a bit frustrating!

Re: What's the lowest you can bid on a house?

I think there are a few factors you should keep in mind:
-How long has the house been on the market?
-How fast do the sellers want to get out?
-Were there offers on the table close to asking and they did not accept them?

My Brother is looking for a house and one was on the market for 4 months, we found out that the Sellers only went down $900 since then so in that situation they were not moving too fast.

It does not hurt to try and worst case they come back and say no and you go from there. It's better to bid lower IMO then higher because you can always go up and not down.

Re: What's the lowest you can bid on a house?

Re: What's the lowest you can bid on a house?

I basically start with the 10% rule...if you offer within 10% of asking at least they know you are serious..
My experience with each house is different...i can tell you that if it is new to the market and it doesn't need any work, they aren't so flexible, and some are selling for only $10 or $15k less than asking. If it's been on the market longer, SOME not all, are willing to negotiate a little more.

We have actually dropped our jaws with some counter offers we have received. We've let them go b/c the seller basically wants asking and we don't feel it's worth it.

Good luck! We are getting close now,but it's been torture.

Re: What's the lowest you can bid on a house?

i would try to go by the comps...

we are looking in florida and we are having a hard time b/c all the comps that are selling have been selling low - in the 175-210 range - which is the appropriate market value for the area and type of homes we are looking at - but people are asking for closer to 250-275k - which is really ridiculous....

we put an offer on a house listed at 275k - we offered 204,500 which our agent (and even the selling agent) said was a really great offer considering the situation in the market, the comps, and the actual worth of the house/appraisal....sellers dont want to believe their house isnt worth the inflated 05-06 price and won't go lower than 245k - they are beat - they aren't going to sell for 245k unless they wait a few years

we just made another offer on almost the same model house but this home does not have a pool - the highest we'll offer with this one is about 195k - our agent said we shouldn't pay a dollar more b/c it just is not worth anything more - even 195 is high - but the house is listed at 239,900 - again the sellers are unrealistic and we are expecting to be rejected again ....

i don't know how the long island market is....the area we are looking in is slim pickings right now and lots of sellers are really really overpriced...we figure it can't hurt to make offers so we are just trying without expecting much...

one thing i've learned is to really know the market value of the home, go with the comps, current appraisals - no matter how much you love a house it isn't smart to overpay for it - and people are trying to get away with asking for more $$ than their home is worth

Re: What's the lowest you can bid on a house?

my realtor told me nys has a law that says you can bid whatever you want. that doesnt mean theyll counter near it but youre allowed. the houses we bid on needed so much work and were asking 500-700,000. so for example , one they were asking 725 and we offered 669. they countered with asking proce which was ridiculous. one they were asking 699 and we offered 599. they countered back and forth and were still at 652 and theyre at 658,500. now. another they were asking 619,000 and we offered 599. they countered a couple times and are now at 569. so it varies. offer what you think its worth. other houyses in the area may have sold for a lot ,ore but didnt need as much work, or vice versa, so it doesnt always go by that.

Re: What's the lowest you can bid on a house?

I would compare to the comps. If the comps are similar to asking then it's priced right to sell because it doesn't need work. Take the comps and work from there.

Re: What's the lowest you can bid on a house?

depends on a variety of factors but i think a reasonable offer for a house that is in move-in-condition is around 3-6% below asking.