I know, back when you were a child, it was so hard learning that you couldn’t have everything.
Yet as adults, many of us still have that same problem.
When you are trying to purchase a property, getting absolutely everything you want, is nearly impossible. There has to be some compromise going on, where there is give and take.
I had a buyer looking in downtown Fort Lauderdale, for a townhouse under $300,000. For those that don’t live in the area, that is not an easy task. You are looking at the bottom of the townhouse market price range.
We viewed a nice townhouse that was a couple of miles west of downtown, but still quite close. It was built in 2007, so the complex and unit were in good shape.
The list price was at $250,000, with no recent comparable sales in the development within the past year.
So, we would have to use the recent sales in the complex over, which wasn’t gate and the townhouses there had no garages. (The subject unit had a one car garage and the community was gated.)
The most recent sales there were $235,000.
My buyer wanted to come in a bit low, to try and negotiate. But, he was hesitant on making the offer because he was a first time homebuyer. He was getting financing, and looking for a 45 day close. (As opposed to a cash buyer who could close in 2 weeks.)
I would guess the property could have appraised from $235,000-$245,000, depending on the appraiser. My buyer wanted to offer $225,000, but took six days to actually work on the offer.
This is by no means saying my buyer was doing anything wrong. All this post is trying to point out, is that you have to pick your battles.
If you want to come in low and negotiate, do it asap. You want to have that opportunity to negotiate with the seller, before any other offers come in. What makes a good negotiator? Someone who isn’t afraid to lose and walk away from the property.
This contradicts the other side…
If you are a first time homebuyer, you want to make sure you are buying the right home for you. And if there are only so many options, you aren’t in as good a position to be doing some hard negotiating. Because at the end of the day, you really don’t want to lose and walk away from the property. If you want to take your time to make your offer, and you really do want the offer, show that in your offer. I am not saying you need to come in at full price, but come in with a reasonable offer that the seller might accept, or one that makes them want to negotiate with you.
And let me add, sellers do get annoyed at low offers. I have had some sellers get so annoyed with low ball offers, that they won’t take them seriously, and some won’t even elicit a response.
So buyers, if you are going after properties, and want to make some offers, please think carefully about what your end-game goal is. Do you want to find the best property at the lowest price you can get, or do you want to find the best property for you? Chances are, those are two different properties.