House negotiations

[Deleted]

How much negotiating do you do when you buy or sell a house?

For our two houses, DH and I offered 90% of listed, sellers countered and we countered splitting the difference. We are both attorneys, so it might just be in our nature to nit pick. 

We are trying to sell house #1 and it is currently listed in line with comps in the neighborhood. We had an offer at 90% and countered with a price that puts us on the lower end of comps and the realtor called to say they aren't going to counter at all. If 90% of list price is your best offer and you aren't will to go up- why waste the time? They requested a 45 day closing, which is fairly uncommon around here and we were will to meet that and their other terms, just not the price. If you aren't even willing to negotiate, don't waste my time.

Sorry this turned into a vent. I am so over having 2 mortgages! 

[sporky]

I would wager that they simply changed their minds after the submitted their original offer. It happens.

[mollybrown]

It wouldn't have been wasting time if you had accepted their offer. You never know. I agree with pp that they probably found something they liked better.

[Deleted]

That is frustrating. I think there are some buyers who always want a "deal," which is hard to give them if you've really already priced your home fairly. It is strange that they don't want to counter at all. I hope you get another buyer soon!

[Deleted]

I grew up hearing that you can always get a house for 10% off asking price. Either they subscribe to that theory, they don't agree that your house is worth more, or they simply changed their mind.

Or they were banking on the fact that you're really over having to pay two mortgages.

[countthestars]

Maybe 90% was at the top of their budget. I don't fault them for trying!

Hope your house sells soon

[kadams767]

I was going to say, 90% could have simply been their best and final offer. Not everyone wants to negotiate. I've made offers on 4 houses in my life and I put my best and final offer on the table first and let the Sellers know that upfront.

[Deleted]

I frequently lowball on my offers. Many times it works. Sometimes it doesn't.

For example, I have my eye on a house listed at 199k. If all moves forward like it should, I will likely offer 180k. It is only worth 180k to me because it has certain flaws that would be concessions for me to buy it. But, maybe they want to sell it and are willing to accept 180k. How will I know until I ask?

[aspentosh]

That doesn't surprise me. 90% might have been all they could afford and they put their best offer forward. Nothing crazy.

[goaskalice]

Buyers have been hearing for years now that they have the upper hand. For some, that means they think sellers should be happy with any offer. The short sales and bank owned really conditioned buyers unfortunately.

Now that the market is turning around they're starting to realize you can't lowball as much anymore. They probably couldn't afford the asking price and thought they'd give it a try. It's annoying for you, but they had nothing to lose.

[aurora]

It's really hard to apply general trends to individual circumstances. They definitely could have given you their best offer first or changed their minds or be casually looking for a deal or any number of reasons. I think you just have to try hard not to take it personally.

When we were negotiating on the house we now own another house on the street that we also liked (not quite as well, but close) on the 2nd day of the negotiation for an asking price of $10k less than our offer on the table at the time. We absolutely used that to our advantage, and the sellers came down more than halfway on the existing difference as a result.