It's no secret that I love to list property, be it a home, land, commercial building or farm in South Central Missouri. There is something about looking at a property, taking photos, listing the features and putting all the pieces of the puzzle together until we get to the closing table. The process is rather addictive!
You may be surprised to learn the most popular question I receive as a listing agent - So... what is the Seller's bottom dollar? How low will they go?
Pat Kennedy sums up why, as a buyer, you can cross that question off your list and move on to the next... but don't wait too long - or your perfect Buffalo MO property may be long gone!
If you are thinking about making an offer on a house you like, chances are you are planning to make an offer for something less than the asking price. And chances are you'd like some idea of what the magic number might be - the absolute least amount of money the seller will take.
Well, if you are thinking about asking the listing agent for this little piece of information, save your breath! If she knows, she can't tell you.
But guess what! She doesn't know. She doesn't have a clue.
And guess what else! The sellers don't know either. They won't have a clue of what their bottom line is until they are faced with an offer and go back and forth a few times with the prospective buyers.
So if you are wondering what the sellers will take, make an offer. If your number is too low, the worst thing that can happen is that they will reject your it. In this market, however, they are more likely to make a counter-offer. After a little give and take, you will get your answer, and if you can reach a meeting of the minds, you'll have a new house.
One of the great things about buying in a buyer's market is that you can negotiate, and most sellers are willing to do a little horse trading to sell their homes.
If you wait until the market turns around, you could find yourself having to compete with other buyers who all want your house!
Debbie: This is a great post! And so true. Bids are like questions -- there's no such thing as a dumb one. They are simply a starting point. You never know what a seller will take until you ask them -- aka, submit an offer. Of course, our job is to educate our buyers ahead of time, so that when they do make an offer, it's a wise one.
All true statements, Debbie. Add one more: what the seller's "bottom line" is for one offer, may not be the same when the next offer comes in. It could be higher or lower. So much depends on the particular time and what's going on in their lives, and what their options are at that point.