Best strategy to buy an over-priced house

T

Tribune

New member
Hello all,

We have seen a house in Turtle Rock that we really like. But the problem is that it is currently very over-priced thanks to the sharp increase in the housing market. From one side if we put an offer that is (almost) 10% less than the asking price (which is the reasonable price based on the comps and recent sales), our chances are very low. On the other side, if we wait for a long time for the price to get adjusted we may lose it to another buyer. I know that there is no perfect solution, but I wonder what experts would do in a similar situation.

One more question, if we put an offer and it gets rejected, what is the possibility of the seller getting back to us in future ? Also how bad is it if we put a second offer after a few weeks if the house is not sold by then ?

All the comments are very much appreciated.
 
All Irvine houses are over-priced, Turtle rock and Turtle Ridge usually with premium listing price at all times.  To put an offer 15% below the listing price, it is an insult, and please do not try it.  If you do not want to pay this much, you must be patient to wait the seller to lower their price. No need to worry of losing this house, if it is intended for you, you will have it. If someone jumps in to take this house, it is better to let it go. The first principle to buy is to know what you want and how much you can afford.
 
These are good questions for your realtor also, what has he/she said?

I personally don't think 15% below is an insult if the price is too high to begin with. Sometimes the seller needs a reality check and it will take low offers to show them that they have overpriced their home. If you are basing your offer on comps and fair reasons on why it's lower than their list, I think that's okay.

As for the possibility of getting back to you, it all depends on the situation and seller. The last time we bought a home, we made an offer and were told that they accepted one already so we made an offer on another home (lower than their list). That party countered and while we were mulling over what to counter back with, the first one we put an offer on called us back and told us they would accept our offer.

So you never know unless you try and if you have a good agent (like Mr. IrvineRealtor), they will check back to see if the sellers are still interested.

Good luck... this market is so nuts.
 
List all the things that might "potentially" need to be changed/upgraded. Basically it will kind of justify the offer you will make. For example -if the kitchen is old and dated, deduct off the price what it will cost for a new kitchen, if the windows are old, deduct the price it will cost for dual pane windows.
 
The price of the home is 15% above 2005-2006 peak price so I don't think this is an insult to put low offer for the home. AND though we can afford the current price but i think it is dumb to pay this much.

Our agent thinks, we have to wait couple of weeks to see if there will be a price adjustment or not. But last time that we waited for couple of weeks lost the home to someone who paid less than our desired price and bought the house. He (thought last time) thinks, if our low offer get rejected we don't have second chance for the home( they won't take our second offer seriously).

By the way, owner is an investor who does not live in home. does that change anything at all?

Thanks for all the inputs.
 
Tribune said:
He (thought last time) thinks, if our low offer get rejected we don't have second chance for the home( they won't take our second offer seriously).
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I haven't followed the entire thread, but two cents on this remark: No, that doesn't happen always. We have had counter offers on almost all our low offers. If they are ready to negotiate, they always counter. However, if that's THE house you  want to buy, you should listen to your realtor.
 
But last time that we waited for couple of weeks lost the home to someone who paid less than our desired price and bought the house. He (thought last time) thinks, if our low offer get rejected we don't have second chance for the home( they won't take our second offer seriously).

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We should be happy for the buyer who paid less to get what they want, there will be your turn next time, no rush, you will get the house you like with a reasonable price.  In this market it is easy to get anxious and end up paying more than you want.  Good Luck!
 
Tribune said:
The price of the home is 15% above 2005-2006 peak price so I don't think this is an insult to put low offer for the home. AND though we can afford the current price but i think it is dumb to pay this much.

Our agent thinks, we have to wait couple of weeks to see if there will be a price adjustment or not. But last time that we waited for couple of weeks lost the home to someone who paid less than our desired price and bought the house. He (thought last time) thinks, if our low offer get rejected we don't have second chance for the home( they won't take our second offer seriously).

By the way, owner is an investor who does not live in home. does that change anything at all?

Thanks for all the inputs.
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It's irrelevant where the prices are compared to 2005-2006...how does the price compare to recent closed comps (in the past 3-4 months)?  Turtle Rock is a highly desirable area in Irvine that has held its value because of the strong demand to live there.  I would put in an offer where you justify it with recent closed comps and other valid reasons for the lower offer (like it needs upgrades or back-ups up to a street).  Your agent doesn't know what they are talking about, you can submit an offer and have it rejected and then come back later with another offer...especially if it's an investor.  Good luck.
 
In 2012 I offered 830,000 for a house listed for 965,000.  The seller said I needed to be in the 870 area to even be considered.  This house had only been on the market for 2 weeks at the time.  I guess I insulted the seller.  Anyway, the house sold 3 months later for 905,000 so the seller was right.

If you want to make a lowball offer and the house has only been on the market for a few weeks, then it probably won't work.
 
It's all about how badly you want it. We put in lowball offers (15% below both times) on two homes. One seller was so insulted he wouldn't counter or even entertain a conversation. The other seller accepted. You just never know, but it's definitely a gamble. If you want it that badly, you'll have to offer more or wait and cross your fingers that the price comes down. We waited for that to happen on a few properties and it never did. In fact, they ended up going for above asking.

When our dream house came on the market we didn't mess around and got very close to asking. It also helps to find the BEST realtor in that area and pick their brain about the offer. They'll know whether or not it's worth lowballing and if it is, they will be the best at presenting the offer. That's key...never underestimate the power of a really experienced, ethical realtor.

Good luck!
 
obviously one would have to do their own homework, but what about hiring the selling agent as your buying agent?  8)
 
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