Would I be a jerk to offer $180,000 on a house that they are asking $199,000 for?

[PingSpike]

The town assessment in my experience is always out of their minds overblown since the town has a vested interest in overvaluing everyone's house.

 

[brianmanahan]

If I can afford a thing and it provides good value to me, why should I care what the inhabitants of some desolate wasteland have to say?

beats me, i'm not the one living in the desolate wasteland :awe:

 

[Uppsala9496]

As mentioned, offer whatever you want.
If you are getting financing, it is all going to come down to the appraisal anyway.

I'm in that situation now. House I want was listed at $340k, I offered $325K. They countered and we agreed at $334.5K. Thing is I know the house won't appraise for more than $320K. That's fine by me. I now have the house is under contract and off the market. Current owners want to move, so when the appraisal comes in at $320K, my response is going to be a take it or leave it.
They can accept the appraise price and still close next month or they can not sell to me and then put it back on the market with that appraisal stuck to it. So they aren't going to get any more money and just wasted a few months of their time. No big deal to me; plenty of other houses available.

 

[NetWareHead]

Except you would need a few days to get the loan proceeds in your bank account right?


The rich Chinese investors buying up everything in SoCal would go to the bank and come back with a cashiers check before dinner.

This is correct

No, the proceeds come on the day of closing. It's pretty unusual to have the day of closing the day after the sale. It's usually weeks to months later, esp. if you're still living there. You need time to move out.

And you are correct as well.

A buyer who shows up with cash and does not have to wait for the bank to approve financing can theoretically buy a house on a moment's notice. As NS1 said, just get a cashier's check drawn from his account. Believe this is what the industry calls a "motivated buyer". I've known some people who in the middle of negotiations on a property with the seller and were having their financial instituion draw up the mortgage paperwork only to have a "motivated buyer" show up on the property's doorstep with a cashier check and close the deal that very day. They lost the house because someone with cash could close the deal ALOT sooner.

 

[xeemzor]

And people who live in rural Illinois might save way more money than you ever could, for the same reason. It's turtles all the way down.

Of course, if someone works a big-baller job in SF and lives frugally, they could probably save more in a year than you or your rural spirit brother could in ten. Heck, they could even retire to rural Illinois afterwards and live like a king.

If you think Chicago is a desolate wasteland than I don't really have anything else to say. The amount of money I would save is roughly $300/month but that is offset by a lack of public transportation, limited networking(career) opportunities, and entertainment options. It's not really a fair comparison.

My point was that you don't have to be a "big-baller" to make it in Chicago. It's perfectly reasonable to save a ton of money on the average professional's salary. The same really isn't true for much of the high cost of living areas.

 

[jagec]

As mentioned, offer whatever you want.
If you are getting financing, it is all going to come down to the appraisal anyway.

I'm in that situation now. House I want was listed at $340k, I offered $325K. They countered and we agreed at $334.5K. Thing is I know the house won't appraise for more than $320K. That's fine by me. I now have the house is under contract and off the market. Current owners want to move, so when the appraisal comes in at $320K, my response is going to be a take it or leave it.

It's a rare appraisal that doesn't come it at exactly the sales price. Did you slip him a Benjamin?:sneaky:

 

[moonbogg]

These housing prices, good lord. 190k? You guys pay those prices for a house? I wonder what that world is like. Must be nice even if you have an average job.
And yes, offer them what you are willing to pay. If not, I'm sure you can find something for less around there (wherever you are living).

 

[Uppsala9496]

It's a rare appraisal that doesn't come it at exactly the sales price. Did you slip him a Benjamin?:sneaky:

Appraisal is done independently by the bank. There is no longer the incentive for them to come in at contract price. That was a factor in the housing collapse a few years ago.
And the home is overpriced. Plain and simple. Instead of dicking around with the negotiation I agreed to an above market price knowing full well the appraisal will come in lower and the homeowner will have the option of dropping to that price, or not selling (not an option for them based on what my realtor told me regarding their personal situation).
And yes, I trust my realtor. Close friend that lives in the subdivision I am buying into.

 

[yuchai]

How badly do you want it? If not much, then feel free to lowball. The issue with lowballing is that you can make the sellers to hate you and start to negotiate irrationally/refuse to negotiate altogether.