Guide to Successful Low-ball Offers

October 1st, 2008 categories: Home Buyers, Home Sellers

Robin Stansbury wrote this article for Sunday’s Hartford Courant on low-ball offers, quoting yours truly.

Here is an excerpt from my earlier post, The Anatomy of a Failed Low-ball Offer, with some concrete things you can do to improve the odds of getting your low-ball offer accepted:

How to Win with a Low-ball Offer

Present a complete offer and explanation. Asking a seller to come down significantly on their price requires a leap of faith on their part. Sellers need to know why the offer is lower than the listing price - is it because the comparables say so, the market is declining, the buyers are well qualified but can’t go higher.

Back it up with facts. If the comparables show a lower price, I’ll forward them to the listing agent. I won’t be obnoxious about it - I’ll just say, “here’s what I used to come up with a value, so you can tell your client.”

Low Ball Offer CT

Play on insecurities without making negative comments about the house. I ask questions that remind the agent that the house has been sitting on the market like ”how many offers have you received on the house?” “how long has it been on the market?” (even if I see on the listing sheet). I may also comment on how many houses are on the market in the area or price range. I try not to say anything negative about the house or condition, unless the agent asks.

Make the offer otherwise sweet. When I’ve presented successful low-ball offers, I’ve asked the buyers to give up something else to entice the seller. For example, I would ask the buyer to put a larger security deposit, have the inspection faster than normal, have the commitment faster, close earlier or later (depending on the seller), for example. Low-ball offers also work best when the buyer doesn’t have anything to sell.

For additional posts on making offers, read the following:

Let’s Make a Deal, Part 1

Let’s Make a Deal, Part 2