Low and Outside... How low should you offer?

With all the press about how terrible the market is (or was very recently) many of the buyers contacting us have it in their mind that they'll be able to automatically get a tremendous discount off list price if they throw a low ball offer at a property. Before taking this tact, there are a few things to be considered. If you truly are only looking for the property you can get for the lowest price possible and have no interest in acquiring the one that best fits your family's needs, then throw away. You'll likely miss out on a few before finding the seller who is in a position to move well below market value, but will probably find one willing to dump their property. More often than not, however, most sellers are somewhere in the middle. They'd obviously like to sell their property or it wouldn't be on the market. But, despite a lot of the dooms day press, most of our sellers are not in a situation where an immediate sale is essential and they are definitely going to hold out for a reasonable sales price.

Particularly if you are looking for the property that best suits the needs of you and your family, a low offer may end up costing you in the end, especially in regards to vacation properties. If you've done your research with the help of a good Realtor, you likely have a good gauge on what you will be able to get for your money. If you find a property that is ideal and appears to be priced at a fair market value, why risk losing that property with a horribly low offer. Most sellers will actually react more favorably to a fair offer because they have more confidence that the negotiations have a chance of coming together and the transaction was not started from an adversarial position. The moment you place a low ball offer, the seller files your motivations somewhere between a sleazy investor and a total jerk who isn't worthy of carrying on the great memories they've built on the property. If you come in with a reasonable offer, however, they simply see you as an interested party who understandably is trying to acquire the property for the best terms possible. They're much more likely to work with you from this mindset. It's up to you how you choose to approach the offer when the right property is located, but that initial offer will set the tone for the entire negotiations. You really want to give some hard thought to just how low you want to go. Have fun in the search and please let us know if we can be of any assistance!

Is this the bottom?

Recent statistics from The National Association of Realtors showed a 7% increase in home sales for the month of July! That's the fourth straight month of home sales increases and that's the highest increase since 2005 which many believe to have been the peak of the market. Click here for the article from NAR. Every day I receive updates of reduced prices on some terrific waterfront properties and many buyers are finding sellers willing to come down substantially form their list price. Whether this is the absolute bottom or not is very tough to say, but there is no doubt that some terrific deals are being found and many who thought waterfront property was out of their financial reach are finding some very solid properties they can now afford.

Late Summer Price Drops

If you've waited to this point of the season and some of the properties you had your eye on are still available, now can be a great time of the season to take advantage of price drops. A lot of sellers take this as their final opportunity to reduce their price before we are through our busiest season. It can lead to great buying opportunities on top of already attractive pricing this year. You might want to take the time to pull up those old listings to see what the price is now. Even on those that have not reduced price, the tail end of summer can be a great time to get a great deal. Just like boats, convertible cars, and campers, the end of the season is when most sellers are most motivated. The thought of holding their seasonal property through another winter can lead to a higher level of motivation than they may have felt in May. With the stock, market steadily creeping up and unemployment numbers coming in check a bit, 2009 could prove to be the bottom of the market! Sunshine and temps in the 80's are in the forecast for the upcoming week, so take advantage and make your way north for a great time and maybe the one chance you'll have to pick up your own property in Northern Michigan!!