Comments on: Is a Low Ball Better than a No Ball?

By: tezza

tezza — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 21:37:30 +0000

twigamwezi you are an idiot!!!!!! take any offer while you can and run for the hills!!!!!!!

LOWBAL..LOWBALL…LOWBALL…LOWBALL..
ITS BETTER THAN NOTHING!!!!!! TAKE IT AND LEAVE!!!!!!!

By: skip

skip — Sun, 04 May 2008 18:56:59 +0000

You’re kidding me right? In my area the overvaluation of homes has been out of control for the past 5 years. There are homes here that were purchased 3 years ago for 230,000 and three years later that owner is trying to sell his property for 380,000. I think this goes both directions, during a sellers market sellers didn’t have a problem selling their homes for way more than they were worth to someone that just HAD to have that home, yet now that the market has reversed those same sellers are crying about “low balling” buyers. I would low ball any day of the week if it would mean a better deal for me.

By: RP_Riley

RP_Riley — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 20:14:55 +0000

I offer MLS#: 27165989 (Zillow Home ID: 48925892) as a great object lesson here in how far an unwillingness to settle can go wrong, and how the lack of a sale can itself build up a kind of momentum. On the market for 958 days under various MLS’s, unoccupied, new construction (though that is a debatable point at this juncture), and hasn’t come down in actual price in many months, though I’d say its market price is coming down all the time.

By: Konrad

Konrad — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 18:19:06 +0000

If your house has been on the market for 9 months without an offer it is probably time to accept the reality that you aren’t asking a fair market price for your house. The low-ball offer is probably closer to the market price then your asking price. Just because the offer is $50k under the asking price doesn’t mean it that far from the market price…

By: Karen Jones

Karen Jones — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 17:57:49 +0000

Sometimes sellers loose site of the fact that they have the option of going back to the buyer with an alternate proposal, in the form of a counter offer. Both buyer and seller are looking for maximum gain and often times meeting in the middle makes everyone feel satisfied. Buyers are not usually trying to offend when they make a low offer, and sellers are not usually trying to be unreasonable when they want or need more than the initial offer.

I agree with Katrina that in this buyer driven market sometimes the financial, or even emotional, costs of keeping a home on the market don’t make the wait worthwhile. There is also the risk that the longer you stay on the market, the lower a price you may have to agree to. That is to say, that your fifth month on the market will not bring in the same kinds of buyers and level of interest that your fifth day on the market will.

By: Katrina Munsell

Katrina Munsell — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 17:34:07 +0000

It’s a scary time for sellers indeed, but there are many out there who can’t afford to wait it out. There are some who are currently holding two homes, or there are some who just need to move on, and whatever these other circumstances are, sometimes you just have to put a dollar value on the stress and uncertainty and factor it into the valution of an offer.

I’m not saying jump at a low offer–I’m saying consider the costs of holding out for the next offer, and consider the possibility that the next offer might be just as low…after all, isn’t that what market price is?

Also, while the idea is noble, I could no longer hold out for the sake of my neighbors, as I would not expect them to put themselves at risk for me…business is business…

By: Realistic

Realistic — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 14:31:56 +0000

twigamwezi, good luck having your house value keep up with inflation LOL…

By: abuyer

abuyer — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 14:25:03 +0000

There is no such thing as HIGH BALL so why is there a low ball?
Prices are driven by market hence when its good prices go up – when its bad prices go down the sooner seller realizes that better. Also it is all dependent on what the need is. If you have to sell the house and cant hold on to it – any price is a good price. If you can afford to keep the house – take it off market and wait

By: twigamwezi

twigamwezi — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 13:40:48 +0000

Oh, and also think about the damage you do to the whole neighborhood when you lowball. It’s a very direct way to “give back to society” by keeping your price challenging, as a lowball offer is not that far removed psychologically than a foreclosure, and cumulatively the effect is that your nice neighborhood turns into a crappy neighborhood because of lowballs. Don’t fall for it.

By: twigamwezi

twigamwezi — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 13:37:22 +0000

Wrong. This is just the latest drip from the faucet on trying to make sellers feel just a bit more guilty and tempted to give up. We are being assaulted every day by media and even our own selling agents with their gloom gimmicks, trying to get us to cave in. The fact remains that every day you spend in your house while it’s for sale, you are paying down your debt. Your listing price remains the same, the value increases for inflaction, and your mortgage goes down. You win by staying patient. Don’t lowball.