OK, you've found the house that works for you! Now... What do you offer???
First and foremost, have your agent prepare a market analysis on the house to give you a range of what the house could expect to sell for. Maybe that range is where the house is listed, maybe it's higher or lower. Whatever that is, expect to probably pay close to that amount.
In Omaha, the average List to Sale price ratio over the last 16 months has been 96-97%. Of course you can offer whatever you wish, but if you really want the house, you may have to pay close to or over list price for it, especially if there is more than one offer in play.
Throughout my career, especially in the last two years, I have had several buyers who were bound and determined to make absolutely ridiculous offers simply because of the advice they have been getting. I call it the: "My Grandma's cousin's neighbor's hairdresser's Uncle Joe got HIS offer accepted!" syndrome.
You certainly can't blame them. An excited buyer; especially a first time buyer, is getting information from ALL of the people in their lives. Well meaning friends and relatives, coworkers, any number of Internet sites, even a few 'not-so-well-meaning' friends or relatives. They all have the long lost relative twice removed who found that proverbial 'needle in a haystack' when they were looking for their house.
I recently had to let a buyer go out on his own. It was a nice young couple who were listening to all the wrong people. I met them at a home in the 140,000 range. I referred them to a local lender who approved them for approximately 110,000. The only houses they wanted to look at were listed between 140-150,000 because of someone at work who literally, had an uncle Joe who got a 150,000 house for 110,000. Nothing I could say would change their minds about the price range they wanted to look at. I politely wished them well. Last I checked, they were still in their apartment and hadn't gotten their 'steal' yet.
A side-note: There are certainly some properties in our market that come onto the market at a price that may be considered 'a steal'. I'm not talking about those, just the ones that are priced fairly and competitively. Of course there are always those exceptions, those 'needles in haystacks' but trust me, they come along few and far between.
Now, I've altered my buyer presentation, I try to explain thoroughly that if they want a 'steal' I may not be the agent for them. I can help them find a 'deal' but not a 'steal'. I will not waste my time or theirs writing offers at 60-70% of list price just 'to see what the sellers bottom dollar is', especially if they aren't prepared to come up or not qualified to make a reasonable and fair amount for the house. I don't get as many "My Grandma's cousin's neighbor's hairdresser's Uncle Joe got HIS offer accepted!" anymore...
I also want to emphasize that I do work and negotiate very aggressively for the buyers I represent. But representation doesn't JUST mean getting the lowest price. There are many more facets to properly representing a purchaser today in our market.
If you have a need for a Realtor in Omaha, NE, contact me, Bill Swanson, with CBSHome Real Estate, an affiliate of Berkshire Hathaway.
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