Consider This Your Written Offer ! The Sellers are Not Interested In Your Offer! These words echo in my head ! Here is my story on why !
When I go out on a Listing the first thing I do is a Market analysis of the homes in the area that have sold . In today's market I check what has sold in the last four months if possible . I know that is what an appraiser will use if he or she is going to appraise the property . If four months is not possible I will go back six months. I will be very careful on what price I list the home at as i want it to stay sold when it sells.
The one thing I do not do is allow the seller to set the price .I may allow the seller to price it a few thousand over market value so we some room to negotiate but certainly not thirty thousand above market value .I will not use a comparable sale that is oranges to apples and expect it to fly.If this is used the seller better be aware that he is way above market value . The best comparable should be apple to apples . By this expression I mean if you have a townhome for example that is a 2 BR 2 bath and is 1800 sq' ft you compare it to the same. Orange to apple would be compare a 2 BR 2 bath townhome to an 2500 sq' ft story condo with vaulted ceiling and a basement .
Here is my story on why. I wrote an offer on a townhome thirty thousand dollars overpriced. The buyer is a very educated consumer . She knew what the properties have sold for in the area. She had made a very reasonable offer. I dropped the offer at the listing agents office .The next day I received an Email that the sellers were not interested in the buyers offer . I then emailed her back and asked her what would they be interested in considering and she replied . I then asked her to have the sellers put in writing as a counter offer . Now certainly in this market it is not unheard of for buyers to make low offers especially if the property is overpriced. She replied consider this your written offer. How do you negotiate an Emailed counter offer without putting it in writing and having it signed by the sellers.. Here in Pennsylvania all offers are in writing .I asked for her seller to put it in writing she refused it has been over a week . She also indicated that the seller is going to rent the property ;but is still up for sale .
Consider this your written offer
What would you do in this situation ? What is your opinion ?