First Time Home Buyers / Tampa / Negotiations

Many buyers ask me," how much should we offer?" My answer, list price is always good, some take that advise, but truth be told, very few want to pay full price. So, Let's negotiate. Generally a good guideline is the MLS statistics, most homes in our area sell for 97.75% of asking price so, if you want to negotiate, offer 95% and you can meet in the middle and be just about perfect, statistically. Remember, you are the one making the offer, whatever you want to offer is worth considering, but realistically, you need to take into consideration how long a property has been on the market or if you hear something from the Seller like, "We need to be out so we can move to Memphis next month", this creates a good position for a lower offer. But this is an exception, not the rule. Remember, Realtors work both sides of this business, Sellers and Buyers, so as much as you want a lower price, the Seller wants a higher price, so we, the professionals work to get you to meet somewhere in the middle, that makes everyone happy.