How low can I bid on real estate without insulting the seller?
 

85% of the sale minus closing costs?

Home buying is still a ways off in my future, but I am trying to self educated on the process as much as possible. That way when the time comes I already understand the whole process as a first time home buyer.

I wish I had access to the Realtor mls network.

If you use realtor.com you will have access to more than 95% of the listings out there I would guess.

Making a low ball offer is not necessarily bad. It is assumed that with a low ball offer you do not care if you get the property or not at fair value. The problem comes, if you want the property, and you make a low ball offer and the seller does not counter, then you are negotiating against yourself if you make another offer.

Anyway, realtor.com will provide you with a lot of data.

I personally wouldn't worry one bit about insulting a seller with an offer, and kudos to you for already thinking along these lines at your age!!! IMO, the mls "is" available to you with the Internet these days. Although I was a few years older than you are when I purchased my first house, I solicited a "buyer's agent" to take me through the process (even though I had located the house). We went to look at it at 5 pm, and by 9 pm I had put in an offer to buy...I paid the seller's asking price...it was priced to move, I wanted it, and like a "good 911" there were others "making offers". With foreclosures still readily available, interest rates still at "once in a lifetime" (for you) rates, imo find a way to do it sooner rather than later if ya can! My biggest regret...not buying a house when I was your age...good luck!!!

I suggested such a low offer on a house that the agent refused to to write it up. I knocked on the door myself and offered 25% less than asking price. They owned the house without a mortgage and accepted my offer.

Yes.

The only way I bought the farm was exactly the same way: except the farm was heavily mortgaged, big divorce issues, no money in the bank, foreclosure imminent, etc. I offered what I could afford.

Smokin' hot, without the PPI:)

Moses, isn't your real estate agent legally bonded to make the offer no matter how low the bid?

Does he/she forgo their commission if they do this?

I bought my first house when I was 25 and about six mos. after I read a book on real estate and got very interested in it. No downside to a lowball, as long as you're not emotional about the house. We ended up getting our current house for $12k less than we had agreed upon because it appraised low. Bank and distressed sellers wanted it gone and approved the sale within about a day of the appraisal coming back.

^ this

DO NOT let a realtor try and explain the market to you. Remember that the seller hears something else from their realtor. You don't really need a realtor. You can the best deal by having the listing agent make the offer for you to the sellers. Also don't let him dissuade you from making a certain offer. You just tell him to take the offer to the seller. Finally also try and always use the listing agent and tell them that you only want to sign up with them for that house (if you can).

[QUOTE=BRPORSCHE;6159122]Moses, isn't your real estate agent legally bonded to make the offer no matter how low the bid? [QUOTE=BRPORSCHE;6159122]

The realtor has a fiduciary duty to present all offers to the seller.

To expand this just a bit...unless you solicit a "buyer's agent", the fact is, both agents' fiduciary responsibility lies with the seller's interests (although WE all know who #1 is). I wouldn't consider purchasing my first house without someone looking out for "my" best interests, but have purchased a few since with no agents involved on either side. There's simply too many risks for a first time buyer to go it alone imo...

I am confused. You want to make a low-ball offer that won't be accepted, because you aren't ready to buy just now, and you also don't want to insult the seller?

I guess in that case you need to make your offer conditional on financing and then claim you couldn't get it financed so you have an out.

once you are searching for a home and you have looked at enough of them, you'll be able to walk in and know what a place is worth to within ten grand, regardless of what is being asked.

Then you weigh that number against other things such as how much you want the place, how long has it been on the market, how much do they need to move etc and write what you think you willing to pay.

If you really want it, you are writing what you think you can get it for. Good luck.

lowball. if they don't answer back. move on to the next one. :)

Why would you look for a house if you're not serious about buying? The first realtor I ever used wanted to see a pre-approval from a mortgage company before he'd take me house shopping. Why should he waste his time and gas money on tire kickers?

The realtor threatened to sour the deal if he wasn't given full commission. I probably could have resisted, but I really wanted the house.

I suspect if you tell your agent that you want to pretend to attempt to buy a house the agent will tell you he/she will pretend to help you.

It ain't rocket science. And the art is not in the 'contractual' side of the purchase, it is in choosing the right house for you.

I guess you guys are a little mistaken as to what I meant. I have not actually driven around with or without a realtor. I just like to know the market trends and what my dollar can do for me in the forseeable future.

I was just wondering what I could ask percentage wise as to not insult the owner. In all seriousness I don't really care about insulting the seller. It's a buyers market and Houston is flush with new homes in my price range. If one seller feels insulted I am sure another won't.

Again, this is all a few years off I have just been noticing I may want to speed this up maybe a year to year and a half because the market is amazingly good.

Thanks guys.

Why wait? I bet your mortgage payment will be less than your rent, after considering the tax benefits.

Happens, first house we bought the seller had a "deal" with realtor. Different commission depending on who brought the buyer.

We never dealt with or had any contact with the realtor, the seller only. Realtor was at the closing table and stuck his hand out for the higher (unearned) commision.

We all sat in the closing room while seller, their attorney and realtor screamed at each other for 20 minutes in another room.

Realtor came back in smiling, seller did not.