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Sorry, I spelled the name of the street wrong. Its "Empress Ln"
Thanks, but that info I already have. Nextag likes to base their values in this area almost entirely on tax assesor value. That $142k number was the tax value of 2007. http://www.fbcad.org/Appraisal/PublicAccess/PropertyDetail.aspx?PropertyID=71468&dbKeyAuth=Appraisal&TaxYear=2008&NodeID=11&PropertyOwnerID=11092013
Sorry it was no help, Not many people around right now, but many around eventually and promise they will know or find out. Best to you
Clayton,
I am not a real estate pro, but the bottom line in any sales/transaction is that the leverage is held by the person with the most options. If the seller's "need to sell" is less than the buyer's "need to buy", then the leverage is with the seller - and vice versa.
So, if the seller is overpriced but doesn't have any need to sell, they can very well sit on "their price" until the market comes to them. In the current economy, this may take longer than previously, but it's all based on how much pressure they feel to actually sell the property.
As for how to find out actual selling prices, this is one thing that Zillow seems pretty good on. It's just that it often takes a while for this information to be posted so that Zillow can access and upload it. Where I live, the county tax assessor has a site where all sales for the last three years are posted, so you might start with your local tax assessor's website.
good info. That makes sense. Right now, we do not have a "need to buy" for a few more months, but this is our preferred type of property that is very rare to come by. I'd love to see another house on the street or the next street come up for sale and see how it compares.
Bump! Please help this gentleman or share some opinions I can see some knowlegible people around.
Clayton,
I took a quick look, and found assessed values on Fort Bend's appraisal website (www.fbcad.org and then do an "Address Search"). I am assuming this is where you got the appraised values.
Talk to someone with local knowledge, but it looks like the appraisals are tied to valuations made for loans. Many of the lower valuations appear to be "land only" when you look at the details.
Anyway, until someone can prove otherwise, I'd take the $257K valuation as the sale price for 3811 - and then back in a price for 3826 (which is what I am assuming you've already done, and why you're concerned about the $240K asking). The difference in land is negligible, but the 1200sqft difference in living space seems significant (although I'd be less impressed if the difference is the lost garage). Personally, I've never been impressed with swimming pools - just a maintenance headache...not sure how important these are in Richmond TX.
As for pricing, the $240K is simply the original $260K minus the realtor's fees - so it looks like the owners were simply looking to drop the price while maintaining their profit margin. I don't want to guess what the owners are into the property for, but you might be able to back into that if you can verify that the appraised values are somehow tied to appraisals performed as part of a valuation for loans (purchase or refi).
Of course, you could contact a local realtor who may be able to take all the guesswork about how all this fits together. Since the sellers are going FSBO, I doubt they'd be happy about forking over a percentage to a "buyers agent". However, this is one of those scenarios where you may want to consider paying out-of-pocket to have a agent represent you for this specific purchase. I'd try to structure the deal as a "minimum fee payable by the buyer, but offset by any seller considerations". This means you and the agent agree to a flat rate that you will pay for their representation, but this rate will be offset by any percentage the agent gets from the seller (i.e., it will cost you no-more-than the agreed on minimum fee, but it may cost you nothing out-of-pocket if the seller will pay the agent a commission).
Hope this helps you move forward.
Well, we went down the street today and the wife loves it. We may just have to look at it.
This value thing is killing me. To me personally it is worth $200k+, but I dont want it to still be worth $200k and all the other properties on the street grow cause we bought too high. We wont be in the house forever, so I have to still look at it as an investment.
After further investigation it turns out the seller purchased the home in 2006 for $271,652. This number means one of 2 things. It is worth the current asking price, or they paid too much then.
Remember, values arent dropping here like they are in other parts of the country. I can see a slight decline int he past few months for obvious reasons, but I feel that is because of lack of buyers rather than overinflated prices.
Any more info anyone can provide as far as value? Although I understand it may be hard when not in the area.
Also, lets say we pursue further with this property. I'd ike to hire an agent to help with the process, negotiation, and maybe seeing if they can find a handful more properties to look at. However, lets say we return to this house that I found on my own time and it is FSBO and all the agent will do is help with the value and negotiation (be the middle-man), what is an appropriate commission to pay them?
When I work fsbos for my clients I usually ask for half of a listing commission because I am doing one side of a sale which is what I would get anyway if I brought the buyer. As far as the agents duties, there is a lot more that an agent does than assist in negotiation and play middle man. You will find a lot of agent haters here who believe we are unnecessary for this process, but I have a myriad of stories that prove otherwise. Your agent is there to make sure that the purchase process goes through smoothly and to handle problems if and when they arrise. Smooth closings are what my clients pay me for!
There are a lot of things that can go wrong and it is good to have someone watching out for you.
Good luck!
... and, it's free and anonymous
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Does this seller have leverage?
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clayton790
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The house at 3826 Emperess Ln, 77469 is for sale. It was listed at $260k by an agent, and recently relisted on various sites for $240k FSBO. It is attractive because it is a 1 acre lot and the only acreage lot in the area for sale under about $400k. It looks like a decent deal, but two things kill me about it.
A) The tax appraisal value is only around $136k.
and
B) THe house right down the street recently sold in April for not much more. That house is 3811 Emperess, 77469. It waslisted at $285 when it was for sale, probably sold for less. It had an amazing kitchen, a tad more land, a huge pool, and about 1200 more square feet. The only cons to it are it is on a busier corner lot and the garage has been converted (so no working garage). Its taxappraisal value is about $257k. I dont know exactly how much it sold for. (how can I find this out online?)
Is the first house overpriced? Or is the owner going to be firm on his price because there are no comps in the vicinity currently for sale?
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