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Replies (21)
- Victoria Macaskill, "denverishome"
- Contributions:271
First determine, on average, how far below homes sell for the listing price in the area you are interested in. If homes sell for 5% below the list price then, on average, you should look about 5% above what you are comfortable paying. If homes are overpriced they won't sell, prices will drop, and then they will fall into your target range.
- Enrique Tejera, "DockEstates"
- Contributions:243
If your absolute maximum budget is $350K then look for homes up to the amount in your budget. This will provide a good idea of the market and what you can get for your money.
However try to purchase no higher than $325K so you have some cash for closing expenses as well as cash to fix up and furnish your new home.
Buying a home can be a wonderful experience but not when you have to struggle to obtain the last $10,000 or so to complete the purchase and move in.
However try to purchase no higher than $325K so you have some cash for closing expenses as well as cash to fix up and furnish your new home.
Buying a home can be a wonderful experience but not when you have to struggle to obtain the last $10,000 or so to complete the purchase and move in.
- John Squier, "John Squier"
- Contributions:229
Well stated denverishome!
- Wonnie Kim, "Wonnie Kim"
- Contributions:12
When you say your budget max is $350k, do you mean your preapproval is at $350k? If that is the case, I suggest that you search upto $375k. Since there are so many shortsales nowadays, lowballing is not an option. If you are not preapproved, go to a lender and get preapproved before searching for a home.
- Jeremy Deschaine, "Jeremyrealestate"
- Contributions:24
The homes you should be looking at should be within 10% of your price ceiling.
- Janet Bleth, "janetbleth"
- Contributions:60
If $350k is the maximum you qualify for then you might be best to start out only looking at properties priced at the $350k or less. There are other things that contribute to the price range that you should be searching such as if you are going to pay your own closing cost or ask the seller to pay. Also in my area the property taxes can vary. For example Battle Ground property taxes are less then Camas so depending on what your lender estimated for property taxes when your were pre-approved you could possibly search a little higher in price in certain area's. You might find that there is alot to choose from by searching only up to $350k. Every real estate market is local. In my area if you are going to pay your own closing cost I would be searching for you up to $375k and then if there is a property that you like we would check the market history of the property and recent solds to determine if it would be reasonable to think that there would be an chance that you could get it for a price that you qualify for.
- Stephanie McCarty, "snellvilleagent"
- Contributions:521
If your absolute is $350K then don't look over $350K. If you were to find one at $355K that was well priced for the comps and the seller wanted full price there would be nothing wrong with that but you would be above your comfort zone - that accomplishes nothing and does waste your time.
- Karla Wagner, "karlaw"
- Contributions:151
I completely agree with Victoria. And I applaud you km9 for approaching this proactively, and knowing what reality is in this market. You are definitely a step ahead of other buyers. Nice job!
- km9
- Contributions:127
Thanks for replies. To clarify, I have pre approval for a 350k house after all is said and done. I find very little in the areas I am looking in for a 2+ house. Burbank, Encino, Valencia are some of the places I want to search. They have some houses occasionally but nothing too exciting. I have been looking at up to $375k lately. Will probably keep the search at that number. Thanks again.
- Simon Mills, "Mills Realty"
- Contributions:1858
In the areas you are looking in it will be hard to find a property that is appealing under $350,000. They do come up every know and again, but you need to be working with an agent that can get you these listings ASAP as they will go quickly.
- Taria Lewis, "Taria And Earl Team"
- Contributions:135
Stay within your price range, this will make you experience a lot more pleasant and realistic. So when you do locate a property you are interested in, you won't have the heart break of not being able to qualify for it. It is not always a good idea to assume that the seller will come down on his/her price.
- Angelica Blatt, "angelicablatt"
- Contributions:129
In my practice, I would search a little higher than your budget. Many homes are often overpriced and the prices will change.
- Judy Graff, "Judy Graff"
- Contributions:119
I suggest you go to around $375k-$380. The listings priced at $400 now may come down to that level, but if they are still at the higher range, they are not ready for low offers yet.
- David & Maria-Nella Landman, "PrimeOne Realty"
- Contributions:101
Maybe you can search for homes with 10 to 15% over your budget and negotiate the difference as discount, in that case you can either get a good deal or waisting your time
- Dan, "the_country_hick"
- Contributions:4695
I saw a house go from $275k to $225k. That was a $50k reduction.
I would look at houses over $400k. Also, look for both DOM and CDOM. The constant days on market is more important. Your area may call it something different. However, this shows you how long the property has really been on the market. If you search for houses that have been for sale for a long time (like 1 year or longer) you could offer low and out of 20 offers are likely to find 1 very desperate seller who would accept a low offer just to get free of the house.
Just make sure you have your realtor run a CMA and use both short sales and foreclosures in that. Also, offer a bit less than the CMA suggests it is worth. With falling prices you do not want to overpay for hat it will not be worth tomorrow.
I would look at houses over $400k. Also, look for both DOM and CDOM. The constant days on market is more important. Your area may call it something different. However, this shows you how long the property has really been on the market. If you search for houses that have been for sale for a long time (like 1 year or longer) you could offer low and out of 20 offers are likely to find 1 very desperate seller who would accept a low offer just to get free of the house.
Just make sure you have your realtor run a CMA and use both short sales and foreclosures in that. Also, offer a bit less than the CMA suggests it is worth. With falling prices you do not want to overpay for hat it will not be worth tomorrow.
- DAlbertDante
- Contributions:2
The homes you should be looking at should be within 15%% of your price ceiling.
- Shelley Gross, "brokergals97635763"
- Contributions:13
Hi,
I would typically look at approximately 50,000. You should ask a realtor to give you the comparables in the area and then if you are looking at short sales you can try 20% below market value. Some realtors list them too high and some too low.
Shelley
- Jesse Weinberg, "Marina Del Rey Homes"
- Contributions:677
As you see there are various opinions on this matter. I usually suggest searching a little bit higher ($25k) than your pre-approval amount. If the property is a regular sale, you MAY be able to negotiate down to your approved price. However, with a short sale, on the average, you don't have the luxury of negotiating.
- Angie Boggeman, "angie boggeman"
- Contributions:469
I agree with the 10%-15% above your your $350,000. The majority of the time there is room for negotiation. Good Luck in your house search. You could set up 2 searches. 1 with the $350,000 ceiling and another with $375,000 or $400,000 with a high amount of days on market, bank owned or short sale additional search features.
- David Akram, "David Akram"
- Contributions:83
You can go a little higher then your max budget price because you can do some negotiation and bring the price down to your max level.
Hope this helps.
Hope this helps.
- Renee Kische, "ReneeKische"
- Contributions:46
Assuming your pre-approval is up to $350K, take a look in the specific areas you're wanting to purchase to see the +- % of price in those areas. Several micro markets in the L.A. area are actually up from sales this time last year, while others are down. So, it's hard to advise "just look up to $400k), when that may not be an appropriate strategy for each area. Connect with your real estate agent on absorbtion rate and price increase/decreases to help you narrow down the best choices for your MLS searching.
Best of luck in your home search!
Best of luck in your home search!
How high should listing prices be when searching for home?
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