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Replies (12)
- Rate A Home
- Contributions:125
Wouldn't hurt as a starting point, I would have to guess the seller would counter if it's way out of line.
- Mike2020
- Contributions:736
Lets say the difference is 100K. It's like buying the house, taking them to the bank, and withdrawing 100K out of the ATM and putting it in their wheelbarrow. Why would you even think about paying HIGHER than the LOWEST estimate these days? The market is going down, you might as well insure yourself against future losses if you HAVE to buy. Otherwise, hold off.
- Kary L. Krismer, "Krismer"
- Contributions:2454
Zillow isn't accurate. It can be high or low. Telling the seller that you're basing your offer on Zillow will get you laughed at first, and then taken advantage of later because they'll realize you're inexperienced.
Quite frankly this is a situation where you need a good agent to determine what the house is worth and then help you formulate an offer. Getting the information to formulate a price is difficult, and it's obvious that you don't know where to even start.
Quite frankly this is a situation where you need a good agent to determine what the house is worth and then help you formulate an offer. Getting the information to formulate a price is difficult, and it's obvious that you don't know where to even start.
- Terri Linnell, "DebtsNMesses"
- Contributions:6728
The price of a house is what a willing and qualified buyer will pay, and what a willing and not under duress seller will accept. Period.
Appraisals simply tell the bank what the 'average' buyer would buy it at. -But what is valuable to you, may be worthless to someone else.
Appraisals simply tell the bank what the 'average' buyer would buy it at. -But what is valuable to you, may be worthless to someone else.
- melanie777
- Contributions:825
Re:Kary
I think if the seller wanted to sell his/her property, they wouldn't be laughing at any potential buyers with valid offers, especially with a poor seller's market plaguing much of the country.
That said, the best way to figure out on your own what a house is worth is to look at recent sales of very similar houses in the same neighborhood. Make sure you are comparing apples to apples (similar square footage, updating, lot-size, etc).
Remember that the worst that can happen is that the seller would outright turn-down your offer... but they may be willing to negotiate.
I think if the seller wanted to sell his/her property, they wouldn't be laughing at any potential buyers with valid offers, especially with a poor seller's market plaguing much of the country.
That said, the best way to figure out on your own what a house is worth is to look at recent sales of very similar houses in the same neighborhood. Make sure you are comparing apples to apples (similar square footage, updating, lot-size, etc).
Remember that the worst that can happen is that the seller would outright turn-down your offer... but they may be willing to negotiate.
- CORONA NICK
- Contributions:2218
You have to be kidding me.... in the same area, just look at the other listed houses for sale and compare them.... the more houses you see, the better idea you will have on what you are willing to pay for that house... also, look at the houses that have sold recently, and take into account that those houses have sold in a better looking market...Zillow isn't perfect, but it gives you an idea to take into account.... you must not have a buyer's agent, because if you do, they are not working in your best interest if they are going to let you pay full price... talk about conflict of interest..
- CORONA NICK
- Contributions:2218
Look at, at least 20 houses in that same area.... buying a house for a great deal is a time consuming effort.... you have to become more knowledgable, and on this board, you will learn alot if you stick around.
- Randy_H
- Contributions:4385
You'll get laughed at for referring to Zillow if it shows the prices are *below* what the seller is asking.
You'll get laughed at for poo-pooing Zillow if it shows the prices are *above* what the seller is asking.
The best advice is to figure out what ***you*** think the home is worth. Use your common sense. Look up comparables yourself. Use Zillow, it's fine. Then decide what ***you*** are willing to pay for that particular house. Not what the agent says you should pay. Not what the seller wants yo to pay.
Offer that. The worse they can say is no. There are plenty of houses, so if you piss them off just move on to the next one and incorporate what you've learned into your next offer.
You'll get laughed at for poo-pooing Zillow if it shows the prices are *above* what the seller is asking.
The best advice is to figure out what ***you*** think the home is worth. Use your common sense. Look up comparables yourself. Use Zillow, it's fine. Then decide what ***you*** are willing to pay for that particular house. Not what the agent says you should pay. Not what the seller wants yo to pay.
Offer that. The worse they can say is no. There are plenty of houses, so if you piss them off just move on to the next one and incorporate what you've learned into your next offer.
- TEAM TNT REALTY, "tnt4403"
- Contributions:53
Zillow bases its prices on information they have access too. I am an agent and I have my properties listed on Zillow, and the Zestimates are substantially lower than what we have them listed for, however the prices are comparable with our local MLS. If you are worried, have your agent prepare a Market Analysis for the property you are interested in to see what price range it should be in. Most houses sell within 3% of the sales price. I hope this helps. Tracy Malan, Realtor/Broker
- supercub
- Contributions:1231
Blake, Here are some suggestions, they will require some puter time on your part, but should help you in determining what it's worth.
First and formost, determine what you can afford and what you can qualify for. This will be your target price.
Second, go to a site such as Zip Realty, or any of a number of others and put in the address of the house you are looking at. See what if any price drops have occurred and when, how many days on the market, and anything else.
Next, call your home insurance agent and ask what they use per sqaure foot in their cost replacement estimates. This will give you an idea per square of what the house minus the land is if you were to build it today. You can also check other sources in your area for that important price per square foot.
Remember, this doesn't include land and developement, but you can also find those numbers in various places.
Now, multiply the square footage of the house by the numbers you come up with, do the same for the land and you will get reasonably close. Remember, don't use the numbers if they are 2005 or anywhere near the peak, you want something from before, or current reflecting the today value.
On zillow, you can see the most recent sale price. If it was bought at the peak or anywhere near that, you will know what was paid. Most likely, if it is a peak, they will have an 80/20 and have finance the thing 100%. It won't sell for that, but it is what they owe. Unless they are able to do a short sale on it, I would move on. If on the other hand, they bought in 2001-2002 and the recent sale price shows that they have room, you can put in an offer from the numbers you have come up with. That is of course, assuming they meet your targeted number that you qualify for.
You can also look up the deed in your local property records for confirmation, use the address of the home for this unless you know the persons name.
First and formost, determine what you can afford and what you can qualify for. This will be your target price.
Second, go to a site such as Zip Realty, or any of a number of others and put in the address of the house you are looking at. See what if any price drops have occurred and when, how many days on the market, and anything else.
Next, call your home insurance agent and ask what they use per sqaure foot in their cost replacement estimates. This will give you an idea per square of what the house minus the land is if you were to build it today. You can also check other sources in your area for that important price per square foot.
Remember, this doesn't include land and developement, but you can also find those numbers in various places.
Now, multiply the square footage of the house by the numbers you come up with, do the same for the land and you will get reasonably close. Remember, don't use the numbers if they are 2005 or anywhere near the peak, you want something from before, or current reflecting the today value.
On zillow, you can see the most recent sale price. If it was bought at the peak or anywhere near that, you will know what was paid. Most likely, if it is a peak, they will have an 80/20 and have finance the thing 100%. It won't sell for that, but it is what they owe. Unless they are able to do a short sale on it, I would move on. If on the other hand, they bought in 2001-2002 and the recent sale price shows that they have room, you can put in an offer from the numbers you have come up with. That is of course, assuming they meet your targeted number that you qualify for.
You can also look up the deed in your local property records for confirmation, use the address of the home for this unless you know the persons name.
- Brian Mielke, "brianmielke"
- Contributions:115
Check the recent sales with the county recorder to gain recent sales information after which houses were similar and sold recently. In a down trending market, and with others to choose from, start lower than those sales and don't pay more. That's the most accurate way to do things.
Local MLS is very accurate as well. Zillow is often accurate, sometimes not. Same with a couple other sites; including my own which I'd NEVER actually use to do a market analysis.
Good luck! :)
Local MLS is very accurate as well. Zillow is often accurate, sometimes not. Same with a couple other sites; including my own which I'd NEVER actually use to do a market analysis.
Good luck! :)
- luckyme8890
- Contributions:487
Blake, buyers get really happy when Zillow has a lower estimate than the asking price. This drives the sellers absolutely bananas! Check out the discussions on the Selling side. Take your time to shop around. You know what you like. Have fun!
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