Top 5 Mistakes of Making A Lowball Offer On A Home

Filed in Buying a Home on Jul.25, 2009

Most real estate agents have had a low-ball offer on a listing or represented a buyer that has submitted a low-ball offer. A majority of real estate agents have dealt with both types of low-ball offers. In general, low-ball offers written up for buyers by a good agent get accepted, and low-ball offers received by a seller get rejected.

Listed below are 5 common mistakes made by buyers and agents when submitting a low-ball.

Making a Low-ball Offer to the Seller Instead of Calling the Listing Agent

A listing Realtor provides a great wealth of information that can help a buyer write an offer that the seller is more apt to accept. The agent should call the listing agent first, to ensure the home has not sold and to find out how many offers have been made on the property.

There can be seven offers pending a short sale approval on a home and six of the offers can be over the listed price. The buyer’s agent has sent a lowball offer over without calling first. Of course the offer will not even be taken into consideration.

Submitting a Low-ball Offer with an Inadequate Deposit

Typical deposits vary from $1,000 to 3% of the property price. When a buyer has only a small deposit, it can make the buyer appear like they do not make enough money to be able to afford the property or that they are not serious about actually buying the home.

Submitting a Low-ball Offer with a Hardship Letter

Most sellers are not at all interested in a plea for acceptance. A sellers main motivation is to make a profit on the property for sale. Banks are even less interested, especially when the house is in foreclosure or is listed for a quick sale.

When a buyer informs the seller that they do not qualify for the list price of the property, the seller realizes that the home is out of the buyer’s price range. By doing this it will make the buyer appear uninformed and ill equipped to purchase the house.

Submitting a Low-ball Offer with Alerted Comparable Sales

A listing agent will show comparable sales that support the price of the property before placing it on the market. When an agent delivers a list of fake comparable sales from another area, this shows that the agent is incompetent.

By doing this, it shows that the buyer’s agent thinks that the listing agent is not familiar with the neighborhood and the surrounding area. A good buyer’s agent should try to get the listing agent’s cooperation.

Submitting a Low-ball Offer with a Concessions Request

When a buyer submits a lowball offer, some buyer’s agents will also submit a concessions request. A concessions request can include a closing credit cost of 3% to 6% of the total price.

Some seller’s can be willing to provide a cash credit to buyers, unless they are presented with a lowball offer. When a buyer practices these types of offers, it only insults the seller.

These are the five most common mistakes that people make when presenting a low-ball offer.

Tags: Buying a Home, buying home, buying real estate, real estate, real estate agent, realty

Home Mortgage and Refinancing

Refinancing home mortgage, refinance home loan, mortgage loan, home equity loan