Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, March 4, 1990 TAG: 9003052388
SECTION: HOMES PAGE: D-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Los Angeles Times and Cox News Service
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Forget absurd expectations.
Even in this market nobody is offering houses at half price with lifetime cleaning service.
Today's sellers may be eager to sell, but most haven't turned loony.
To get the best buy, bone up on recent prices in the neighborhoods you are interested in so you have realistic expectations.
Compare them with prices of similar homes two or three years ago to determine if they're going up or down.
Work with a good real estate agent. Find one you feel comfortable with, and work exclusively through him if he does a good job.
Get "prequalified" by your agent or lender. This helps you figure out the size of the loan you can obtain. In turn, you won't waste time looking at homes you obviously cannot afford.
Don't be afraid to drive a hard bargain. Although there's no hard-and-fast rule, some real estate agents say your first offer in a soft market should be at least 10 percent or 15 percent below the seller's asking price.
Remember that price isn't everything.
Sellers sometimes balk at making deep cuts in their asking price, but think nothing of making more lucrative concessions - providing favorable financing, making major repairs and the like.
Consider the advice - oft repeated by real estate sales agents - that you shouldn't make an offer so low it insults the seller.
Builders are less touchy about low-ball offers on new houses, especially if they are sitting on so much unsold inventory they can't get financing to build more houses.
Make an offer as a starting point to negotiate not only price but closing costs, extra amenities and lease-purchase agreements.
You'll fare far better in your effort to buy if you are not constrained by having to sell your present home before you can complete your purchase.
It's easier on your sanity if you get a contract on your house before you get serious about another one.
Look for houses that have been on the market for months, especially vacant ones.
Sellers who have moved away are likely to be "motivated." The owners of some of those homes may be corporations or relocation firms that acquired the property when the owner was transferred out of town or they may be builders who took the homes on trade.
Because they probably acquired the home at a discount from market price and don't want to keep it, they may offer a true bargain.
Call banks, thrifts and other financial institutions for leads on homes they have taken through foreclosure or unsold homes on which they hold construction loans.
If an independent home inspector unearths facts about defects in the home, that information could be used as a basis to justify a relatively low offer.
The fact that the report comes from a third party often makes it seem more substantial than complaints issued by the buyer.
For this reason, a buyer in the current market, with time to negotiate, might consider having the property inspected before an offer is made.
by CNB