The asking price of a piece of real estate rarely has anything to do with what it sells for. 1. Sometimes the realtor will tell the client they're going to ask a figure they know is too high, just to get the contract.
2. Sometimes the client is in an upside down mortgage, and they don't want to take the loss, so they inflate the price.
3. The place is ready to go into foreclosure, and the realtor is trying to get the client out with enough money to pay off the mortgage, and move.
Usually in all the above situations, the house sits on the market, and doesn't sell. That's when the realtor usually starts suggesting the client consider taking the best of the lower offers, or listing it for less.
When we were house hunting, there were a couple places we considered, and put in a fair offer, which was quite a bit lower than what they were asking. They called back a couple months later saying they would accept our offer, if we still wanted the place.
One that comes to mind, had 5 acres, but only the 2.5 acres where the house, barn, and workshop were located, were high and dry. The rest stayed swampy when the summer rains came in. The square footage on the house was ok, but it was an older place, so it was not an open floor plan. All the rooms were compartmentalized. Still, with a couple easy modifications, we could get it opened up some, and make it work nicely. The A/C was old, and had to be replaced. Dh loved the barn, and workshop, so we put in a lowball bid, due to having to replace the A/C, and modifications to get it opened up, and modernized. They acted insulted.
The next day, I was looking at the county tax appraiser's website, and discovered something horrible. The adjoining 20 acres was owned by the daughter. At one time, she had owned the entire thing. She deeded the 5 acres to her parents, and built the home on it for them. So far so good. Remember me mentioning the front 2.5 acres were swampy when the summer rains came in? Well, they built a nice, long, paved driveway to the house, which was one of the selling points in the ad. BUT the driveway was NOT on the deeded part of the property. It was on the daughter's adjoining property. Since it was all in the family, it was no big deal. When selling the home, the portion the driveway was on, did not convey to the new owner, but they used it as a selling point, which isn't even legal. I was so glad they rejected our offer.
I did inform my realtor of the situation, since he was still showing the property to clients. He checked it out, and contacted their realtor about it. 2 months later, their realtor contacted us, and said they would accept our offer, if we were still interested, and the owner would sign a legal document allowing us use of the driveway for as long as she owned the adjoining property. Um, no thank you. That place sat on the market for over a year, until the owner went and legally conveyed the property the driveway sat on, and they got a LOT less than they were originally asking for it. Eventually, it was a pretty good deal for someone, but it took almost 2 years.
Most of the ones about to be foreclosed on had some serious damage. Holes in the roof, and water damage, meaning mold, was the most common. I have a good nose, and am usually aware of moldy, dank odors. The pictures would look good. Get to the home, and it would look pretty good at first, but there was that moldy odor. The room, or area where the hole was in the ceiling and roof, or the discoloration from water leakage showed in the ceiling, were NEVER in any of the pictures of the place, and never mentioned either. A few of them would say the place needed a little TLC. So this place has had a hole in the ceiling for over a year, a cheap tarp was put over the hole, and water was leaking into the ceiling, insulation, down the walls, all moldy, but it needs a LITTLE TLC? 6 months later it would be foreclosed on, and the price would drop to a pittance. Oh the joys of house hunting!
2. Sometimes the client is in an upside down mortgage, and they don't want to take the loss, so they inflate the price.
3. The place is ready to go into foreclosure, and the realtor is trying to get the client out with enough money to pay off the mortgage, and move.
Usually in all the above situations, the house sits on the market, and doesn't sell. That's when the realtor usually starts suggesting the client consider taking the best of the lower offers, or listing it for less.
When we were house hunting, there were a couple places we considered, and put in a fair offer, which was quite a bit lower than what they were asking. They called back a couple months later saying they would accept our offer, if we still wanted the place.
One that comes to mind, had 5 acres, but only the 2.5 acres where the house, barn, and workshop were located, were high and dry. The rest stayed swampy when the summer rains came in. The square footage on the house was ok, but it was an older place, so it was not an open floor plan. All the rooms were compartmentalized. Still, with a couple easy modifications, we could get it opened up some, and make it work nicely. The A/C was old, and had to be replaced. Dh loved the barn, and workshop, so we put in a lowball bid, due to having to replace the A/C, and modifications to get it opened up, and modernized. They acted insulted.
The next day, I was looking at the county tax appraiser's website, and discovered something horrible. The adjoining 20 acres was owned by the daughter. At one time, she had owned the entire thing. She deeded the 5 acres to her parents, and built the home on it for them. So far so good. Remember me mentioning the front 2.5 acres were swampy when the summer rains came in? Well, they built a nice, long, paved driveway to the house, which was one of the selling points in the ad. BUT the driveway was NOT on the deeded part of the property. It was on the daughter's adjoining property. Since it was all in the family, it was no big deal. When selling the home, the portion the driveway was on, did not convey to the new owner, but they used it as a selling point, which isn't even legal. I was so glad they rejected our offer.
I did inform my realtor of the situation, since he was still showing the property to clients. He checked it out, and contacted their realtor about it. 2 months later, their realtor contacted us, and said they would accept our offer, if we were still interested, and the owner would sign a legal document allowing us use of the driveway for as long as she owned the adjoining property. Um, no thank you. That place sat on the market for over a year, until the owner went and legally conveyed the property the driveway sat on, and they got a LOT less than they were originally asking for it. Eventually, it was a pretty good deal for someone, but it took almost 2 years.
Most of the ones about to be foreclosed on had some serious damage. Holes in the roof, and water damage, meaning mold, was the most common. I have a good nose, and am usually aware of moldy, dank odors. The pictures would look good. Get to the home, and it would look pretty good at first, but there was that moldy odor. The room, or area where the hole was in the ceiling and roof, or the discoloration from water leakage showed in the ceiling, were NEVER in any of the pictures of the place, and never mentioned either. A few of them would say the place needed a little TLC. So this place has had a hole in the ceiling for over a year, a cheap tarp was put over the hole, and water was leaking into the ceiling, insulation, down the walls, all moldy, but it needs a LITTLE TLC? 6 months later it would be foreclosed on, and the price would drop to a pittance. Oh the joys of house hunting!
