I have a neighbor who recently moved out of state and tried to rent out their home, I noticed a few weeks ago the tenants who were there have moved out and I think this might be an excellent opportunity for a deal (there’s a for sale sign in front of the house now). The median price for houses in my area are in the 250-265k range, I would like to make an offer of about 175-190k for the house, but I already know the owner probably is asking about 270-290k (the owner tried to sell the home last summer). The house judging from the outside appearance will likely need some cosmetic work and possibly more depending on the condition of the inside.
So my question is how can I make a really low offer on this home without insulting the owner? I’m thinking if I make the seller angry enough, even if they do decide to sell the home at a really cheap price they won’t call me back because they feel insulted by offer.
How do you guys make lowball offers and keep the homeowner from cursing at you?
This is will be my first time making an offer on a home without a realtor being involved.
Unless this is a family member or a good friend… do NOT worry about insulting someone. If they get insulted, oh well, too bad. You’re in this to make money, not stroke egos and make sure everyone is shiny and happy. Don’t even look at the asking price, IMO, offer what YOU would pay, they either take it, or don’t.
thanks guys, I will do just that. I wonder if I should mention that I live across the street from the property, don’t know if it’ll make a difference or not.
One last question, since real estate investing is kind of a numbers game in the sense that the more offers made the greater chance of one getting accepted. Has anyone here had success with making a bunch of low ball offers on homes that have been on the market for a long time? Also do I need a realtor to make an offer on a home represented by a realty company?
You can make a low ball offer without being insulting. Say something along the lines of “I really love your home, but the most I can pay for it is…”.
Nothing insulting about this whatsoever. If anything, it’s complimentary…and truthful.
If they can’t come down to your price, show empathy towards their situation, thank them for their honesty and time, give them your business card and tell them your offer is still there if they change their minds. The way you handle the situation can make them want to contact you first in the instance they can’t get what they wanted. Whoever says “who cares what they think” doesn’t understand the concept of good business and customer service.
And you know what else? MW is absolutely dead on! Word of mouth travels fast and if you go in shooting low offers and saying “too bad if they’re offended” you can really damage your name. Stroking egos isn’t called for, but empathy and understanding of the situation can go a long way. What happens when this homeowner knows of somebody else that is having difficulty and needs to sell… you think they are going to suggest big shot investor guy who shot them low ball offers with attitude? Hell no!
Before you make any offer, go look at it. That’s easy to do when it’s listed with a realtor. Figure out how much it would cost to get it updated so you can sell at that median price. Without knowing that, you’re just pulling numbers out of the air and hoping for the best.
Maybe their realtor will give you an idea of how eager they are to sell. Then you can offer to “help them out” but the most you can offer is $x.