Let's say you saw a home for $194,000 in today's market. The home is what you have been looking for but it is an older home. What would be your first offer?

I would have to have a lot of information before I made an offer;I wouldn't go just by a newspaper ad.
I would want a CMA of properties in that area that are comparable to see if it was fair price.
I would want to know what,if any upgrades were made.
Just because it was an older house wouldn't necessarily tell me it was overpriced.
I would want to see the curb appeal;are there major improvements on that property I wouldn't have with a newer house?

What is the neighborhood like?What advantages are there to living there as opposed to somewhere else?
What would be the disadvantages?

What is the school district like;even if I didn't have kids a strong school district keeps property values high.

If it's an established neighborhood the listing could warrant that price because because no one ever moves.

Then again,it could be someone listed at that price that is pipe dreaming too.

If you are working with a realtor(personally,I wouldn't not have one) I would have that person help me to determine a fair offer.

The home is in a nice area. It has 3 acres of property and has been on the market for about 4 or 5 months. Nice size rooms and other homes in the area are listed a bit less than this one.
I dunno.

In this market - a house sitting that long does not necessarily mean it's over priced. You need to see what comprable houses have been selling for in the past few months. And then it's a matter of - how much is it worth TO YOU? We were on the market for less money than the house you want to purchase, and we got two low offers about 9 months into the game for about 15K below our (lowered) asking price. Within a month we got another offer only $2,500 lower...we took that one. It was obviously worth more to the people who bought it, than to the previous two folks who made offers.

I like Gail's advice. The bottom line is whether you want a property and what you are willing to pay for it.........what it's worth TO YOU........not what it's "really worth". No matter what anyone tries to suggest the truth is there is no magic formula for determining what a property is worth simply because different folks are willing to pay very different amounts of money for the exact same property. Not to mention what a house is 'worth' sometimes has very little to do with what a seller is willing to sell for LOL. Doesn't it really just comes down to whether you (the buyer) are willing to pay an amount the seller wants to sell for (or on the flip side, whether the seller is willing to sell it to you for what you want to buy it for)?

IMO, unless a seller is FSBO, I've never understood a buyer becoming 'secret agent' in an effort to try and figure out what a property is 'really worth'. If the seller is represented by a realtor chances are they have had professional assistance coming up with that number and have come up with it for a reason..................whether or not every buyer agrees with it. And if you really think about it, isn't it fair to assume that if a property has been on the market for 4 or 5 months and they haven't dropped their price......chances are actually pretty good that they haven't dropped it for a reason.

All that said.....in the end you should offer ONLY what you would want to pay for it. Consider their asking price........if it's more than you want to pay (for whatever the reason).......then come up with a number that reflects what you feel it is worth to you. Then just cross your fingers and see what happens. Good luck

This message has been edited. Last edited by: olivia459,

There is no way I could advise you only knowing the asking price. That price could be a bargain or a rip off depending on the house and the market.

You should make your offer according to what you feel is a fair market price - perhaps being a little on the aggressive (low) side or a little on the passive (higher) side depending upon how much you want the house. The length of time the house has been on the market only matters, imo, in terms of your own concerns for your resale value should you purchase the house. Do you have an agent? They should be able to help you with figuring out what a good price would be, and if that amount of time represents a long time for that market.