Offers & Prices

**1stHome** · 01-12-2009, 10:03 PM

We are in search of a first home! We found one we fell in love with, but an offer was accepted before we were able to put on in. Our realtor wasn't told that an offer was even made on the place we were looking at.

There wasn't a way we could have made a better offer after the offer was accepted was there?

Also if we are looking at buying a home at a certain price. Lets say we are looking for houses that are about $100K, what would be a reasonable price range to look from?! Would a house thats $120K or $130K take an offer of $100K, bank owned or still owned by the sellers?! We aren't sure what price range we should look for, if its worth looking higher to see if we can get someone to except at offer!

Thanks!

**Mike Taylor** · 01-13-2009, 03:18 AM

Originally Posted by 1stHome

There wasn't a way we could have made a better offer after the offer was accepted was there?

Also if we are looking at buying a home at a certain price. Lets say we are looking for houses that are about $100K, what would be a reasonable price range to look from?! Would a house thats $120K or $130K take an offer of $100K, bank owned or still owned by the sellers?! We aren't sure what price range we should look for, if its worth looking higher to see if we can get someone to except at offer!

Thanks!

No you cannot make a better offer once the sellers have an accepted offer. It does not matter if you offered double, the sellers are bound by the previous contract.

As far as what price range to look at, each home and seller is different but your agent should be able to provide you with some averages. For example, the average home sold for 95% of the asking price. This means, on average, you should be looking at homes for $105,000.

**Thomas Rogers** · 01-13-2009, 05:03 PM

If you wanted to keep looking in the $110-120k purchase range you could set up a rent to own with a landlord seller. If you negotiate it properly, you could lock in a price for 3 years or more. It would give you a chance to live in the home and check out the neighborhood. You can make sure that it really is your dream home before you buy it. Also if property values start going up again during the time period of your option to purchase your can take advantage of the appreciation and if they go down any more you can either give it back to the home owner or negotiate a better purchase price.

**RE_Investor** · 01-15-2009, 08:09 PM

I would possibly even push the search up to $110k, but only if it matched your search perfectly. Of course, I am in the mid-west, so if you have a stronger market in your area, you may just be wasting your time.

It would be a good idea to ask your agent to give you some suggestions. They should know the area well, and have a good idea of the average sale price in certain areas.

It is never fun to find the "perfect" house, only to realize that the price will not come down into your range!