Dear Maryland buyers: remember your AGENT works for YOU and by law she is obligated to take direction from you; submit any and all offers no matter how offended she might be. Take personal feelings OUT of the equation, and offer whatever you desire. Legally your AGENT is required to write up all offers.

By the way, WHO do you know who loves to SKI?

I am selling a wonderful French Mountain Villa in a gated community at the base of Little Cottonwood Canyon, only 8-miles away from Snowbird + Alta Ski Resorts. Here is a LINK to 5-LaMontagne Lane:

http://spotlightxpresstours.com/us/17836

Jane Herron
Keller Williams
801.243.5854

You are so sweet. Trust your agent. She WANTS to educate you on this process, and her knowledge of your situation and the market of homes you're considering is better than any advice you'll get here. Your agent can only help you to the degree she knows you need assistance, so let her. Never hold back anything from your agent. We agents tailor our advise based on what we know the priorities of our clients are. We give bad advise when we don't understand your situation. And, if you just tell her you don't want her to think you don't know what you're doing... she'll probably just give you a hug and buy you an ice cream, or a beer (depending on your style), and then her experience will really shine through.

Best wishes!

And... if I can help you or someone you know on the other side of the river (Northern Virginia) please keep my contact information handy!

Typo below. Website is http://www.ofheo.gov

If you offer $50,000 less then they will counter 1/2 way back, and you will still have a higher than you want to pay result. So You will probably need to find a savy buyers agent that will work hard to find a house that has been on the market for a long time, and they know the background of the owners somewhat. Perhaps a forclosure or short sale. Good Luck.

Every home sale situation is unique. While it's unlikely you'll find a seller willing to take 20% below list (if it were listed 20% below market comps it'd escalate back up to the true market value) it is possible to find a good deal on a short-sale or foreclosure.

I hope I'm misreading Fernando's advice: "When I'm working with buyers, I always advice them that the price you are willing to pay in a property should be subject to teh comparables and not what you can or can not afford."

What? "The price you are willing to pay...should...not be what you can or can not afford."

If that's the statement, I beg to differ. The maximum you should pay should be the LOWER of: (1) the comps, or (2) what you can reasonably afford to pay.

To expand on (2), a lender or mortgage broker may say that you're qualified up to, say, $300,000. But you know, from your expenses and your comfort level that you really want to pay only $275,000. Any more and you might be skating on thin ice. If that's the case, then regardless of what you're approved for, the most you should spend is $275,000. You have to make that decision--not the Realtor and not the lender. After all, it's going to be your name on the mortgage, not theirs.

So, you not only need to know the comparables, but you also need to know what your limits are and what you can afford. Then, as I say, you go with the lower of the two numbers, and that's the maximum you can spend. You may make an offer at that number or somewhat lower. How much lower is up to you.

When I'm working with buyers, I always advice them that the price you are willing to pay in a property should be subject to teh comparables and not what you can or can not afford,
Ask your Realtor to check the DOM (Days On Market) if a foreclosure or bank owned property in Maryland has been in the market over 120 days. .a $250K offer on a $300K listing is not out of the question.
Also remember, banks that have foreclosures can sell as low as they want. .there is no mortgage
Regular people that sell. . .do not have that luxury, they have to pay off their mortgage.
Hope this helps

Usually the negotiable range of a listing in the DC MD area is about 10% (if it is listed for 110 K - you can offer 100K)
This can change based on the a few other criteria: Which ares of MD you are looking to buy in etc. You should ocnsider asking your agent to show you foreclosures or short sales as well. These run much lower than the market value. These mean more work for the agent but can bring in great value for you. There are also a few HUD approved home auctions held in DC. They publish the list of homes for auction ahead of time and you can preview them. The good part is - if listed on this sale - these homes have no leans etc. Let me know if you want more info. Hellosimi@gmail.com

Hello Lanna, FYI check out ch6668079

Yes there are companies and certainly many loan officers in many companies who have participated in the mortgage meltdown over the past year. And yes you are correct in that folks borrowing the money don't have a gun held over their head. The problem could be as simple as that. "Hey, you signed the dotted line deal with it." What do you say the person should do who has already made the mistake and gotten themselves into a loan that is an adjustable with a very stiff prepayment penalty with no money in the bank to make up the difference in a declining market where they can't afford their payment any longer and they can't refinance?

Perhaps we should start another thread on this. Also, we have a discussion forum at GetPreQualified.com where there are some other folks who might want to talk about it if we're imposing on Lanna's question.

We do discuss in many of our articles responsible lending as well as responsible borrowing. Our focus on GetPreQualified.com is to present to consumers information that empowers them to make better choices, informed choices etc.

Lanna, How to write a $250K Offer for $300K price? Rule #1, everything is negotiable! Rule #2, Buyers determines the price they are willing to pay for a property. (in respect to the Market Value and comparisons to other properties they have seen), Rule #3, if you don’t ask, you will never known. If you do not want to waste time to see if the seller accept or reject, write a Letter of Intent vs. of full 40 to 60 pages of Sales Contract! That specifies your price and all terms of the contract! Now, does this really work? It requires some analysis prior to that! Find out when the seller purchased the house (gusstimate the balance and equity), why they are selling, (motivation), where are they moving (net proceed), Repairs/Updates (deductions), market value (past 30 days SOLD properties), location (zip code, subdivisions make difference in price). So, what we learned? Do your homework, and base on the result you know how to write an strong offer to be accepted by the seller! If you are asking for $50K below asking price, than you should minimize other wants through the contract (contingencies, closing cost help, etc.). This will minimize the risks for the seller!

Remember, you either buy a DEAL or DREAM!

Cheers,

"Many folks as we know don't have the resources to make the correction." And that was a point I tried to make earlier. Whatever happened to moral obligations? While some companies are certainly participating in predatory lending, they still don't hold a gun to the heads of buyers to sign contracts they have no plans to honor ("we'll fix it later...").

If you give your word, you need to back it up. I sorta doubt I'd have my 839 Fica score had I taken the easy way out back then. Make iformed decisions and then stand by them!

Brad, thanks for the clarification on how you worked through what happened. It wasn't clear that I could tell from the earlier posts. Fortunately you had the means to recover. Many folks as we know don't have the resources to make the correction.

By the way, I didn't lose my *shirt* in LA...I sold an *airplane* to pay my $17000 to contribute to getting escrow to close. At least I did the honorable thing and didn't walk away leaving the bank holding the property...to drag down my neighbors property values...as they had done to me.

Got a little tense in there, but not as bad as some threads. Your reasons for changing realtors sound very valid to me. The one we have now has "held us back" from making offers on 2 houses because she knew we really wouldn't be happy. We were settling and she could see it better than we could. The result is that we are buying a much better house for approximately $25,000 less than what we were gonna spend on the lesser houses...so even her commission is lower, thanks to her honesty.

Just take the good advice along with the not-so-good. Also note that most of your answers are coming from "Real Estate Professionals." Double-edged sword, that is... On one side, they make money off of folks like you and I and thus have vested interests...and on the other side, they likely have been thru hundreds of buys and do have a lot of good knowledge they can provide about things you should think about.

I don't have anything vested here (retired from state government) and this will be our 19th house...so we've been around the horn a few times.

There is another loan we took out in 1992 and another in 2003. I've not seen it lately, but may be offered somewhere. It is a 5/25, sometimes called a "2-step." The first 5 years are at one rate and it can adjust once and only once at the 5 yr mark. It will remain at that rate for the last 25 years. When we got it, it was 4.0% for the 5 yrs and could only go to 9.0% as worst case (which we planned for). As usual, we sold it in less than 5 yrs. I am only a fan of variables when there is rock solid certainty that we can either retire the mortgage or handle the increase... I'm old enough to remember the Jimmy Carter 1970s where houses were 18% and CDs paid 15%. I still consider anything under 10% to be good...and am headed to a 4.625% 7/1 loan on this house...can't exceed 9.625% in 7 years...

Sounds like you are well on your way. Do listen to all the stuff these folks are telling you, even the gruff ones. You are getting a lot more education than many first-time buyers get!!!

Just to add another thing....we are also looking at foreclosures. We aren't blind. We realize that to get a half-way decent property for a good price that is what we are going to be dealing with. We are fine with that fact. I also realize that means more money will have to go into it. We have family members (father and uncle) that are plumbers and home builders so we have that covered in terms of not having to pay a contractor to help us fix something up.

Seriously Don, I am not here to argue with anyone. We fired our first agent for many reasons. One being that she wanted us to put offers down on houses that was more than we could afford. The house we ended up putting an offer on (we put in an offer lower than what she suggested...she told us "no way they will deal with you"....but they ended up dealing with us....everytime they countered she told us to take the offer instead of recountering.....if we had taken her advice we would have paid 50k higher. She definitely wasn't looking out for our best interest.....it seemed that she just wanted a quick sale and her comission)There were others reasons too but I'm not going to get into that right now.

Another reason we decided to move on with another realtor is because we like Ashburn better than the houses we were looking at in Germantown/Gaithersburg. We have made up our minds...we are going to live in Ashburn and we are looking for a townhouse. I understand that we aren't going to find our dream house and we aren't trying to do that. We aren't being unrealistic in our search. We aren't looking for houses that are 350k and expecting to pay 200 or 250k. The ones we have been looking at are 260k and under. We actually looked at 12 houses on Sunday that fit our criteria and that we could afford. And, yes I do find it offensive for someone to say I can't afford to live somewhere. Sorry if that irritates you....that's just the way it is. Bottom line here is: We want to live in ashburn, in a townhouse, for around 230-250k and it seems to me that we found that on sunday. The realtor we are dealing with now is much better than the first one we had....he is much more honest with us and actually is telling us every detail of home buying...which our first realtor did not. She knew we were first time home buyers but failed to tell us ALOT of things.

Anyway, I am done arguing with you or anyone else ....it is just making this whole process of home buying worse.

Wow, Lanna you have yourself quite an exchange of answers going. Go back to your loan officer to see what you might be able to do to qualify for a bigger house. Payoff a credit card to boost your score or increase your debt to income ratio. Perhaps you have already thought of this. More important however is does the payment with a larger home align with what you and your husband want to pay to live somewhere? If not, get your payment to align with what you offer and get on with it. Sometimes the hard choice or reality is picking where you want to live versus what is there to live in. It is rare that any first time home buyer buys ever buys their dream home right off the bat. Maybe you'll have to live in a place for 5 years until you can really get what you want, or ride out the current market so you don't lose your shirt.

Someone who answered your question talked about losing his shirt in a home he bought in LA and had to sell lower than what he bought it for. What needs to be asked of you is how long are you going to stay in the home? Can you see that far out into the future? Or do you have the financial means to carrry the extra mortgage payment if you move out and have to get a new place to live in another area? Maybe you can with a renter, but what happens when you can't rent? Mortgage qualifications will only count 75% of your rental income, so at the very least you'll have to cover 25% of the rental income with your own income in to qualify for another home. Maybe that's too much information for your question. Back to what there is to consider here, are you going to be able to stay in the home long term. If yes, then who really cares that the property value goes down, if you get a fixed rate 30 year mortgage that you won't have to refinance? I encourage you to read the following article that I put into the web reference. It is about buying a home in a declining market.

Lanna:

Too bad if you "find it offensive that you feel Ashburn 'might be priced a bit too high for you.'" Let's see. You've been pre-approved up to $250,000. You're looking for 100% financing. You have no down payment. You "fired" your first Realtor because she urged you to make offers on properties you liked. Someone (not me) suggests you consider renting until you're able to save up some downpayment, so that your financing will be more affordable, and you dismiss it as "the worst suggestion I have read so far." You think that because prices have come down significantly, that "we will definitely be making some kind of profit in 5+ years." You say: "The bottom line is that we don't want to rent anymore...no matter what our rent payment is."

Lanna: Wake up and smell the coffee. Where do you think all these foreclosures came from? Maybe from people who couldn't afford to buy, yet went out and got 100% mortgages? Why should they rent when buying was cheaper? Then prices slipped a bit. Their 100% mortgages reset, or they ran into some sort of difficulty, and they were upside down. They, too, figured they'd "definitely" be making a profit. Lanna, luckily for you, you're about 2 years too late to jump on that train to nowhere.

As for finding it offensive that I suggested that it might be difficult to find a property for $250,000 in Ashburn (which, I agree, most people would prefer over Prince William County), well, that's the way it is. Today on the MRIS, searching in "Ashburn" for non-condos, 3 bed/2 bath or greater, there are 28 listings under $300,000. There are 8 under $275,000. Most/all appear to be REOs or short sales. And they're townhouses, not "houses."

Lanna: You've gotten good, supportive advice here from me and from others. We've said: Make the offers. Go for it. Give it a shot. But for some reason you don't want to do it. You "fired" your agent, as you put it, because, as you said, she "basically wanted us to put an offer down on any house we 'liked.'" Well, duh! You dismiss solid advice that you don't want to hear as "offensive" and "the worst suggestion" you've read. You're convinced that you'll "definitely" make a profit with zero down, buying into a declining market.

You may want to rethink your strategy.

No Lanna, it is not unrealistic to offer $250 K on a $300 K listing, especially if the listing has been on the market for over 6 months. You might be pleasantly surprised that the sellers at least make a reasonable counter that each of you can work on to complete a transaction and you are able to purchase a nicer home at a discounted price. Ask your agent straight up to research homes from $275 - $325 K and find any that fit your criteria and have been on the market for at least 6 months and then preview any in your desired locale. Happy hunting and hope you find a great deal!

Although it wasn't in the area you are looking, I contacted the agent of a beach condo and offered them $69,000 less than what they were asking. I told them that was all I could afford and if they were interested, they could let me know. They jumped on it. Just goes to show, you never know until you try. I say go for it!!!

Brad,

I totally understand what you are saying, but you have no idea what the cost of living is around the DC area. The amount of money we are spending in rent right now will be the same exact amount as our mortgage. Our lease is going to be up in 2 months and are rent will jump up $300 a month (which is more than what a mortgage payment will be.) The bottom line is that we don't want to rent anymore...no matter what our rent payment is. All of the houses we have been looking at have come down in price significantly (50k to over 100k) so we will definitely be making some kind of profit in 5+ years.

Just a little more follow up. I agree renting is generally ugly. But if you bought a house for $250,000 and it went down 10% in a year (some areas have declined over 20% in 1 year...like in CA), then you will have "thrown away" $25000 by buying now...plus probably $4,000 in loan costs...or about the same as having paid $1800+ a month rent (after you subtract the mortgage tax benefit at 28%). Of course, if the house goes up in the year, the equivalent wasted rent would be lower. So renting isn't as disgusting as it used to be...in a flat or falling market like we are in.

Real life example: I purchased a house in North LA County in 1993. I "stole" it for $172,900. 9 months later, when I transferred, the best offer (only one) I could get was $154,500. So the cost of the original loan, plus 9 months of interest payments, plus the real estate commission to sell it, and that house cost me $42,000 real dollars to live in it for 9 months.... Had I spent $4000 a month for wasted rent money, I'd have been ahead. Hindsight is 20/20. I had planned to be there a long time, but circumstances changed and it really bit me.

So please, really weigh rent vs. owning for your particular case. It isn't as cut and dried as:
rent = wasted money -and- ownership = equity.

Just to respond to a few of the comments. We definitely do not want to rent anymore! We are throwing our money away and not being able to save very much at all because rent is unbelievably high. I feel like that is the worst suggestion I have read so far.

Also, we do not want to live in Prince William County....that is just getting further and further away. We like Ashburn and we have found some houses there that we can afford. I find it offensive that you feel Ashburn "might be priced a bit too high for you."

A few additional comments to what's already been provided. And some is very, very good. I especially liked Brad's advice: Your offer will be accepted or rejected based on the seller's needs.

Your offer will either be accepted, rejected, or countered. That's it.

Let's talk a moment about negotiating. Stacey gave you a great negotiating tip. It's called "nibbling." Ask for more than you expect to get, and throw a few small items in that the other side can reject without it ruining the deal for you. So they counter, eliminating some of those small items (that you never expected to get, anyway), and leave the rest of your offer intact.

I mentioned, above, that the seller can only do one of three things: Accept, counter, or reject. Let's turn that around for negotiation purposes. The seller has a list price. The buyer--you--have three options. You can accept (by making a full price offer). You can counter. Or you can reject, by not making an offer at all. Let's accept that the worst option for the seller is for you to reject--make no offer. But here's an interesting question: What's the best option for the seller? You say "accept"? You come in with a full-price offer. Well, maybe. But the seller will immediately worry, "Did I price this too low? If I'd listed for a few thousand more, would they have paid it? Did I leave some money on the table?" So, from a negotiation standpoint, counter. It doesn't have to be by too much. But when you're done, the seller will feel satisfied that he/she got the best price for the house. And you'll have saved a few thousand dollars (or more).

In a short sale, though, it doesn't matter what the seller is willing to accept. That's just a game. He/she will not end up with a penny, in any case. The question is what the lender will approve. And in a bank-owned property, yes, you can negotiate.

Regarding "comfort zone," I can't speak for Stacey, but if you were approved up to $250,000, I wouldn't have a problem showing you properties priced at $300,000. As Stacey said, you just make a "best and final" offer. Keep in mind, too, that while price is one variable in negotiations, there are many others. Your Realtor can help you with that strategy.

As for geographic area, Ashburn is fine, but might be priced a bit too high for you. There are a huge number of bargains in Prince William County. But if you buy there (or anywhere, really), plan on staying there for 5-7 years; it'll take awhile for the market to steady, then to recover.

Hope that helps.

Couple more comments: Only in a Seller's market would we buy from the listing agent. We've done that successfully once and the Realtor convinced the seller to take our offer over another: He makes the commission on both sides, and we developed a friendly relationship with him so he wanted us to "win". Our "clean" offer (and he helped us to make it clean, knowing what would appeal to the seller) was not the highest offer...but it was the one they accepted based on his recommendation. On our current buy, I can talk very openly and honestly with my trusted agent, as she knows how high we would go on the property we are now buying, but she won't share that with the selling agent. She knows how much we want the house, which is another thing I don't want the selling agent to know. If they did, they'd have a responsibility to the seller to raise us as high as they could. "Dual representation" of both buyer and seller is not a comfortable situation for a buyer...altho most Realtors like to show you their listings first. As someone said, the dual agent still has a bigger responsibility to the seller.

Re: the "small requests." Well this is essentially a pre-foreclosure property. Banks here do tend to agree to pay for 1 yr home warranties requested (about $350), and that still is in our contract. The only thing the builder wanted to take out was the list of additional items. He didn't balk at all on the price (which the bank will have to approve). Asking for things doesn't cost anything. On the house we sold in the summer, we'd have given a lot just to make it go away.

Re: your nothing to put down, are you sure now is the time for you personally to buy? What will happen if the market goes down another 10%? Will you be able to endure it? Nothing is a loss until you sell, just like in the stock market, so if you can ride out a 10% loss in value and definitely not try to resell the house within 3 years, then I encourage you to buy. If that is not the case, I think you should rent. As someone else said, get a prequalification letter to be able to include with your offer so they know you really can purchase their house. It costs so much more for a 100% loan than an 80% loan that in a level or falling market, I'd not buy if I had to borrow over 80% of the value... Just my 2 cents more... Save up the 20%.

Are they even going to listen to the "small requests" since most of the houses we are looking at are foreclosures and being sold AS IS? Also, how much is a "little" over our comfort zone?

Hi Lanna, great tips below, but I have another thought that may help. When I am working with buyers with a limited budget, we often look a little above their comfort zone. When you get to the point when you are making your best and final offer, be sure your agent notes that on the offer. The listing agent will present this offer differently than an offer which has the potential for more negotiation. How they frame it to the seller will influence the sellers decision. There is a chance your strategy will work, the key is that as a buyer you must be very cautious to not become emotionally attached to any house until you receive that agreement. Brad has a good point also about including a couple of small requests they can decline. Good luck with your new agent, Stacey

we do not have a down payment...we are looking to do 100% financing. We have since fired that agent and are now working with some one else. She was way too pushy and basically wanted us to put an offer down on any house we "liked." We are also now looking in the ashburn area of VA.

In todays changing market if you have enough of a down payment and you are truly pre-approved for that amount AND you are looking to BUY,then you are holding the trump cards.Just remember the golden rule
"He who has the gold,makes the rules"With so much inventory on the market and home sales their worst in about 15 years,anyone who does not take that kind of offer seriously risks having the market only turn worse on them.Just keep this in mind when making an offer on a home,that if the seller refuses to take less,then they are in essence putting a bid in on their own home for whatever they counter at.And the purpose of listing their home for sale is to sell it and not put in an counteroffer to lose a potential purchaser.Also remember that any decrease,lets say of $10,000 makes only a fifference of about $60-70 a month in the payment.You have to decide which way to go.I hope that you have a good realtor who can also explain this to you.I am one but in a different state.You need to fing someone who is experienced in NEGOTIATIONS, as most are not

Because you are the BUYER, you have the right to offer anything you would like. The Selling Agent has fiduciary responsibility to the seller, meaning, this agent is there for the SELLER, is there to get the most they can for the SELLER.......but s/he is obligated to deliver every offer that is made.

IF you get a buyer's agent for you, a BUYER agent has fiduciary responsibility to YOU--to help you get the best deal that you hope to get. You can make an offer without an agent (in most states), but just know you are then negotiating for yourself and the Selling agent can act as a dual agent, but always remember his first responsibility is to the seller.

What do you have to lose when you make an offer? The worst thing that will happen is you will discover the other parties bottom line very very quickly.

I've been on both sides in the past 6 months.

We're currently buying in AZ. Listing price on this builder's model was $339k after the most recent wave of reductions. It was built in 2006 and likely they were looking for $459k at the time. Well, they have reduced it again to $315k and said bring all offers...owner motivated. Turns out the builder is on the verge of letting the bank foreclose on this second property of his. Bank is highly motivated NOT to foreclose and our offer of $285k is reportedly gonna be close to what they need. Heckova discount. We trust our realtor, who suggested that figure. If you don't have a good and trusting relationship with your realtor, always remember that the more you pay, the more money goes into the Realtor's pocket. Don't be afraid to offer $250k for a $300 listed property. It all depends on the situation of the seller and whether they really want out...for whatever reason.
I'd never make 3-4 offers... We offered this price and asked them to install a water softener, garage door openers, etc ($2000 or less). We did that so they'd have something to decline besides just wanting the dollars raised.

Now the other side: We had a house here that was worth $550k when all the decline started. We chased the market down (poor realtor advice) to $524K....$489K...$469K and then changed realtors. She told us to list it at $425-$435k if we really wanted to sell it. We went to $425k and soon got an offer of $400k which we took. Today the house is likely worth $350k or less. We wanted out as we were away 7 months out of the year and it had a pool...that needed constant attention. It was such a pain, we just wanted out of the house and were considering draining the pool (causing plaster damage).

Your offer will be accepted or rejected based on the seller's need. Make your $250k offer and let them tell you what they need. The deal discussed earlier where the person made 4 offer, from low-ball to full price and then the seller rejected it, was a meeting of two stubborn folks who did not want to complete a transaction in my opinion!

First of all that is what your agent is there for, to educate you on buying a house. Secondly if you have time on your side and can offer other incentives, like a quick settlement sometimes that is incentive enough. Use your agent to gain knowledge and really find out if making this offer is even worth it. Days on Market can sometimes be a good indicator.

Many of our owners who have homes for sale would love for someone to "just make an offer". The worst that can happen is they say no and you start looking again - you will not know unless you try.

Just keep in mind 2 things: there is a fine line between getting a good deal and offending someone and if you are looking at short sales and foreclosures, that final decision is up to the bank or third party and could take up to 90 days to get an answer. Good luck

If you are flexible in your timing, you should be looking at foreclosures and short sales. Your agent can set up a search (in the finance section you can select foreclosure and short sale- it's new and not every agent knows they added that). Tell the agent to set up an ADDITIONAL search just for those, and that you would like to put the price higher. Also, I am sure your agent has told you that another option is to pay a little more but obtain closing help. That way you have some funds in reserve. I just helped a client buy a $350k house (that is what it appraised for) for $339 with $10k in closing help. And this wasn't even a distress sale. Also, there are some agents who list a home a little high just to hit that even hundred thousand mark- so people looking from 250-300 will see it as will those looking from 300-350.

Good luck

For homes new on the market, rearely will they accept a huge drop - pay particular notice to the DOM - Days on Market - there are two numbers,, current listing and total - note the total.
I had one seller that got a $100K low offer, and he countered full price, then the offeree raised it by 10K, again countered full price, after 3 more offers, the buyer finally came up to full price, and the seller said he would not sell to that buyer at any price - he had gotten so mad in the process - be careful that might happen to you!
Try to find vacant houses, those on the market for 90 or more days - and good luck! Hope you are searching Southern Maryland, thats where the best prices are - mainly Charles County!

Bill Wootan - Leader of Team One
Century 21 H T Brown Real Estate

Real Estate Agents always try to have very honest and open communication with their clients. You need to feel comfortable enough to simply ask them!
I would say something like "We know it may be a bit agressive; but do you think there may be some 300K homes that we could get for 250k?"
You are know acknowledging that; Yes we know it may be a stretch - but let's see what is out there!

If there is a property that you see with Days on the market for 90 or 120+ days; you may find a bidding opportunity - but I would not get your hopes up - while it is a Buyer's Market; expecting 50k off a listing is TUFF!

As I advise my 1st time Home Buyers.... Everyone has a DREAM Home and everyone has a 1st home. They are most always NOT the same home. Find a home you like; that you can ,make your own - build some equity - get used to "Home Ownership" - then in 5 or 6 years - look for the Next home.

Best of luck!

Thanks. That's what we were thinking too, but what about the houses that have only been on the market for a week or so? I am thinking that is out of the question to low ball their listing.....what's your opinion?

There are house that have been sitting for 180 + days with no offer.... do you think any action would be insulting or would they be happy to know someone realized they existed?
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