A good agent is always going to include houses priced beyond your pre-approval that meet the rest of your buying criteria, knowing that not all houses are realistically priced to be "in the market." Just like each house is unique, each seller is unique, and you can never really be sure what the underlying motivation behind the sale is, so don't assume the seller's motivation is LOW. They may be highly motivated, and your (very?) low offer may just be the cat's meow.

Or maybe not. You'll never know until you make the offer.

One or two more things. Be very cautious of laying all your cards out on the table. Telling the seller "look, i really, really, really luuuv your house but this is all i'm able to afford" may or may not endear you to the seller and get your offer accepted, but it DOES give the seller an awful lot of insight into you as a buyer. Insight that a good seller's agent would use to the seller's advantage.

Understand that when you make an offer to buy, you're half way to an accepted contract. All that is required is/are signature(s) from the seller(s). If the goal is to get the house in contract and then closed, an offer from a pre-approved buyer has brought the seller enticingly close to their goal. Their first reaction may be to make a counter offer, but the seller has then just put you - a ready, willing, and able buyer - back into the driver's seat. For all the seller knows you could be ready to write an offer on one of nine other properties you liked if your offer is rejected. But if the seller simply signs your offer, you’re in contract. Challenges most assuredly lie ahead on the road to closing, but the biggest hurdle has been cleared - you’re in contract. This offer - your very low offer - must therefore be given serious consideration. And it just might be accepted.

Finally, don't make any offers for more than what you're pre-approved. I realize you may have been using round numbers, but $180,000 IS more than the $175,000 you're pre-approved for. You'll only be dealing in anger and disappointment from the fallout of that move.

I'm a local agent in the Pickerington market, and would be happy to assist you in finding and buying a home. Just click on my profile and send me an email if you’re interested.

Good luck Marianne, but again, we must stress, please get yourself represented by a Realtor. Your Realtor should be able to negotiate strongly on your behalf. There is a lot more that goes into a real estate purchase than just the price. Statistics clearly show that buyers who are represented by a Realtor pay less on average for homes than those without representation. And buyers don't pay anything to their Realtor. The seller is the one who pays the commission. So, you have nothing to lose.

thank u all...u just opened the door wide to the 175,000 - 200,000 price range. i will take everything into consideration but if i see a house i really like, i'll just be plain honest & tell the owner "look, i really, really, really luuuv your house but this is all i'm able to afford"... and hope for the best( and hope they don't get offended =) ) - Marianne

Absolutely! If you have been well qualified and can get the approval for the loan amount in writing from your lender, as proof to the seller, your offer has a much better chance for the seller to except it. Good Luck!

Absolutely. I am going to assume that you are probably also asking what the likelyhood of such an offer being accepted is. Your realtor should be able to answer this by factoring in if it is a bank owned, short sale, corporate owned, or owner owned property. They will also take into consideration how many days it has been on the market, last price drop(if any), comparable sales, condition, mortgage amount(has the owner already purchased another home and put a significant amount of money down..can they afford a loss) etc. Do you need to ask for 3% in closing costs? If so, don't forget that this does come from the seller's proceeds too. Realtors can also help with for sale by owners, so please feel free to contact any one of us for specific information about the property. Best of luck with your offer.

Brittany - that is probably the worst advice I have seen here... What a seller paid for a home has absolutely nothing to do with what it is worth in today's market, and also nothing to do with their current equity situation or whether they would be willing or able to sell for less than what they paid.

Marianne - like I said before - get your pre-approval in line with your offer and make the offer! The worst a seller can say is "no" and it only takes 10 minutes to put an offer on paper once you have the rest of your ducks in a row.

Marianne,

The thing I think the others here are missing is that you are pre approved for ONLY $175k and you are wanting to make an offer of $180k... So yes you CAN make that offer, you could offer a million... does not mean you can actually get a loan for that amount...

I agree, work with a Realtor, AND get with your loan officer and see what the MAX amount is you can actually purchase.

While the press and many "on the street" want to make buying a home a "game"... it is not. You can't just go around "making offers" and expect to get a good home and a good deal. You MAY get it for less than they were asking... but that could still be way more than it is WORTH...

Best of luck to you

Hi Marianne. The previous posters have given you the answer: Yes, you can make an offer of $175,000 or $180,000 on a $200,000 home. And you definitely need to talk to a Realtor to find out what the other homes in the area are selling for so you know what this home is truly worth. If the house is really worth $200,000, they're probably not going to come down to $180,000 or $175,000 (unless the sellers are selling this as a short sale). And if the house is actually worth $175,000, even though it's listed at $200,000, you need someone on your side to show the proof to the sellers that their home is overpriced. A good Realtor can do that for you, so hopefully you can get the house you want.

Marianne, You can always make any offer you would like. I would reccomend working with a Real Estate agent who has your best interest in mind. A Buyer's Agent assuming you are not using the listing agent. Your agent will be able to do a comparative analysis of the $200,000 property to see if infact it is worth that amount. The property may be worth less making your offer of $175,000 more realistic. If you would like more information or advice please visit my website or send me an email to Todd@ToddOrrill.com

Todd Orrill e-PRO
Keller Williams Greater Ohio Realty

You can always make any offer you'd like to make. But if you want it to come across as a strong offer to the sellers, I'd recommend getting a new pre-approval letter for $180,000.

-Josh

You can make any offer. I would encourage you to talk with a REALTOR in your area who knows the market. Ask the REALTOR what is the average list to sale percentage. This will give you an idea if your offer has a chance. You'll also want to know at what price other homes have sold for in the area and how many days on average are homes on the market. A REALTOR can help you save money. Good luck.