I know for a fact that I have married one of the greatest guys on the planet. Some days are more mundane than others but my favorites are the days when Steve comes out with those zingers that reinforces why I married him.
I was philosophizing about our mishap with folks offering us way less on our homes than they are worth- I am not just talking about what WE think they are worth but even less than what the market is dictating right now, but I digress. Mentioning to him that perhaps we take these things too personally he said "you know what? That doesn't bother me. If we DIDN'T take it personally, that would be a sign we didn't care anymore and I love what I do."
Picture, if you will, yourself as an artist. You create a masterpiece. You put money and time into a work of art and then, not only does someone come along, see your art, and urinate on it but they offer you less than what you paid for it.
I don’t know where realtors are getting their clients or where their clients are getting their pathetic information but it has GOT TO STOP! Maybe that insidious agent on the Today show, Barbara Corcoran. This is one of the best times to buy a home in nearly 100 years and still there are folks who are stupid enough to offer someone, in a relatively healthy part of the country, 20% less than the going rate of a home. It’s one thing if the home is not priced right. It’s another thing if it is and the buyers think they’ll take a chance.
There is not a one-size-fits-all approach to the market right now and buyers who think there is are either so egotistical they need to get over themselves or have the wrong agent.
What classes are these realtors taking? What jerk is teaching them that it’s OK to allow their clients to offer this outrageously small amount combined with thinking they are irrefutably right? OR what realtor is taking a class to make the listing agent feel like a jerk for not accepting the offer? That latter tact is getting pretty old.
Granted, as Realtors, we are required to carry out any legal action our clients want us to. We can try to talk them out of GOUGING the seller or buyer but ultimately, if our clients are determined to be a jerk, we have to represent them. However, I get the feeling that someone is feeding them this information.
Logic #1 making the seller mad (if the seller is a human being versus a bank) is not the best idea. You want to humanize the buyer and if you ask for too much on the front end, the seller won’t be very amiable to help you out on the backend (e.g. repairs).
Logic #2 putting a builder out of business AFFECTS THE BUYER. How? You may not give a damn if the builder goes out of business but his livelihood affects you if you move into the neighborhood he’s trying to build in. Especially in this economy, the likelihood of someone wanting to buy the land is slim. And, even if they do, it will be a cheaper, crappier, builder. I know of a perfect example down the street from us. Try me.
Logic #3 if you gouge the value of the home you are buying, you are decreasing the property value of the neighborhood you live in and ultimately, doing yourself a disservice.
Logic #4 Have I mentioned this is one of the best times to buy in a century? Don’t make me quote you statistics on how North Carolina is fairing far greater than places like PENNSYLVANIA, for example, and that prices here are about as low as they are going to go barring something catastrophic like a terrorist attack. Go ahead and try to gouge someone but don’t be a cry baby when the seller doesn’t want to play your pathetic game. If you want someone to “work” with you, you’d better be willing to “work” as well.
Should the seller take it personally, no. But nor should the buyer be a jerk when the seller won’t/can’t play his game. It’s called a seller net sheet, people, not all sellers are sitting on a gold mine, waiting to make a killing on your offer.
