The Art of Low Balling

Blast From The Past

As a follow up to my lastes posting I wanted to relist this old post from 2008.

There are many things to consider when offering a seller a low ball offer. Some homes are not susceptible to low ball offers and one would just be wasting there time trying to submit a low offer on these homes. Homes usually sell for around 96% of there asking price, but there are some homes out there that can be low balled and be thankful for even getting an offer at all. Here are some things to look for when considering a low ball offer:

1. Length of time on the Market: If a home has been on the market for four months or longer chances are the seller is becoming somewhat frustrated and is looking to move on.
   
2. Previous Purchase Price: Unless the property is outside of the Realtors area of expertise he or she more than likely can tell you what the sellers paid for the property and when they bought it. This information can be pulled from PVA records or from the MLS (Multiple Listing Service). If the sellers purchased the home for significantly less than the asking price I would say this is another sign that you can low ball them.
   
3. Motivation to Sell: Some people sale there home just because they like another home in the area and would like to move but don’t necessarily have to. These people can’t be low balled. But if you walk into a home and it is vacant or there are moving boxes around, this home may be ready to low ball.
   
   This isn’t a full proof recipe for getting a home below market value but homes that meet all of these qualification are totally vulnerable to be low balled. A good realtor can usually get you all this information and a shameless realtor like myself would be happy to deliver your low ball offer.