Online House Hunting

If you were house hunting and the seller had an inflated idea of what his home was worth, what would you do?

Seller says the house was appraised by his bank in May at 170k. Let's just forget about the fact that a LOT has happened to the real estate market since May - just for a minute. He's trying to pass off a 2 bedroom house as a 4 bedroom, because there are 2 rooms in the basement that he's considering bedrooms although without closets. The house needs major work in the kitchen and bathrooms, costing at least 50k if the work was done ourselves. He's living in la la land, I think. Oh, there are no comps - nothing has sold in the area over the last year & nothing else is on the market. He's making a lot of stretches (other than just the bedroom thing) to claim added value. You could fit 2 mini cooper's maybe, but not 2 normal sized cars. The 2nd full bath's shower could fit a midget, but not an average person - it's completely unusable. They're asking (in my opinion) 25k more than it's worth, but won't reconsider. We're walking away. Is this the right thing to do? Other houses of similar size with similar features are selling for as much as 50k less, I think one of them will be best -considering they need the same amount of work as this house. There's nothing remarkable about this house, it's just close to work - but so are lots of others. This seller is just way out in left field.

Public Comments

1. If you feel he has an inflated idea of what his house is worth then keep looking. If he really is that far off then his house will sit on the market for sale for months or years. Then maybe he'll realize that he's asking too much. I think some sellers ask a high amount because deep down they really don't want to sell. Don't waste your time trying to get him to realize he's asking too much because you probably can't. Just keep looking and you'll find something.
2. Of course its the right thing to do, why would you pay more than you think it is worth. Find another house and let the buyer finds someone that will pay his price.
3. I would simply give my best offer, leave it with him, and let him digest it. Walking away is the smart thing to do, unless you are in love with the property and do not care about price. Unfortunately if you need a loan, the bank will care about value. Some sellers do not need to sell so they keep the price up. They know what it was worth a while ago and have that price in their mind. It's hard for them to discount the amount they were counting on getting. I know, I'm a seller now and I dislike the current market. If a seller needs to sell, they will come down. If not, they can hold out for more. They will get it too, but it might be a long time. I'm holding out for $350,000 for my house. Since it's only worth $170,000 now, I may have to wait until 2015. ;)
4. Unfortunately, there is nothing you can do but walk away. The seller will eventually get the message. As long as there is interest, the seller will think he get the price he wants. It's crazy but some people are so..
5. Walk. You are doing the right thing. It's a buyer's market, and you'll find plenty of motivated, realistic sellers who are willing to accept a sincere offer.
6. Yes it is the right thing to do. To enter into a sale, you as the buyer must feel like you go your money's worth. You don't feel like you would be in the situation. Good move on your part. There are many more places that you will be able to find in the market right now.
7. Show the seller houses that are similar to his that have closed in the last month, and the prices they went for. If that doesn't work find a different house
8. I think that you have the right idea by walking away. Its going to be a home that you will have to live in. If you think that the home is bad now, think about when you are living in it and you get to see the imperfections daily. There are other homes out there that will better suit you.
9. Yes, you are absolutely right to walk away from this house, beyond the fact that there are similar homes that you can find for far less, with no comps in the area you will have difficulty coming up with a lender who would be willing to put a mortgage on that house for you (at any price).
10. There's NO WAY I'd buy this house, based on the information you gave. I wouldn't even pay $25k less...if it needs $50k in work, I'd offer him maybe $75k less. This seller is looking to pawn the house off on some fool..."the greater fool theory"...someone will probably end up buying it eventually, and lose money on it. I personally don't care about the seller's situation, I make my offer based on MY analysis and MY analysis is always conservative.