.

Currently in the same boat as the OP. Looking at houses in the far NW Chicago suburbs and have put in 6 offers for different houses. The most recent was the one we were SURE we were going to get, even though there 25 offers in the 48 hours it was on the market. We went 10% over asking, wrote a letter, have a friend who is a neighbor and good friend of the seller who vouched for my wife and I, but in the end they went with a higher offer and we were left in the top 3.
 
I would look at the age of sellers. I’m late 40s and if the Realtor said the buyer added a letter, I would have asked if they were looking to be a pen pal or something. Would tell me they were maxed out. Would counter the high person without a letter with 5k more and see what happens.
 
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I would look at the age of sellers. I’m late 40s and if the Realtor said the buyer added a letter, I would have asked if they were looking to be a pen pal or something. Would tell me they were maxed out. Would counter the high person without a letter with 5k more and see what happens.

We got a letter from the eventual buyers last time we moved. Really tugged at the heart strings: big yard for the dog, walking distance to the school, perfect place to start a family... here’s our lowball offer.

Our realtor - wisely - talked me out of my first two responses which were, in order, “We agree it’s the perfect house for you. That’s why we’re asking for $X, not 15% less, you morons,” and, “**** off.”
 
my realtor told me this morning that some buyers are offering to make charitable contributions to the sellers favorite charity. The "drloveHumanFund" is seeking 501-C3 status.
 
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We got a letter from the eventual buyers last time we moved. Really tugged at the heart strings: big yard for the dog, walking distance to the school, perfect place to start a family... here’s our lowball offer.

Our realtor - wisely - talked me out of my first two responses which were, in order, “We agree it’s the perfect house for you. That’s why we’re asking for $X, not 15% less, you morons,” and, “**** off.”
Lol, did you work them up any, or go with the offer?
 
Those of you that are selling should consider not using a realtor. You’ll probably be able to sell the house within a few days, and all you need is to spend 500 bucks on an attorney to prepare the documents for you, instead of tens of thousands of dollars to a realtor.
Excellent post!

Zillow is free and you won’t have to pay a listing agent. Pay the buyer’s agent (if your buyer has one) and save $10,000 on a $325,000 transaction.
Again- great point on quoted post.
 
Narrator: And that, kids, worked great right up until 2007...
Been working great in my market. So...I would advise each buyer to make sure it would work in your market. Certainly not all markets are the same- I stand amended. ;)
 
Excellent post!

Zillow is free and you won’t have to pay a listing agent. Pay the buyer’s agent (if your buyer has one) and save $10,000 on a $325,000 transaction.
Again- great point on quoted post.

Yea and you don't have to support a former bottle service girl! :jimlad:
 
It's crazy here in Twin Cities. I am first burb west of downtown Mpls. Neighbor gal listed her small single car tuck under house (40 foot lot) for $425K. It's appraised by county for taxes at $289K. Her listing price gave me a doubletake. Talked to her and she said, what the heck I'll see if I can get it. Sold for over list in five days. :oops:
Where did she move to?
 
Excellent post!

Zillow is free and you won’t have to pay a listing agent. Pay the buyer’s agent (if your buyer has one) and save $10,000 on a $325,000 transaction.
Again- great point on quoted post.
I know charter said he charges 2500 to list and then whatever his buyer rep percentage is. Why would you pay the buyers agent, if selling by yourself?
 
We got a letter from the eventual buyers last time we moved. Really tugged at the heart strings: big yard for the dog, walking distance to the school, perfect place to start a family... here’s our lowball offer.

Our realtor - wisely - talked me out of my first two responses which were, in order, “We agree it’s the perfect house for you. That’s why we’re asking for $X, not 15% less, you morons,” and, “**** off.”

I think OP said he tried that and it only worked because the sellers were old. It wouldn't work on me.
 
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I know charter said he charges 2500 to list and then whatever his buyer rep percentage is. Why would you pay the buyers agent, if selling by yourself?

You would need some kind of incentive for people to look at your house. Nearly everyone uses an agent and an agent is going to steer their clients to a listing in which they don't get any compensation from. Additionally, buyers are conditioned that sellers pay commission of both sellers and buyers agent.
 
I know charter said he charges 2500 to list and then whatever his buyer rep percentage is. Why would you pay the buyers agent, if selling by yourself?
it creates a lot of action and interest. And you hold a lot of cards in how that commission is paid. From the buyer, full asking,... all sorts of options.

Remember buyers and their agents are under contract so some buyer can't make an offer directly to you.
 
You would need some kind of incentive for people to look at your house. Nearly everyone uses an agent and an agent is going to steer their clients to a listing in which they don't get any compensation from. Additionally, buyers are conditioned that sellers pay commission of both sellers and buyers agent.

I know, agents push their own properties first and then the other agents stuff.
 
it creates a lot of action and interest. And you hold a lot of cards in how that commission is paid. From the buyer, full asking,... all sorts of options.

Remember buyers and their agents are under contract so some buyer can't make an offer directly to you.
If you are selling independently, I wonder if they can prevent you from buying unlisted houses.
 
Lol to the people saying this isn't a bubble. At least your taxes will be lower when this thing nosedives. Inventory should be helped when the government allows covid forbearance to end in Sept. Some people have been living free for the past year
 
Lol to the people saying this isn't a bubble. At least your taxes will be lower when this thing nosedives.nosedive. Inventory should be helped when the government allows covid forbearance to end in Sept. Some people have been living free for the past year

So what is “the bubble” that we’re currently in?
 
Lol, did you work them up any, or go with the offer?

This was 3 years ago, so very different than now, but my recollection is that we split the difference or a little above, and we threw in a 1 year warranty and said we wouldn’t make any changes based on inspection. I would have been annoyed by the offer either way, but the letter was icing on the cake.
 
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Lol to the people saying this isn't a bubble. At least your taxes will be lower when this thing nosedives. Inventory should be helped when the government allows covid forbearance to end in Sept. Some people have been living free for the past year
Explain to me how taxes will go down. If the valuations go down, cities don’t cut spending, they raise the mil rate. A 10% decrease in value means nothing if the mil rate jumps 10%.
 
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Do you think a lot of people in 450-500k houses are in financial trouble?
Price of a home has nothing to do with the capacity to repay the loan. Agreed? This is thr same **** that happened last time. Let's hope the people the banks lended to can actually pay this time.
 

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