Posted by Tarheel T on July 29, 2001 at 15:02:08:
Off the cuff, I would think the key to this is that you mention a realtor. If the guy has listed this then he may be more motivated than you think and I would pursue it with more urgency. He is either willing to sell at a price that you can live with or not. What is their listed price and your estimate of their current value? I would not hesitate to talk to this guy one on one and make a creative offer ASAP.
Good Luck
Tracy Thompson
How does this offer sound? - Posted by Earnest
Posted by Earnest on July 29, 2001 at 12:43:55:
ANswerers to this point would be helping me learn.
There’s two 50+ year-old homes for sale by on seller who owns them both 3 blocks from my home. Both are 2BR’s on adjacent property; they are good for renting, not very good for selling to to-be, live-in owners. The seller’s family has had the homes over 45 years, free and clear now. Both homes are in excellent, ready-to-rent condtion. 2BR’s are common here, zoning is ok, and the homes fit nicely in this quite neighborhood.
I made a lowball offer on the nicer of the two a few months ago which was not accepted. They are both still for sale; the seller has been unable to sell them. Both homes appraise for 85K each. I had offered 54.5K for the one and the seller initially came down from his asking of 87K to 80K. But I was unwillng to offer more since rental rates here are low. I’m not gonna pick up rental at a loss; I don’t think anyone else would either.
My thinking is that by next winter if both properties are still unsold, the seller may be more willing, especially if I offered to take both houses off his hands.
Things could happen between now and next winter. Right now, he apparently doesn’t want to sell it bad enough, and I’ll wait until he wants to sell it more that I want to buy it. If someone grabs it sooner, fair enough.
My thnking is to offer about 14K down for both properties, next groundhog day. That will give him some cash and pay his realtor. (I would offer less down if there is no realtor in the picture then.) And offer a private loan to him at 84K at an attractive interest rate. Its possible to make the deal look better by presenting it as “145K OVER 7 YEARS.” This shows him that he styands to get an amount closer to what he wants. Of course, I would explain the actual loan structure.If he asked, I would agree, haltingly, to a penalty scheme that I know would work for me.
I am probably talking about a CFD. I have heard people hear say that’s not ideal. What might any of you do?