STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

Kari · Dooney & Bourke

another house buying question...making an offer:

luckyclover · Dooney & Bourke

Most people have their asking price high. Start low- but not so low they aren't interested. Then you can work your way to a middle price....and then depending on what the house appraises for you can renegotiate. You can also check the county assesors site and see what they say the house is worth and go around that. HTH and good luck!

greendiamond · Marc Jacobs

Well, to address the appliance issue, ask for a home warrenty. They don't cost the seller much, so they will go for it. If your appliances go within the first year, they will be replaced or repaired, free of charge. We had one, and used it on our oven. Unfortunetly, they just fixed it (it was ugly) but it saved us from having to buy a new one right away.

-gd

AllieGurl · Marc Jacobs

You have a couple of options here -

You could offer $180,00 but ask that they oven and stove and fridge be replaced ( you pick the color white black etc ) ALot of people call this a "kitchen allowance".

Or you could offer $178,000 because of said kitchen issues.

MOST people would take the $180,000 and just buy you the kitchen items you need. This is good too because it gets lumped into your loan and you dont have to out of pocket any expenses to replace it.

Keep in mind with a home that is 30yrs old, you will probably have some repair issues that come up. SO make sure you are prepared to fix the AC or heating or water pipes etc, should they need it in the next couple years.

Best wishes with your new home search....

travelgirl · Kate Spade

Do you have a real estate agent representing you as a buyer? If so, ask your agent how soft the market is where you are buying. I say this because the market is EXTREMELY soft where I live right now and houses just aren't moving. Sooo if you are in a really good "buyer's market" area I would start pretty low and work up from there. If the house is in a hot area where the real estate market is more of a "seller's market) then you may not want to start as low.

Also, check for "comps" in the area to see what homes are going for in that neighborhood. This will give you a good basis for a starting offer.

Cortney1982 · Chanel

78 days on the market is quite some time. I would try to get it for $179k so you can replace the appliances.

Maybe you could offer much lower. We got our house $30k under the asking price since our first offer was $50k under asking price. The house had no interest for months and they figured they better take before winter came when you don't get as much.