So what are the rules on making an offer?

[JMMD]

We were preapproved in October for a USDA guaranteed loan. We hope to make an ofer soemtime early next week. We finally found two houses we really like. One is $215K and only on the market for a few days. I see on Zillow though that is was listed in 2012 for $175K, then rented when it didn't sell.  This house is much bigger and has a nicer year but taxes are $2700/year!  The other is priced at $165K and has been on the market for a while too. House # 2 is really nice but much smaller than house #1. Taxes are $1600/year. 

I really, really like house # 1 but I have no idea what would be considered a fair offer? Is there a % we should aim for? We need our sellers to pay closing and pre-paids so that needs to figure into the offer.

Thanks!
Jean

[dragontears]

That is a question for your realtor. Housing markets are extremely local; some places it is common to go in under the list price and other places you have to offer above list price. Your realtor should be able to tell you what a fair price is.

[Anonymous]

I'm in the same situation right now, with two houses I like, one bigger at $195 list ($3,600 taxes) and the other smaller at $165 list ($3,100 taxes). My realator suggested offer prices based on the comps she provided and condition of the homes. So yesterday I put in offers on both properties. The bigger house was declined and we're told they're working on a counter-offer. Still waiting to hear back on the other one.

[CreditInspired]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I'm in the same situation right now, with two houses I like, one bigger at $195 list ($3,600 taxes) and the other smaller at $165 list ($3,100 taxes). My realator suggested offer prices based on the comps she provided and condition of the homes. So yesterday I put in offers on both properties. The bigger house was declined and we're told they're working on a counter-offer. Still waiting to hear back on the other one.

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I'm very surprised your Realtor allowed you to put in an offer on both properties. What would have happened if both offers had been accepted with no counters. Both EMDs could have possibly been at risk. IMHO, I think you should submit only one offer at a time to prevent any risk of losing your hard-earned money.

GL2U. I hope everything works out.

[CreditInspired]

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@dragontears wrote:
That is a question for your realtor. Housing markets are extremely local; some places it is common to go in under the list price and other places you have to offer above list price. Your realtor should be able to tell you what a fair price is.

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+1

Definitely get a Realtor. Because you are the buyer, the fee comes out of the seller proceeds. Also, like dragontears said, housing markets are local. And it also depends in your market whether it's a seller's market or a buyer's market. In a seller's market, a seller will not be inclined to pay buyer's closing costs and there's a possibility of a bidding war, but since the properties have been on the market for a while, there is a possibility in your area, it's a buyer's market. 

It also depends on the kind of mortgage loan you are getting to determine how much a seller can contribute to a buyer's closing cost. So this is also something you want to know from your lender.