SO YOU FOUND THE PERFECT CABIN and now you are ready to make an offer. You have your prequal letter in hand and your agent is ready as well. The cabin of your dreams is listed at $150k and you are offering $100k...
S T O P R I G H T T H E R E.
First of all, I assume that you drove all the way to Big Bear and viewed several properties with the intention of finding the very best deal possible. Your agent SHOULD BE showing you current comps for each area so that you make good choices and a solid offer.
Are you practicing or do you want to leave with your dream cabin? By low-balling..you could aggravate the seller, waste everyone's time and not come out with what you want. Your goal is to be the very best buyer for this property and to give the seller no reason to turn your down. So do your homework, trust your agent and then go for it. Good luck!
An entry from a colleague:
Another thing which is occuring lately is that the Gas Co. and Water Co. won't turn on their meters if they are covered with snow--they did not dig! (it is up to the homeowner or agent to provide access to the meters). We don't know that they aren't turned "on" until I show up at the house and there is a tag on the door or kitchen counter (they don't call you to inform you).
The Gas Co. won't turn furnace or water heaters "on" if the vents are covered with snow above the roof (they will keep the meter locked off).
Also, I can't find stop-and-waste valves under snow (they should be revealed). And I won't turn water "on" to the home if the sub-area crawl space is blocked with snow-ice, because I have to check for all drain valves being "closed" prior to turning water "on" (so I don't flood the place).
Bob Cherry
Buyers-
That night you're dreaming about the home. You toss and turn, thinking about how you will arrange your furniture, which color you might paint the bedroom. The next morning your agent calls to say the house has been sold to somebody else.
How did that happen? You're astonished, then angry, and later, depressed. You wonder if the seller had a buyer in his back pocket all along. How did you get deceived?
You weren't. What typically happens -- and I can't explain why -- is the minute you want to buy a home, so do three other people. It's extremely common for the seller of a dated and neglected listing to suddenly receive two, three or more offers, all within minutes of each other.
Here's what you do next time: Put down a large intial deposit more than 5k please! Do not ask for anything extra from the seller like cleaning the carpet or hauling unwanted furniture, Sign all the disclosures right away and completely. Ask the other agent what is the most important thing to the seller and then deliver.
For more call me at 714/469-6217 or visit my website. Sign up for my monthly Newsletter and lets get you that Big Bear mountain getaway!
