How To Make An Offer On An Overpriced Knoxville Home

Imagine this. You’ve been searching for a few months to find the right home. A home comes on the market that has everything you want, but just by looking at the pictures, you can tell is way overpriced. You go take a look at it anyhow and instantly fall in love. It’s got everything you need and more.

So, now you’ve got a problem. You want to make an offer on the home, but worry that the seller won’t budge on price.

So, what do you do now?

Contrary to what you may believe, writing a fair offer isn’t a lost cause. You just need to do it in the right way. In this post, we’ll cover how to make an off on an overpriced Knoxville home.

Utilize A Professional

If you’re seriously thinking about buying a home, you should already have a buyer’s agent working for you. But, if you don’t, having one when you write an offer on an overpriced home can be imperative. When you have a realtor in your corner, you have someone there to do the negotiations for you. It also shows that you have someone in your corner who has experience in real estate and you’re not just coming up with a number.

A seasoned realtor knows how to deal with an overpriced home. They know what negotiation tactics work and those that don’t. Things can get messy when a buyer tries to negotiate on their own behalf. If things get heated, a buyer may accidentally say something they don’t mean or say too much, which could end up offending a seller and stopping the negotiations dead in its tracks.

So, bottom line, hire a professional from the start.

Determine A Fair Price For The Home (With Evidence)

Before you make an offer an overpriced home, you need to determine a fair price for the home. Your Knoxville realtor can help you do this. Based on that, you can determine a fair price to write an offer.

You should make sure that your realtor includes the comps of how you came up with the price with the offer. This can help show a seller that you’ve done your research and are making an offer based on facts. You’re not just trying to write a lowball offer and get a steal.

There is no guaranteeing a seller will agree with the facts that you’ve provided them. But, it can help.

Be Gentle In Your Approach

When you write an offer on an overpriced home, you need to be gentle with how you handle making an offer. If you’re not careful, you could easily offend the seller and cause them to deny you an offer altogether.

It is a very delicate balance when you write an offer on an overpriced home. You must do what you think is right to protect yourself, while at the same time, trying not to outright offend the seller so much they decide not to work with you at all. When you write an offer and put the price that you think is reasonable, you may want to consider what other things that you’re asking the seller for. When you offer a lower price, then ask for closing costs and a home warranty, the seller can feel like they’re losing everything. This can cause them to try and not work with you.

If you really love the home, you can try to soften the blow by writing a letter about how much you love the home. It doesn’t have to be 10 pages, just something short and sweet about how much you love the home. Some sellers like to know that their home is going to buyers who will love it as much as they do.

Woo Them In Other Ways

Finally, price is the most important factor when it comes to submitting an offer. But, there are other ways that you can help woo the seller when you’re not offering a price that is quite what they were expecting. It’s these little things that can help put the odds in your favor.

Here are a few examples of how to help woo the seller in other ways:

1. Give the seller the close date that they want. A seller may want to close quickly or they may want some time to search for another home, regardless, giving the seller the close date they want can go a long way.
2. Show the seller you’re serious by offering a larger earnest money deposit. Earnest money is what you stand to lose if you walk away from a transaction for no reason. When you put down a larger earnest money deposit, you show a seller that you’re serious.
3. Show the seller that you’re willing to make the transaction go smoothly. Submit your offer with a recent pre-approval letter to let your seller know that you’re able to secure financing. Also, you can offer to do your home inspection quickly to show that you want the transaction to move along.
4. Don’t ask the seller for anything else. If you get the price you want, consider not asking for the washer and dryer, a home warranty, or any closing costs. This shows the seller that you’re not going to take any more money from them than you have to.

There is nothing wrong seeing if your agent can find out some of the things the seller wants and giving to those items as well. If you’re getting the price you want and can be flexible on other items, there is nothing wrong with compromising with the seller.

Are you thinking about selling your Knoxville home this year? Please let us know if there is any way that Knoxville Home Team can assist you. Rick can be reached at 865-696-9002 or via email at [email protected]. Kati can be reached at [email protected].