if you’re dealing with a realtor, who cares if he’s insulted? it’s his job to be insulted, that’s haggling for you.
i think someone posted the “rules” of lowballing before… one thing that stuck was that if you give a low ball offer, it gives the seller a sense of a “bottom”. that is, your offer will be rejected, but anyone with even a slightly better offer could be taken.
so, you want to make an offer only if you can make the deal happen. you don’t want to provide someone else a platform from which to work off of.
i think it was also said that you don’t want to be the one to make the first move. you want the seller to spill the beans first, you want them to state a number from which you either get an idea of how desparate they are or how stubborn. if they just repeat the posted number, then walk away. dont give them anything, no counter offer because then you give them a bottom. if they give you a number below the asking, then you can work with that. offer something even lower and work up.
