My advice would be to do alot of diligence on the market conditions, that are pertinent to that area. As you said 10 months is a long time. Have they listed prior to that? Are there expireds or cancelleds for that home? How much do the sellers owe on the mortgage, do they have any HELOCs? How long have they lived there? What did they buy it for and how long ago? What is the price per square foot in the area?
You say it started at 900 and now is at 749k… What is the chronology of the price reductions? When did they happen and by how much did they occur. What about recent sales of comparable properties in the area? How many have there been and how many have failed and turned into expired, cancelled or withdrawn listings?
A large down is obviously helpful, it pretty much shows that you should not have many financing problems. How much the seller or sellers agent considers this a factor is debateable. Without knowing these other factors I mentioned above, it is hard to advise on what to come in at. However, your realtor should be able to give you the answers to these questions, to help you assess where to start negotiations.
Of course, my first piece of advice would be to say try to wait if you can as I feel this area will keep declining. I was out in Valley Center last week and it is a GHOST TOWN. I know this is not Valley Center but still, I know of some very nice developments out in east Escondido that are also getting HAMMERED.
As always, I understand people have different needs, desires and situations so if you are going to buy now, get the answers to those questions above and work from there.
If you want to post the address I will see what I can do to advise you on this thread.
