[raptorduck]

Not surprising for this board, you have gotten great advice so far.

I would echo the above remarks and add

– the longer on the market, the more realistic the asking price, the more motivated the seller (stating the obvious here, but sometimes people forget).

– if they are still living in it, they are more likely to be sticky sellers.

– never underestimate a seller’s emotional attachment to their home and consequential unrealistic expectation as to price and unwillingness to sell at market despite high carrying costs.

– look for second and vacation homes and the empty homes with sellers already into new homes.

– be aware that if a selling agent tells you they got 3 other offers comming in, it may not be true.

– set some criteria for your negotiation and do not waiver from it.

– Remain detached from your purchase and stick to your rules.

– Don’t get caught up in a bidding war unless you are still in your range.

– patience is the best form of leverage.

– When told by the selling agent that “the market is picking up, has stopped falling, is red hot, lots of activity” tell youreslf they are dyslexic and slowly back away.

– Assume developers will start with higher asking prices. Appearance is everything to them.

– Be creative and put yourself in the seller’s shoes and ask what they need, now, other than the price they want.

– In this market, a strong buyer is almost more important than a high bidder. Demonstrate that you are a strong buyer.

– back up your offer, whatever it is, with data and reason. Comps are not the only reason.

[raptorduck]

Not surprising for this board, you have gotten great advice so far.

I would echo the above remarks and add

– the longer on the market, the more realistic the asking price, the more motivated the seller (stating the obvious here, but sometimes people forget).

– if they are still living in it, they are more likely to be sticky sellers.

– never underestimate a seller’s emotional attachment to their home and consequential unrealistic expectation as to price and unwillingness to sell at market despite high carrying costs.

– look for second and vacation homes and the empty homes with sellers already into new homes.

– be aware that if a selling agent tells you they got 3 other offers comming in, it may not be true.

– set some criteria for your negotiation and do not waiver from it.

– Remain detached from your purchase and stick to your rules.

– Don’t get caught up in a bidding war unless you are still in your range.

– patience is the best form of leverage.

– When told by the selling agent that “the market is picking up, has stopped falling, is red hot, lots of activity” tell youreslf they are dyslexic and slowly back away.

– Assume developers will start with higher asking prices. Appearance is everything to them.

– Be creative and put yourself in the seller’s shoes and ask what they need, now, other than the price they want.

– In this market, a strong buyer is almost more important than a high bidder. Demonstrate that you are a strong buyer.

– back up your offer, whatever it is, with data and reason. Comps are not the only reason.

[raptorduck]

Not surprising for this board, you have gotten great advice so far.

I would echo the above remarks and add

– the longer on the market, the more realistic the asking price, the more motivated the seller (stating the obvious here, but sometimes people forget).

– if they are still living in it, they are more likely to be sticky sellers.

– never underestimate a seller’s emotional attachment to their home and consequential unrealistic expectation as to price and unwillingness to sell at market despite high carrying costs.

– look for second and vacation homes and the empty homes with sellers already into new homes.

– be aware that if a selling agent tells you they got 3 other offers comming in, it may not be true.

– set some criteria for your negotiation and do not waiver from it.

– Remain detached from your purchase and stick to your rules.

– Don’t get caught up in a bidding war unless you are still in your range.

– patience is the best form of leverage.

– When told by the selling agent that “the market is picking up, has stopped falling, is red hot, lots of activity” tell youreslf they are dyslexic and slowly back away.

– Assume developers will start with higher asking prices. Appearance is everything to them.

– Be creative and put yourself in the seller’s shoes and ask what they need, now, other than the price they want.

– In this market, a strong buyer is almost more important than a high bidder. Demonstrate that you are a strong buyer.

– back up your offer, whatever it is, with data and reason. Comps are not the only reason.

[raptorduck]

Not surprising for this board, you have gotten great advice so far.

I would echo the above remarks and add

– the longer on the market, the more realistic the asking price, the more motivated the seller (stating the obvious here, but sometimes people forget).

– if they are still living in it, they are more likely to be sticky sellers.

– never underestimate a seller’s emotional attachment to their home and consequential unrealistic expectation as to price and unwillingness to sell at market despite high carrying costs.

– look for second and vacation homes and the empty homes with sellers already into new homes.

– be aware that if a selling agent tells you they got 3 other offers comming in, it may not be true.

– set some criteria for your negotiation and do not waiver from it.

– Remain detached from your purchase and stick to your rules.

– Don’t get caught up in a bidding war unless you are still in your range.

– patience is the best form of leverage.

– When told by the selling agent that “the market is picking up, has stopped falling, is red hot, lots of activity” tell youreslf they are dyslexic and slowly back away.

– Assume developers will start with higher asking prices. Appearance is everything to them.

– Be creative and put yourself in the seller’s shoes and ask what they need, now, other than the price they want.

– In this market, a strong buyer is almost more important than a high bidder. Demonstrate that you are a strong buyer.

– back up your offer, whatever it is, with data and reason. Comps are not the only reason.

[raptorduck]

Not surprising for this board, you have gotten great advice so far.

I would echo the above remarks and add

– the longer on the market, the more realistic the asking price, the more motivated the seller (stating the obvious here, but sometimes people forget).

– if they are still living in it, they are more likely to be sticky sellers.

– never underestimate a seller’s emotional attachment to their home and consequential unrealistic expectation as to price and unwillingness to sell at market despite high carrying costs.

– look for second and vacation homes and the empty homes with sellers already into new homes.

– be aware that if a selling agent tells you they got 3 other offers comming in, it may not be true.

– set some criteria for your negotiation and do not waiver from it.

– Remain detached from your purchase and stick to your rules.

– Don’t get caught up in a bidding war unless you are still in your range.

– patience is the best form of leverage.

– When told by the selling agent that “the market is picking up, has stopped falling, is red hot, lots of activity” tell youreslf they are dyslexic and slowly back away.

– Assume developers will start with higher asking prices. Appearance is everything to them.

– Be creative and put yourself in the seller’s shoes and ask what they need, now, other than the price they want.

– In this market, a strong buyer is almost more important than a high bidder. Demonstrate that you are a strong buyer.

– back up your offer, whatever it is, with data and reason. Comps are not the only reason.

[raptorduck]

Well, I have historically thrown money at cars. They are my biggest vice. Years ago, I set aside a generous “car fund.” From that I would incur all my purchase and service obligatios for a car (not gas, car washes etc). My rule was that once I deplete it to zero, I have to be more modest in my purchases. I have never looked at a car as any sort of investment, but a big waste of money. I don’t gamble or have some other vice that is impractical. So for me it is cars. I never expect to make $$ on a car.

But as FLU sugests, sometimes there is an arbitrage opportunity there and I have been able to add to that car fund. 90% of cars I have sold I sold at a loss, of course. But others, I have actually made money on. And they range from a few beaters I bought while in grad school for $500 or so and then sold for just under $1,000 to my Ferrarri, Aston and E39 M5 which I owned for 4 months and then sold for $34k above MSRP, which was what I paid. I was patient enough to wait on the wait list for 3.5 yrs to get one. But at the time, every Silicon Valley .com millionaire had to have one, and I was happy to oblige and part with it for a nice profit. That will probably never happen again, but over the years, my car fund has not dropped as much as I thought it would.

As for realtors, give them a break. They have to make money. I get frustated with them like everybody else. They are not all snakes. Many are hard working family people who are our neighbors. I find as a buyer, that the selling agent is on my side more than the buyer agent, or so it seems to me sometimes anyway. The selling agent must churn inventory and so is (or should be) less concerned with getting the highest price relatively speaking than selling ASAP, particularly in this market. The buyer agent needs to get the best price for the best commission because once she is with you, she is with you until you buy.

I have been in the market long enough and toured enough homes to know that agents lie, and they lie a lot. But they are hungry, and in the end, it is your $$ and it is up to you to do your homework. I have had a stock broker for decades. He is the best. But I have never made a buy decision based on his advice. It has always been an investment on a company I researched and knew a lot about. Even my money managers have to have my investment philosophy.

Agents have to tell you the market is bottoming out and that there is a lot of buyer activity, their own lives depend on it. They would also be fuling the fire to unsettle prices if they speak in armagedon toung. They have to try to stabalize the market with rhetoric, it is their duty to.

[raptorduck]

Well, I have historically thrown money at cars. They are my biggest vice. Years ago, I set aside a generous “car fund.” From that I would incur all my purchase and service obligatios for a car (not gas, car washes etc). My rule was that once I deplete it to zero, I have to be more modest in my purchases. I have never looked at a car as any sort of investment, but a big waste of money. I don’t gamble or have some other vice that is impractical. So for me it is cars. I never expect to make $$ on a car.

But as FLU sugests, sometimes there is an arbitrage opportunity there and I have been able to add to that car fund. 90% of cars I have sold I sold at a loss, of course. But others, I have actually made money on. And they range from a few beaters I bought while in grad school for $500 or so and then sold for just under $1,000 to my Ferrarri, Aston and E39 M5 which I owned for 4 months and then sold for $34k above MSRP, which was what I paid. I was patient enough to wait on the wait list for 3.5 yrs to get one. But at the time, every Silicon Valley .com millionaire had to have one, and I was happy to oblige and part with it for a nice profit. That will probably never happen again, but over the years, my car fund has not dropped as much as I thought it would.

As for realtors, give them a break. They have to make money. I get frustated with them like everybody else. They are not all snakes. Many are hard working family people who are our neighbors. I find as a buyer, that the selling agent is on my side more than the buyer agent, or so it seems to me sometimes anyway. The selling agent must churn inventory and so is (or should be) less concerned with getting the highest price relatively speaking than selling ASAP, particularly in this market. The buyer agent needs to get the best price for the best commission because once she is with you, she is with you until you buy.

I have been in the market long enough and toured enough homes to know that agents lie, and they lie a lot. But they are hungry, and in the end, it is your $$ and it is up to you to do your homework. I have had a stock broker for decades. He is the best. But I have never made a buy decision based on his advice. It has always been an investment on a company I researched and knew a lot about. Even my money managers have to have my investment philosophy.

Agents have to tell you the market is bottoming out and that there is a lot of buyer activity, their own lives depend on it. They would also be fuling the fire to unsettle prices if they speak in armagedon toung. They have to try to stabalize the market with rhetoric, it is their duty to.

[raptorduck]

Well, I have historically thrown money at cars. They are my biggest vice. Years ago, I set aside a generous “car fund.” From that I would incur all my purchase and service obligatios for a car (not gas, car washes etc). My rule was that once I deplete it to zero, I have to be more modest in my purchases. I have never looked at a car as any sort of investment, but a big waste of money. I don’t gamble or have some other vice that is impractical. So for me it is cars. I never expect to make $$ on a car.

But as FLU sugests, sometimes there is an arbitrage opportunity there and I have been able to add to that car fund. 90% of cars I have sold I sold at a loss, of course. But others, I have actually made money on. And they range from a few beaters I bought while in grad school for $500 or so and then sold for just under $1,000 to my Ferrarri, Aston and E39 M5 which I owned for 4 months and then sold for $34k above MSRP, which was what I paid. I was patient enough to wait on the wait list for 3.5 yrs to get one. But at the time, every Silicon Valley .com millionaire had to have one, and I was happy to oblige and part with it for a nice profit. That will probably never happen again, but over the years, my car fund has not dropped as much as I thought it would.

As for realtors, give them a break. They have to make money. I get frustated with them like everybody else. They are not all snakes. Many are hard working family people who are our neighbors. I find as a buyer, that the selling agent is on my side more than the buyer agent, or so it seems to me sometimes anyway. The selling agent must churn inventory and so is (or should be) less concerned with getting the highest price relatively speaking than selling ASAP, particularly in this market. The buyer agent needs to get the best price for the best commission because once she is with you, she is with you until you buy.

I have been in the market long enough and toured enough homes to know that agents lie, and they lie a lot. But they are hungry, and in the end, it is your $$ and it is up to you to do your homework. I have had a stock broker for decades. He is the best. But I have never made a buy decision based on his advice. It has always been an investment on a company I researched and knew a lot about. Even my money managers have to have my investment philosophy.

Agents have to tell you the market is bottoming out and that there is a lot of buyer activity, their own lives depend on it. They would also be fuling the fire to unsettle prices if they speak in armagedon toung. They have to try to stabalize the market with rhetoric, it is their duty to.

[raptorduck]

Well, I have historically thrown money at cars. They are my biggest vice. Years ago, I set aside a generous “car fund.” From that I would incur all my purchase and service obligatios for a car (not gas, car washes etc). My rule was that once I deplete it to zero, I have to be more modest in my purchases. I have never looked at a car as any sort of investment, but a big waste of money. I don’t gamble or have some other vice that is impractical. So for me it is cars. I never expect to make $$ on a car.

But as FLU sugests, sometimes there is an arbitrage opportunity there and I have been able to add to that car fund. 90% of cars I have sold I sold at a loss, of course. But others, I have actually made money on. And they range from a few beaters I bought while in grad school for $500 or so and then sold for just under $1,000 to my Ferrarri, Aston and E39 M5 which I owned for 4 months and then sold for $34k above MSRP, which was what I paid. I was patient enough to wait on the wait list for 3.5 yrs to get one. But at the time, every Silicon Valley .com millionaire had to have one, and I was happy to oblige and part with it for a nice profit. That will probably never happen again, but over the years, my car fund has not dropped as much as I thought it would.

As for realtors, give them a break. They have to make money. I get frustated with them like everybody else. They are not all snakes. Many are hard working family people who are our neighbors. I find as a buyer, that the selling agent is on my side more than the buyer agent, or so it seems to me sometimes anyway. The selling agent must churn inventory and so is (or should be) less concerned with getting the highest price relatively speaking than selling ASAP, particularly in this market. The buyer agent needs to get the best price for the best commission because once she is with you, she is with you until you buy.

I have been in the market long enough and toured enough homes to know that agents lie, and they lie a lot. But they are hungry, and in the end, it is your $$ and it is up to you to do your homework. I have had a stock broker for decades. He is the best. But I have never made a buy decision based on his advice. It has always been an investment on a company I researched and knew a lot about. Even my money managers have to have my investment philosophy.

Agents have to tell you the market is bottoming out and that there is a lot of buyer activity, their own lives depend on it. They would also be fuling the fire to unsettle prices if they speak in armagedon toung. They have to try to stabalize the market with rhetoric, it is their duty to.

[raptorduck]

Well, I have historically thrown money at cars. They are my biggest vice. Years ago, I set aside a generous “car fund.” From that I would incur all my purchase and service obligatios for a car (not gas, car washes etc). My rule was that once I deplete it to zero, I have to be more modest in my purchases. I have never looked at a car as any sort of investment, but a big waste of money. I don’t gamble or have some other vice that is impractical. So for me it is cars. I never expect to make $$ on a car.

But as FLU sugests, sometimes there is an arbitrage opportunity there and I have been able to add to that car fund. 90% of cars I have sold I sold at a loss, of course. But others, I have actually made money on. And they range from a few beaters I bought while in grad school for $500 or so and then sold for just under $1,000 to my Ferrarri, Aston and E39 M5 which I owned for 4 months and then sold for $34k above MSRP, which was what I paid. I was patient enough to wait on the wait list for 3.5 yrs to get one. But at the time, every Silicon Valley .com millionaire had to have one, and I was happy to oblige and part with it for a nice profit. That will probably never happen again, but over the years, my car fund has not dropped as much as I thought it would.

As for realtors, give them a break. They have to make money. I get frustated with them like everybody else. They are not all snakes. Many are hard working family people who are our neighbors. I find as a buyer, that the selling agent is on my side more than the buyer agent, or so it seems to me sometimes anyway. The selling agent must churn inventory and so is (or should be) less concerned with getting the highest price relatively speaking than selling ASAP, particularly in this market. The buyer agent needs to get the best price for the best commission because once she is with you, she is with you until you buy.

I have been in the market long enough and toured enough homes to know that agents lie, and they lie a lot. But they are hungry, and in the end, it is your $$ and it is up to you to do your homework. I have had a stock broker for decades. He is the best. But I have never made a buy decision based on his advice. It has always been an investment on a company I researched and knew a lot about. Even my money managers have to have my investment philosophy.

Agents have to tell you the market is bottoming out and that there is a lot of buyer activity, their own lives depend on it. They would also be fuling the fire to unsettle prices if they speak in armagedon toung. They have to try to stabalize the market with rhetoric, it is their duty to.

[raptorduck]

Wow, this has turned into quite the car thread. Ok, having owned Benzes and Bimmers, Aston Martin, Ferrari, Jaguar, and now Audi’s, my ulimate driving machine, in how I define it is in order, from the cars I have owned:

01 W208 Mercedes CLK55
My RS4
E39 BMW M5
S54 M Roadster

My favorite SUV (comparing it to other I have had including A Hummer H2 and an ML320) is Audi Q7.

If you want a motorcyle thread, anything Yamaha, especially an R6 and R1. I also have a beautiful ’01 BMW R1200C from that bond movie, a rolling work of art IMHO I will never part with and with 0.9% financing, I loved paying it down to zero over the years.

[raptorduck]

Wow, this has turned into quite the car thread. Ok, having owned Benzes and Bimmers, Aston Martin, Ferrari, Jaguar, and now Audi’s, my ulimate driving machine, in how I define it is in order, from the cars I have owned:

01 W208 Mercedes CLK55
My RS4
E39 BMW M5
S54 M Roadster

My favorite SUV (comparing it to other I have had including A Hummer H2 and an ML320) is Audi Q7.

If you want a motorcyle thread, anything Yamaha, especially an R6 and R1. I also have a beautiful ’01 BMW R1200C from that bond movie, a rolling work of art IMHO I will never part with and with 0.9% financing, I loved paying it down to zero over the years.

[raptorduck]

Wow, this has turned into quite the car thread. Ok, having owned Benzes and Bimmers, Aston Martin, Ferrari, Jaguar, and now Audi’s, my ulimate driving machine, in how I define it is in order, from the cars I have owned:

01 W208 Mercedes CLK55
My RS4
E39 BMW M5
S54 M Roadster

My favorite SUV (comparing it to other I have had including A Hummer H2 and an ML320) is Audi Q7.

If you want a motorcyle thread, anything Yamaha, especially an R6 and R1. I also have a beautiful ’01 BMW R1200C from that bond movie, a rolling work of art IMHO I will never part with and with 0.9% financing, I loved paying it down to zero over the years.

[raptorduck]

Wow, this has turned into quite the car thread. Ok, having owned Benzes and Bimmers, Aston Martin, Ferrari, Jaguar, and now Audi’s, my ulimate driving machine, in how I define it is in order, from the cars I have owned:

01 W208 Mercedes CLK55
My RS4
E39 BMW M5
S54 M Roadster

My favorite SUV (comparing it to other I have had including A Hummer H2 and an ML320) is Audi Q7.

If you want a motorcyle thread, anything Yamaha, especially an R6 and R1. I also have a beautiful ’01 BMW R1200C from that bond movie, a rolling work of art IMHO I will never part with and with 0.9% financing, I loved paying it down to zero over the years.

[raptorduck]

Wow, this has turned into quite the car thread. Ok, having owned Benzes and Bimmers, Aston Martin, Ferrari, Jaguar, and now Audi’s, my ulimate driving machine, in how I define it is in order, from the cars I have owned:

01 W208 Mercedes CLK55
My RS4
E39 BMW M5
S54 M Roadster

My favorite SUV (comparing it to other I have had including A Hummer H2 and an ML320) is Audi Q7.

If you want a motorcyle thread, anything Yamaha, especially an R6 and R1. I also have a beautiful ’01 BMW R1200C from that bond movie, a rolling work of art IMHO I will never part with and with 0.9% financing, I loved paying it down to zero over the years.

[Author]

Posts