% off ask in fringe 'hood

If the house has been sitting a while without offers then I'd give it a shot in ANY neighborhood, not just "fringe".

It's all about whether other people are interested and how motivated to sell the sellers are. Something can be in a "fringe" neighborhood and still not want to negotiate lower yet because the property just went on the market, or they're getting a decent amount of interest.

Posted by: guest at March 11, 2008 4:30 PM

curious as to the hood...

Posted by: guest at March 11, 2008 4:35 PM

It's crazy to offer as much as 20% lower on a property just because of its neighborhood, if the property is priced close to recent comps. As for a property that has sat around so long unsold that they'd actually agree to take 20% less, why would you want that house anyway? It's a reject.

Posted by: guest at March 11, 2008 4:36 PM

Make sure you tell the seller it's because the house is in a fringe neighborhood - sure to seal the deal

Posted by: guest at March 11, 2008 4:36 PM

Hilarious, 4:36.

Posted by: guest at March 11, 2008 4:39 PM

The neighborhood is Park Slope

Posted by: guest at March 11, 2008 7:25 PM

Okay, so it's obvious that the OP's reasoning is on the silly side. But isn't the core question going unanswered here?

To me, the core question is, "is it reasonable to offer less?" and the answer to that is YES:

1. What are the comps?
2. How long has it been sitting on the market?
3. What are the circumstances of the sale--how motivated is the seller?
4. Is anyone else offering?

The realtor is never going to give you the straight answer on any of these questions, and is going to feed you some bullsheet about "offending the seller" with a lower offer, and all that crap. Fuck that. Go do research. Find out as much as you can and offer a reasonable price based on your information. They don't call it an "Asking Price" for nothing--you can offer whatever you want to offer. If the house has been sitting for awhile, or if they really want to sell, they might take you up on it.

Remember: NYC real estate agents are fucking shameless! They do things like tell you that it's inappropriate to negotiate the biggest thing you'll ever buy! There's no need to listen to that!

Posted by: guest at March 11, 2008 8:38 PM

You don't need any reason to offer a bid, at any price.

True, the location should be factored into the price, but 20% is an aggressive starting point to a negotiation. The worst that can happen is that they will not return your calls.

Posted by: guest at March 12, 2008 3:05 PM

If the OP is coming from the Upper East Side or Beverly Hills, actually they probably would call Park Slope a "fringe" neighborhood! Hilariously. Like I'll never forget when I showed a friend from CA around Park Slope when we lived there and it was only when we got to the mansions on Prospect Park West that she said, "oh okay now these are nice".

If we look at parts of Park Slope through an outsider's eyes a lot of those storefronts DO look skanky and some blocks aren't so impressive overall.

Posted by: guest at March 12, 2008 5:18 PM

Compared to houses in almost all other locations in all other 50 states, most houses in Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, and to some extent even Manhattan look like dumps to most Americans who are not from here. Most would bring in the low 80's MAYBE if they were anywhere but NYC. Just an old square brick or stucco looking (Brownstone really looks like stucco say my friends from California) building with 6 or 7 windows in front. If there are some architectural details maybe 90K as long as it didn't need any work. Look in almost any city in the US with similar houses, and they are cheap. I love the brownstone look myself, but nearly every friend from every other city and state who has come to visit ask if the houses on my block used to be stores or old apartment buildings that were converted. I love some of the old brownstones in Trenton New Jersey. They are full of details that would rival all the brownstones around the park and even some in Manhattan, but they are in the 80's too. Its all on what you are used to and most of America are not used to this kind of housing.

Posted by: guest at March 13, 2008 6:12 PM