Dear Owner: I'm Not That Into Your Pad
By now you’ve probably read the Times article about negotiating for a home by sending a letter explaining a lowball offer; it’s been one of the top e-mailed stories on the paper’s web site for a couple days. In it, Rob Lieber drafts sample letters from both the buyer’s and seller’s sides. Apparently, epistolary haggling…
By now you’ve probably read the Times article about negotiating for a home by sending a letter explaining a lowball offer; it’s been one of the top e-mailed stories on the paper’s web site for a couple days. In it, Rob Lieber drafts sample letters from both the buyer’s and seller’s sides. Apparently, epistolary haggling is all the rage nowadays in places where the market’s tanked. Here’s part of the pretend buyer’s letter:
Dear Seller:
I’m writing to let you know that I would like to make a bid on your property. I love the area and am committed to buying a house nearby. And your home fits my needs. But given that my offer is well below your asking price, I also feel I owe you an explanation. First, consider the big picture. Nationwide, home prices in the first quarter of 2008 fell 14.1 percent compared with the same period a year earlier, according to the Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index. That’s the biggest decline in the 20-year history of the data. And just in case you’re wondering, during the housing downturn of the early 1990s, the decline was never worse than 2.8 percent. Not only that, earlier this month, the National Association of Realtors pointed to the huge number of existing homes on the market. As of the end of April, the total number was 4.55 million. At the rate people are buying right now, that represents an 11.2-month supply. So buyers have options right now. A lot of them. I’m no different. Your home is great, but it isn’t unique…
Whoa! It’s a crazy letter-writing jungle out there. Anyone heard of this happening here?
Negotiating for a House? Start With ‘Dear Seller’ [NY Times]
Photo by The Fuzzy Squid.
i like that analogy 7:19…maybe i’ll try it over here too!!!
next time I go into a pizzeria, I’m gonna try that lowball technique. I’ll tell the guy behind the counter, “hey, Vincenco, you and I both know that I can order two large pies from Domino’s for the same price as one of yours, let’s call it even at $5.”
next scene; me, flying through a plate glass window onto the pavement with a look of perplexed agony.
yeah, that’ll work.
4:56, that sounds like a smart idea.
An elderly person or a (presumed) flustered scared women are exactly who those predators look for when they knock on doors.
Neighborhood groups should put flyers in doors warning the elderly members of the community about this kind of thing, when they get reports of a guy going around knocking on doors randomly.
Hey bxgrl. On the one hand I wonder how anyone would fall for this foreclosure routine but on the other hand realize that people are conned all the time. I suppose if this guy tries the scam with a few hundred people and even one person bites, that’s considered a success. And it’s even more deplorable when people try it on the elderly who seem to be particularly vulnerable to these schemes.
My reply would be F-U. People have to live somewhere. Sellers should NOT buckle to this crap and give their homes away. A united front, people.
Yes, that’s excellent advice. “Foreclosure, before I sell for a penny less than I’m asking for and of course am entitled to”.
It seems that someone came up with the bargaining technique of sounding as tough and obnoxious as you can to intimidate the other person. that buyer’s letter simply tells the homeowner he has something they want badly enough to write them about, but not enough to respect their intelligence. I rent from very close friends. I have a wonderful space and I love it. One day someone came to the door and thinking i was the owner proceeded to tell me I had to sell to him because he “knew” my house would be foreclosed for taxes. And since I knew for a fact it was totally untrue, I had a few choice words to share with him and mentioned where I would be installing his business card should he not leave.
Had he not tried the scare you/intimidate you technique I would have given them the card- not that they were interested in selling, but at least the guy would have been a professional. same thing with those letters- if you’re going to do business with someone, act like a professional.Honey-flies-vinegar…it works.
I’d post the letter on a local real estate blog complete with name and contact information. The hyenas on say Curbed or Brownstoner would shame them relentlessly until they slunk away to Lodi.
My reply would be F-U. People have to live somewhere. Sellers should NOT buckle to this crap and give their homes away. A united front, people.