How low can you offer without INSULTING the seller?

gratefulforhelp_2

As a vendor I would never get insulted by an offer, just say no. What can get quite irritating is when the prospective purchaser starts 20k too low...then I say "wouldn't accept less than x" and the purchaser creeps up in 1k increments, getting nowhere near even half way to the price I would accept.

This is their entitlement of course, but I have also got to the point where I have told the agent I am not going to entertain any more offers from this person unless they come somewhere near what I WILL accept.

dander

When I sold, I had an offer that was way below the asking price and I was insulted (asking 160, offer of 130). What I found insulting was that the price was not the price itself, but that it was an offer way below the real value and the buyer just wanted to rip me off so they'd get a bargain. I found it an insult to my intelligence - however they weren't interested enough in the property to move up from that so it was fairly irrelevant how I felt, other than that I didn't accept (I sold to someone else for 155).

I think what makes a difference is what you want to acheive after you've made your "insulting" offer. If you desperately want the house, and you are prepared to creep up and up until you get somewhere they might accept, then it might be better to find a balance between what you'd pay in a dream world and what they are likely to accept for your first offer, rather than messing about and wasting time. Maybe talk to the agent without figures and say that you're interested but you think it's over-priced, see if you can get any hints of what the vendors really expect to get.

If, however, you're only interested if you can get it at the low price and you will walk away if they don't come down that far, then plunge in! Nothing ventured nothing won.