when people dont know their homes worth

Question

when people call me and ask me to make an offer i ask what they think their house is worth and that i do not make blind offers.  i tell them that i will do my research and in the mean time ask them to find out what their house is worth.

when i call them back they say they still dont know but they want an offer.  do i make an offer? should i tell them to do their own research? what do i do

John Thedford · Answer

You can give them two figures: retail market as supported by comps and what you would pay as an investor. I routinely tell people the two figures. Most never seem surprised or upset. I think they appreciate an honest and open dialogue. If they are motivated enough, they can take the discounted price. If not, they should at least appreciate your honesty. Being a RE investor doesn't mean you have to do anything dishonest--it just means you have to do things smart~!

Jack Rengold · Answer

i know but i try not to make the first offer. i dont see much point of making an offer if they dont know what their house is worth.  if they have enough sense to deny my offer they have enough sense to give me a ballpark of what they may want for their house

Rob Beland · Answer

It doesn't matter what a homeowner thinks their house is worth. It matters what similar houses are selling for. They may live in a house that their grandfather built 75 years ago and cut every board and found the wood in their field and blah blah blah...that really doesn't matter to a lot of buyers. You may find a buyer that appreciates the history of a property but it comes down to what you are willing to pay for the house.

They also may not want to tell you what they want for the house in case you are willing to pay more. It's like a game to them.

You aren't making a blind offer. You're making an offer based on what you feel the value of the house is.

Just do your due diligence and figure out what you have to buy the house for and make an offer. Look up the comps. Run the numbers. Do what you have to do and show them why you are offering what you are offering.