First purchase

[Andre Lewis]

Hi, Im hoping to receive any help possible in regards to purchasing this house that I have been renting for a year now. Its in a great neighborhood and is a 4bd 2bth that was built in 2008. It is 1932sqft on .26 acres of land. The question is if what they are offering is a good deal or not? They want $193,000 but they paid only $191,000 when they purchased this property in 2013. Furthermore the house is only est at $181,853. So to me it seems like they are trying to get one over on me. Again any advice is welcome. Thank you!

[John Gamboa]

@Andre Lewis, I agree with @Patrick Ketchum and @Richard Hoppe. It looks like you're dealing with the sellers directly. Or is it listed with a Realtor? If you can deal direct you may be able to buy creatively. I don't know what your closing costs would be where you are. Those have to be considered if you go with seller financing. Are you looking to buy it to live in or as an investment? That makes a difference.

You can use Zillow's recent sales nearby for comps. Don't use the zestimate. Use actual recently SOLD houses similar in size, age, configuration, in the same neighborhood with no major dividing lines in between your house and the comparables - highway, main road, stream, etc.

I spent about 5 minutes on Zillow and searched the last 6 months for sales in Cabot which I assume the house in question is. If not, this may help you find out the comps on your own. There aren't that many recent comps, but I found 2 that may give us an idea. 1123 Hampton Place was built in 2008, but is a 3/2 sold for $91 per square foot. That puts yours at about $175k. 18 Willow Cv sold for the same $91 per sq ft more recently and it's a 4/2 but built in 2004 (older) and a little smaller. If these are near your house then I would use $91 per sq ft, and you're still at $175k. If they want 193k, I'm out. No deal, no way. 

If they are willing to come down lower on the price, closer to what I think the market price is, then it's up to you but buying it as your home vs buying it as an investment are two different things. One is determined by emotion, the other by math.