Information on how to buy a house in Central Ohio and Columbus, Ohio.

When you have found a house, you need to think about the offer:

• Ignore the asking price, at least for now. Since most Sellers will price their house according to the market, the asking price is a good gauge of relative value. But when you are going to determine the actual offer, don't focus on how much lower your offer is than the asking price.
• Determine the fair market price. Review the comparable sales for the area. Look at the current supply of homes. How does this house compare? These factors will lead you to decide on what you believe to be the fair market price.
• Decide on your price range. Think about what you would like to pay and what would be the most you would pay. Your motivation will determine if this is the same as the fair market value, or a lower or higher amount.
• Agree on a strategy. Compare the value you determined with the asking price. If the home is priced well, it may be very close or at the fair market value. If the market is strong, you may not get much off the asking price. Don't focus on how much off the asking price but how much lower than the fair market value you can get. There are many strategies to take. Some people like to start low and go back and forth. Some want to get it over with very quickly. Have your Exclusive Buyer's Agent review different approaches and determine which one works best for you. Remember, if you choose to play the game, you must be willing to lose the game. If you want to take a long time to negotiate and whittle the Seller down, you may open yourself up for other people to make offers and buy the house out from under you.
• Determine the Seller's weakness, if any. The key to getting a bargain is finding out what is most important to the Seller. See if there is a weakness; then take advantage of it. If they have to sell and move quickly, then a quick closing may allow you to get a better price. For some Sellers, at a certain point, other issues become more important than price.
• Beware of low-ball offers. A low-ball offer is not judged by how much under the asking price but how much under the fair market value it is. If you think the home is worth $100,000 and they are asking $125,000, then an offer of a $100,000 is valid. But if they were asking $102,000, an offer of $80,000 would be a low-ball offer. You probably should offer closer to the fair market value, leaving room for negotiating to the $100,000 or lower. The final price can also be affected by how long the property has been on the market and whether other deals have fallen through. Low-ball offers not only take the pressure off of the Seller, but they do not cultivate a healthy environment to negotiate. You most likely will have to make another offer, and then you are negotiating with yourself. Find the price that will keep the pressure on the Seller and most of the time you will ultimately get a better price.