 Home Buyers
Tips Archive
More Than The Asking
Price
Dear Edith: After looking at a house a second time, I told
my agent I would like to make an offer on it the next day. That evening my agent said the
listing agent had told her that there was another "very good" offer being
prepared. My agent suggested I write a contract immediately before the other one could be
presented.
Instead of trying to offer the price and terms I wanted, I
was convinced that in order to have my offer accepted, I should offer $500 over the asking
price. This was accepted by the sellers.
What are the chances that either agent duped me? - E.K.N.
Slim.
It really is sometimes advisable to make an offer for more
than the asking price, particularly when property is newly listed at a no-nonsense figure.
Of course I can't know whether any particular person is
honest, but consider this: by the time the commission was divided among listing office,
listing agent, selling office and selling agent, "your" agent probably stood to
make about $7 if you paid $500 more. Hardly seems worth lying about.
Neither one was your agent, by the way, unless you had
specifically hired a buyer's broker. Both were working for the seller. Both agents had
special legal obligations to the seller, including obtaining the best price for the house.
They were also, however, required by law to deal honestly with buyers.
This Tip was excerpted from:
Dear Edith... On Real Estate, by Edith Lank, Longman Financial Services Publishing, 1990.
ISBN# 0-7931-0007-0.
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