Are sellers asking higher prices? (This will show that their confidence is increasing.)
Are homes selling quicker? (This shows an increase in demand.)
Based on these questions, the folks at Realtor.com rank the following 10 cities as most likely to be on the road to real estate recovery. You can click through on each town to see how it seems to be improving.
Informal poll: Who would like to get their next home for the lowest possible price?
What’s that? Everybody would? OK, that’s what we figured.
Sometimes this will mean making a lowball offer. Obviously the odds are never on the side of an offer that’s way below what a seller is asking, but that doesn’t mean there’s nothing you can do to improve your chances.
Here are 15 ways you can help your lowball offer on a home…
1. Make sure you know from the very beginning why the property is being sold and how motivated the seller is to make a deal.
2. Effectively explain why the price of the property you’re interested in should be lower. Make your case with hard facts. Include comparables and info on the amount of inventory nearby. But remember that the seller and their agent already have this info, so don’t just send a list. Instead, specifically show why what they’re selling is worth less than their asking price.
3. Include a letter of pre-approval with your offer, so the seller knows you’re set to make this deal if they go for it.
4. Include a good-sized deposit with your offer. This shows you’re not just lowballing because you can’t afford more. If you can, make it non-refundable and immediately available to the seller.
5. Don’t make an argument for your lowball offer based on how much you can afford. It doesn’t matter.
6. Don’t try to make your lowball offer look better by saying you’ll be paying with cash. That doesn’t matter either.
7. Be willing to compromise. Shorten inspection periods; waive as many contingencies as you can; close as soon as possible. Make it easy on the seller to say yes to you.
8. Always counter the seller’s counter. If they come back with another price after your lowball offer, then they’re interested. Play the game; don’t quit.
9. Let the price you’re willing to pay increase, but ask for concessions other than a lower price—closing costs, repair credits, furniture, appliances, etc. However, make sure this doesn’t seem like asking for favors. The seller doesn’t like the situation they’re in, obviously, and they certainly don’t feel like they owe you anything, so be careful asking for extras. Still, if you’re willing to pay more, they may be willing to give a little, too.
10. Check the title report to see how much is owed on the property. Your lowball offer is much less likely to be considered if the seller will have to bring cash to the closing table.
11. Be open to special requests from the seller (like maybe needing to rent the property back for awhile).
12. Do your best not to accidentally offend the seller when talking about why their property is worth less than they’re asking. The loss they’re taking is an injury—Don’t add insult to it.
13. Give the seller time. Sometimes it takes awhile for a seller to warm up to the idea of getting less than they had originally intended. After awhile, assuming the property is still available, resubmit your offer. (If you want to be a little less subtle, don’t replace the old date on your offer, just cross it out and write in the new date. Then the seller can see how long it’s been since you made an offer.)
14. Consider reaching out to the seller personally, rather than just through your realtor. When there is no person connected with a lowball offer, it’s much easier to say No and maybe even be offended. If you reach out the to seller, they may—no guarantees here, obviously—be more interested in making a deal with you.
15. Be ready to let this house go and try for another. Even if you present a lowball offer perfectly, it’s still an offer that a seller would rather not accept. So often they don’t.
No matter. There are other houses out there and other sellers. Stay in the game and give it another go.
In any real estate deal where you’re interested in buying, it’s important to gauge as quickly as possible how desperate the seller is to sell. Perhaps they’re not desperate at all. Or maybe they need to sell really bad.
It may seem a little mean, but it definitely works in your favor if they’re desperate. Here are 5 signs that a seller really needs to offload that property you’re interested in.
1. They’re selling their own home rather than using an agency.
Often this means they’ve tried an agency and it didn’t work or they can’t afford one. But regardless of why their house is for sale by owner, it generally means that they will be more willing to negotiate and be done with the deal.
2. They’ve bought another home already.
No one wants to pay the mortgage for two houses when they only want one. So if a seller has already bought their next home, they will be all the more willing to do what it takes to get rid of the one they’re leaving behind.
3. The property has been on the market a long time.
Whatever the reason is that a seller wants to sell their house, none of them want it to take a long time. Some can afford to keep waiting to sell at their asking price, but many either need or want to be out of their house bad enough to cut a deal with you.
4. They can’t make their payments.
Whether it’s because of increased taxes, or the loss of a job, or a divorce, if a seller is in a situation where they can’t pay their bills, they will be much more willing to do what it takes to remove the burden of a mortgage, taxes, and insurance.
5. The property is vacant.
An empty house costs its owner hundreds of dollars every month and benefits them nothing. If the home you want happens to be vacant, you are in a good position to negotiate with the seller.
Many of these signs will go together. And the more you find in one property owner, the more likely you’ve found a property owner who really needs to sell. So, as a buyer, keep your eye out, and be sure to negotiate the price of a house with a motivated seller.
(via San Diego Real Estate Company)
"Making the Deal," by 
(via 
