-Israel Barden
I have always been told that the key to success is practice. If you are planning on buying a property in Big Bear, you need to practice saying " Yes, I realize I may need to pay 10% over list price." Believe it or not, if you are planning on purchasing a well priced bank owned property, that is most likely what you will have to be prepared to do. With low prices and low interest rates, qualified buyers are coming out of the woodwork. In large numbers.
Every single home, that was a good buy, that I have written up in the last six months has had multiple offers on it. Every single one. Even traditional listings that are priced well are getting swarms of activity. The only way to combat this is too be bold. This is no place for timid buyers who want to " see what happens." There is no reason to make a low offer and see, because I can tell you exactly what will happen. You will waste a great deal of your time and end up on the losing end.
On Thursday a really good deal popped up on Hillendale in Big Bear City. I had clients that the house would be perfect for. I went out and took numerous photos for them and made sure the house was as good a deal as it looked. It was better than it looked. My clients drove up early Saturday morning and loved the place. When we got back to the office I called the listing agent. The home already had three offers, one of which was the listing agent's, and she was expecting more. The house was listed at $204,900 and probably worth around $235,000 or so. We discussed the situation and I told my clients if they were not prepared to go to at least $220,000, not to waste their time. Due to the fact that two other Realtors showed up to show the house while we were there, they had little difficulty believing me. They decided to pass and write up a traditional listing we found in Sugarloaf that was priced at only $149,900. Guess what? The next day the listing agent emailed me to inform me that another offer was on the way in. Arrrgh.
The days of low balling bank owned homes is over. The good ones anyway. I am sure if you find a tear down or a home in a very bad location, you could still negotiate a good percentage off the price. On anything halfway decent, you are in for a fight. The one thing in your favor is most people are willing to step over a dollar to save a dime. However, there always seems to be at least one dog in the fight who is willing to do what it takes to win the battle. You have to be prepared to be bold and make your move at the right time to beat them out. If you know there are other offers, make your first offer full price with no fat. That way they will feel compelled to, at least, give you the option of going higher. If you come in too low, chances are they will counter the best offer and not even respond to you. When you get a best and final counter, give your real best and final. Don't play games like you are negotiating for a persian rug in Morocco. Go in strong and leave them no choice but to accept your offer. If you make a commitment to being aggressive and follow through on it, you have a great chance of being successful in purchasing a great home you really want.
