Haggling a price reduction on a block of land.

hannem · 14-01-2009, 03:42 PM

Hi all,
Have been looking for a block of land in our local area and paid a visit to the land office in an estate looking at sizes and prices.

One of the stage releases faces a parkland and is called the gold release. Prices are fairly high and about one half of this street has houses on it.

Just in the 10 mins or so chatting in the sales office the sales guy said he would knock off $8000 off the price, the land started at $208,000. Almost too easy and he did not need any prompting. Hmmm are they not moving them??

Just wondering how much this could be further knocked down??

Original price $208,000 10%=$28,000 5%=14,000.

Not sure how long these blocks have been sitting, will go and knock on one of the houses tonight on the way home, but obviously it takes around 6 months to build a house, so at least that time at minimum.

Probably one of those questions that does not have a real answer, more just looking to see what you think and have you purchased land recently and how did you go.

Can only see how I go.

Located on Melb Western suburbs if that helps

**Polyal** · 14-01-2009, 03:47 PM

Hmm id offer 195...he will say no then meet at 200. Done.

Sometimes its that easy, things are tough now blah blah blah. Depends on the person you are talking with aswell.

Pinkbits · 14-01-2009, 03:55 PM

If i were looking to purchase i would be thinking twice about living opposite a park.
The reason i say this, is that while neighbouring kids are young it is fine, but as they grow up they tend to hang around the park which in turn may become a pain in the future in regards to vandalism, drinking etc.
Have you considered/priced a block, say two or three streets away and compared prices?

Buddy 1 · 14-01-2009, 04:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Polyal

Hmm id offer 195...he will say no then meet at 200. Done.

Sometimes its that easy, things are tough now blah blah blah. Depends on the person you are talking with aswell.

Are you Serious?

He has already come down to 200 all by Himself, so Meeting at 200 would be of no extra benefit at all :yeees:

Surely you would offer 180 & maybe you could meet at 190

Sounds like a better deal to me.

vanman_75 · 14-01-2009, 04:23 PM

offer 150 leave him hanging and call him back in a couple weeks to see how hungry he is .hes got nothing till he sells em ,timing could be good too ,development is already done awaiting returns .

mr smith · 14-01-2009, 04:25 PM

Agents are real keen to move stock. Offer a real low figue and see, just call them and say 150K and be happy to walk. Or wait they will be only coming down over the next few months/years.

BlackLS · 14-01-2009, 04:32 PM

How desperate do you want it?

Offer 160, I think you'd get it for 175-180

**Polyal** · 14-01-2009, 04:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Buddy 1

Are you Serious?

He has already come down to 200 all by Himself, so Meeting at 200 would be of no extra benefit at all :yeees:

Surely you would offer 180 & maybe you could meet at 190

Sounds like a better deal to me.

Well since we have no idea of the size, actual location, terrain etc then who knows.

flappist · 14-01-2009, 04:49 PM

Remember you don't have to buy but he has to sell.

I once bought a house for 225 that was originally listed at 380.

The real estate agents and vendors are not you friends they are sharks and you are just a fish swimming by......

TURBOTAXI · 14-01-2009, 04:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hannem

Hi all,
Have been looking for a block of land in our local area and paid a visit to the land office in an estate looking at sizes and prices.

One of the stage releases faces a parkland and is called the gold release. Prices are fairly high and about one half of this street has houses on it.

Just in the 10 mins or so chatting in the sales office the sales guy said he would knock off $8000 off the price, the land started at $208,000. Almost too easy and he did not need any prompting. Hmmm are they not moving them??

Just wondering how much this could be further knocked down??

Original price $208,000 10%=$28,000 5%=14,000.

Not sure how long these blocks have been sitting, will go and knock on one of the houses tonight on the way home, but obviously it takes around 6 months to build a house, so at least that time at minimum.

Probably one of those questions that does not have a real answer, more just looking to see what you think and have you purchased land recently and how did you go.

Can only see how I go.

Located on Melb Western suburbs if that helps

Dont offer anything till you check your maths! 10% of 208K is not $28K its $20,800 its a bit of a psychological game so you dont want to loose by getting your maths wrong and ending up on the back foot.

Offer low as you cant go back down once they accept.

Dont go too low as you may insult them and queer the deal.

Try to find out all you can about the vendor and reasons for sale - it will help to guide your offers and tactics.

Better yet - buy one of the many excellent books about real estate and have a read - the more the better.

dave289 · 14-01-2009, 04:51 PM

you need to come in low, like 150k, the worst that can happen is he can say no.you never know they may have trouble selling these lots and they may want a quick sale to get things rolling.you need to value the land ,which you can do yourself as you live in and know the area.you need to see what a similiar size block with a house on it sold for.you then ask yourself how much would it cost to build that house on.minus this price from the total and you will get a fair estimate on the land value.once you think you know what they are really worth, you are in more of a position to haggle the with the price.decide for yourself what you think it is worth and then take off 10%,never come over this ,if they are not selling fast enough they will eventually give in to you.this way you get yourself a good deal ,remember you are the man with the money ,so you have the power ,not them ,dont forget that,be prepared to get yourself a bargain otherwise just walk away,there is always a bargian out there you just have to look for it.hope this is of some help and good luck.

capriv8 · 14-01-2009, 05:20 PM

I agree with pinkbits do not buy opposite a park or open space or a laneway/walkway beside your house. Im in the glass repair business and these types of houses are easy targets and its not if you will get broken into, its when.
I personally would offer ten percent lower but also do some reasearch as others have said times have changed and the buyer has all the control.

Buddy 1 · 14-01-2009, 08:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Polyal

Well since we have no idea of the size, actual location, terrain etc then who knows.

Well if you Actually read the Original post properly you would have Noticed
that it was 208 & the sales Guy took it to 200 easy so Regardless of what you have said above why would you meet at 200 as you Suggested when the Price is Already 200

As for how low he would go well yes who Knows however Common Sense would Suggest if he was so fast to lower the Price to 200 then is more room to Move & to offer 195 & meet at 200 Makes no Sense to be Honest.

And why I would not offer below 180 is Because it starts to look like you are Playing the Sales Guy for a Fool offering say 160, would be the same as offering 30k for a New FG GT.

Though in Todays Economic Climate Maybe a Lower offer would be Accepted as Fair Dinkum?

Smoke Pursuit · 14-01-2009, 08:28 PM

cheap land compared to brisbane... We pay 350 here for 600 sqm...

Id offer 190... an offer of 150 is going to be laughed at.

Buddy 1 · 14-01-2009, 08:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bfiipursuit

cheap land compared to brisbane... We pay 350 here for 600 sqm...

Id offer 190... an offer of 150 is going to be laughed at.

Yeah more like 600 for 600 sqm if you are Looking at Manly facing the Water :P

Smoke Pursuit · 14-01-2009, 08:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Buddy 1

Yeah more like 600 for 600 sqm if you are Looking at Manly facing the Water :P

Dont even go there :P

My next purchase will be small, probably 90 sqm 20 stories high at felix street, then i can smell that fresh air every morning

:

hannem · 14-01-2009, 11:44 PM

Original price $208,000 10%=$28,000 5%=14,000.

Frig, that is so embarrassing. Oops on my part, thanks for the pickup. Busy tapping away in a bit of spare time at work.

Hmm id offer 195...he will say no then meet at 200. Done

Not having a go at you, just to clarify, original price was 208k after 5 mins and no prompting he dropped it to 200k.

If i were looking to purchase i would be thinking twice about living opposite a park.
The reason i say this, is that while neighbouring kids are young it is fine, but as they grow up they tend to hang around the park which in turn may become a pain in the future in regards to vandalism, drinking etc.

Sorry to all, I could have made this part a bit clearer, the street is/will be housed on one side and faces a bit of parkland with a couple of ponds/wetland areas with walking tracks. The nearest houses would be on the other side of those ponds and would probably be 100 meters away (about). So no proper neighbours directly opposite, as in a normal street.
Not the type of environment that you expect older kids to lurk around, but I do know what you mean though. No lane ways in the area.

cheap land compared to brisbane... We pay 350 here for 600 sqm

Looking at 612m2 and am looking at downsizing from 1386m2, basically half the size but will do a double story. Single currently.

Went and had a chat tonight to one of the home owners in this street and he indicated that the land owners, The Dennis family group, were not going to give them away and would be happy to say to people to "essentially get stuffed" and just let them sit. Sounds a bit harsh.

Please be mindful that is just a bunch of words from someone who happens to live in the street. True/untrue who knows.

I have had success in the past with just being flat out honest and saying to people basically "that's a crapload of money and I would have thought more like blah blah dollars" it has worked surprising well, in my opinion anyway.

Sort of thinking that I don't want to go with a too low offer and pretty much be insulting, but thats just me.

Please keep your comments coming, both good and bad as your responses have been great.

Cheers

balthazarr · 15-01-2009, 08:47 AM

Personally, I'd be checking the sales history of the surrounding blocks - it's what valuers do when they're preparing a valuation. This will give you an excellent basis for comparison.

However, the timing of the sales is also important - if they were sold, say, a year ago - you would expect the price to be higher (the market was better), and can thus offer lower. Other factors such as the size of the blocks, location, terrain, etc. all play a part so it's not a 1:1 comparison.

Stefan · 15-01-2009, 09:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Polyal

Hmm id offer 195...he will say no then meet at 200. Done.

Sometimes its that easy, things are tough now blah blah blah. Depends on the person you are talking with aswell.

HAHA the OP already said the seller has already gone to from 208K to 200K. Now you go in hard and offer $195K then meet halfway at $200K

:

I bet tthe sales agent is glad not everyone is as tough as you on doing deals.

dave289 · 15-01-2009, 09:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bfiipursuit

cheap land compared to brisbane... We pay 350 here for 600 sqm...

Id offer 190... an offer of 150 is going to be laughed at.

you dont even know what its worth and yet you want to offer 190 after he already came down to 200 without even asking, some people have no idea how to grab a good deal. I would rather be laughed at at 150 than ripped off at 190, real good advice mate.you can always come up from 150,you cant go down from 190.some real estates start off with very high prices and just hope they get a few unsuspecting, unknowledgable and uninformed buyers(check mirror), I know I used to work in real estate .

OLDFORDNUT · 15-01-2009, 11:55 AM

the person who lives there would of been one of the bunnies who paid full price , so was not going to appreciate your comments about buying cheaper.would have been a tad upset,i'll bet

Sam_Boss260 · 15-01-2009, 01:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bfiipursuit

Dont even go there :P

My next purchase will be small, probably 90 sqm 20 stories high at felix street, then i can smell that fresh air every morning

:

at least you'll get good coffee downstairs !!!!

XR06T · 15-01-2009, 02:14 PM

is there room to move if the block of land is a new release of an estate?

like its being sold by the developers?

cheers

gtfpv · 15-01-2009, 02:45 PM

differant horses for differant courses . the house i'm living in , we built. people were camping in tents for 3 days before the sale . i lost 3 blocks simply by not getting there quick enough . then one came back on the market due to a house and land package not selling by a builder . luckily i was 1st on the waiting list if any came back on the market . and waallaaah here i am .
i tried to knock $1000 off the price , with a stern no. then $500 with a stern go away. then i paid full price there and then .
no harm in trying though . but it depends on price ,location .land release or private,or government land etc etc etc etc . and the sellers situation.

hannem · 15-01-2009, 03:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OLDFORDNUT

the person who lives there would of been one of the bunnies who paid full price , so was not going to appreciate your comments about buying cheaper.would have been a tad upset,i'll bet

No, didn't seem to come off that way at all.

The house they had previously sold still holds the record for a sale price in this estate. They had a period style home amongst a lot of new looking homes and some lady paid a premium on the house as she simply wanted it, so they were/still are very happy.

They were open about how much they paid for the block they are on.

stera · 15-01-2009, 09:45 PM

Ensure you speak with Council's to get an idea of regulations of property approval.

Sometimes you can get stuck forking out for a new 'iniative'!! Green is hot at the moment!!

Also, encumbrances (requirements of area - ie - certain kind of fence, only 2 storey homes, must build within 1 year of purchase) and easements (small area you cant build and is 'technically' owned by SA Water or ETSA, etc.) can be a hassle - Especially near parks and water.

Remember there should be a cooling off period of THREE clear working days!

Relax and have some fun! There hasnt been a better time to buy! Speaking of which - So your sums slowly and with a bank, or similar as the first home owners grant (in SA anyway) isnt payable on LAND - You get it included when you commence construction!!

Bills (rates) tend to be more expensive on vacent land also!

Has that scared you? You cant lose! In a few years it would have doubled in price! Be smart...