Inland Empire

[bobomonkey]

Hello,
I have found a home I've been really interested in and then for the first time I went and saw it.....OMG! It could be an amazing home, but it looks like those abandoned houses you see on the side of the road inside. The asking price is $99,000, but should be around $40,000 because of all the work it needs. How does one go about making an offer and not try and sound cheap? What is reasonable in this situation?

[Nanomug]

The amount of work does not always translate into a price reduction. Sometimes the house is priced under market due to the condition. The information you provided is not enough to go on.

What kind of sale? Standard? Short? REO? 

How long has it been on the market

Where is the house located? Good schools? Considered a good location.

What are the recent sales of similar sized homes nearby?

What are similar homes listed for nearby?

[bobomonkey]

It's a short sale, subject to lender. Its in a good area. Schools are really good. I've lived in the area 11 years and enjoy it. It's been on the market at least 6 months, but I believe a lot longer. Other homes near by are around $100,000 to $150,000

[Nanomug]

Short sales take a long time and can stay on the market for a year or longer.  The length of time on the market with short sales doesn't mean much.  Most of the shorts in the past that sell do so to the second or third buyer of record.  

The sellers of a short sale will accept an offer contingent upon the lender agreement.  The lender will order an BPO to determine price.  The question about the property is how many times it went pending.   The lender may have turned down other sellers due to price.

What does your agent think a fair offer is?  Your agent can talk to the sellers agent and determine what the other offers were and what they offered.