What to offer on a house?

 After spending the better part of a year shopping for a house in
Philadelphia, I think I finally found one. The owner is actually an
investor who renovated this property and then rented it out for a period
of time. The house is very clean, unoccupied, and has fairly new
appliances, central air and heating, and new, but plain carpeting. It is
a row house in a fairly poor, but up and coming area (I think). The
owner paid $138K for this property before he fixed it up. It has been on
the market for six months, starting at $169,000. The asking price now is
$159K. I am looking to buy this home for me to live in. It will be my
first home purchase. With the housing market vastly favoring buyers now,
I want to leverage my position as a buyer to get the lowest price
possible. I am thinking of offering $138K, which is what the investor
paid for it. I figure he will probably try to bid me up, but maybe not,
if he's in a hurry to part with this property. To the best of my
knowledge, no one else has expressed any interest in buying this
property. I have also been pre-approved for a mortgage by two different
lendors.

So my question is, should I try a lower offer, or stick with $138K as my
initial offer?

 
Start by determining for what comparable homes in that area are
actually selling. You can do your own preliminary research by visiting
web sites such as http://www.zillow.com , then stop by a few local
realtors to ask them. I would probably offer about 10% less than the
comps sold for and dicker from there. If you're not familiar with what
to look for, it may be wise to spend the money for a professional home
inspection before you make your offer; the house may appear to be very
clean on the surface, but sometimes there are very costly repairs
needed that aren't easily seen. Local realtors should have
recommendations for good home inspectors.

Good luck with your first home purchase.

 
I forgot to add that a $300-400 appraisal may also be money well
spent.

 In article


That's the problem. Nothing is selling right now in that area due to the
lousy housing market for existing homes. I think most people who might
be inclined to move are staying put because they know they can't bargain
from a strong position now. There are only three houses available for
sale in the neighborhood where I am looking. One house has structural
problems. The other one has a tenant who's lease is good until the end
of May and who could conceivably ask to stay there another year. The
other house is the one I am interested in. It has been like this in this
neighborhood for at least the past year, which is why it is taking me so
long to find a house there that I want to buy.

 Shawn Hirn wrote:


What is it assessed for?  What does a real estate agent recommend?