Buying a property listed in a range ($x-$y)

Hi

I'm relatively new to the RE investing game, was hoping to get some advice on properties listed in a range. I'm in the process of buying a property I saw listed in a range (let's say 180-190k for example's sake). When inspecting the property the agent said he reckoned 185k could get it done. I wanted the property and probably would have paid $190k for it so I offered $185k which was accepted.

My question is did I leave money on the table? If a range is explicitly mentioning $180k does that mean the seller would take it? (or maybe that it's close enough to spark negotiation).

I won't lose too much sleep over it, but just wondering for future how people approach these situations.

 

300-330k for instance.

My guess is Vendor wants 315-330k, but wants people that want to spend 300k to walk through and fall in love etc.

 

We just sold with a range. Got lowball offers below the range and ended up accepting an offer above the range.

 

Ranges often indicate what a buyer would like to get but often they are willing to accept below the range. Depends on a few factors. The market. How desperate the seller is. And the amount of interest they receive.

I usually offer 5 to 10% below asking price. But everyone's reason for buying and strategy is different. I've never paid asking price and always under by a small to significant amount.

You likely left money on the table but you don't know how the seller would react to a lower offer. So you'd have to risk losing the place in order to find out. When I put an offer on a place I'm always more than happy to lose it. I play the numbers. If 1 offer in 10 is accepted then mission accomplished.

 

Honestly, sometimes the range is too low, and sometimes the range is too high. You just need to know the area really well to know which one is which.
Cheers,
John

 

^^ What John said. If you know your values properly then you will know whether the range is too low, too high or bang on the money. Advertised prices are meaningless, what matters is whether the purchase made long term sense for you and then what represents good value to you. If you know every comparable sale in the area and the situations for each sale (divorce, deceased estate, moving town, internal family sale etc) then you will see past the marketing campaign entirely and know what fair market value is. "Feeling" like you left money on the table is a vanity metric at the end of the day. In 20 yrs a $5k difference on the property purchase won't be a big deal but buying the wrong one or right one will.