Playing Lowball

Using a lowball strategy, Eric Rogers and his wife, Yazmin, were able to find a bargain on a home in the District this year. The couple had their sights on a three-bedroom house in the Hillcrest neighborhood for several months. Even as the price dropped from $499,000 to $449,000, the couple decided to wait for another cut. Then they learned that they might have competition.

"We were going to wait a week or so and let them stew a little bit, but then had to go [forward] because there was another offer," said Eric Rogers, a government manager.

They submitted an offer of $412,000 and asked the seller to pay an additional $15,000 to cover the closing costs of their mortgage and to make some minor repairs. "I am still kicking myself. Maybe we could have gotten it for $25,000 cheaper," Rogers said, though he noted that the home is valued by the tax assessor at more than $600,000.

As a seller, dealing with lowball offers can be difficult. Negotiation experts say sellers should embrace such bids, adopting the mind-set that every offer, no matter how absurd, deserves a counteroffer. The gamble for sellers who automatically rebuff lowballers is that the next offer could be a long time coming.

The seller should submit a counteroffer but doesn't need to rush unless there is a deadline and shouldn't be too eager. If the seller appears too willing to drop the price, that can signal weakness, Babcock said. "You do not want to signal that you're anxious or desperate. It can weaken your negotiating power," she said.

Showing strength in a buyer's market can be difficult, though. Some agents advertise properties as having a "motivated seller," Briggs said.

"I would recommend that you never let anyone put up an ad like that if you're the seller," he said.

Page, 61, said she does not begrudge bargain hunting, especially because she has done it herself. In 2001, she saw a two-bedroom, 1,800-square-foot condo listed by a developer at $899,000. She offered $660,000, more than 25 percent off the list price, which the developer accepted.

"I understand the thinking. That is why I don't get upset," Page said.

The lowball offers she has received included a bidder who requested a $1 million loan from Page to apply toward the purchase of her home in the gated Evans Farm community and others who refused to put anything in writing.

She has become frustrated and has decided to hold an auction June 5, with a minimum price of $1.5 million. She has hired Sam Solovey, an auctioneer who appeared in the first season of "The Apprentice." She hopes to get multiple offers.

"I would think that some people would be embarrassed by what they offer, but they're not," Page said. "They think they should get it for nothing."