Most real estate agents are hesitant to "tell" you how much to offer on a home.  The reason is we never really know the seller's bottom line and don't want to tell you to offer more than you wish at first.  You could get the house for less than we think, but won't if you don't ask.  Taking the heat from the seller or their agent is part of our job.  Keep in mind that a really low offer could well preclude the chance of receiving a reasonable counter-offer if the seller is insulted by your low-ball offer.  In such cases, the counter usually comes back at or above full price, if it comes at all.

Before writing the offer, obtain as much of the following informatin as possible:

1)   Determine the market condition.  Hot, cold, neutral?  Low on inventory, saturated? 

2)   What did the seller pay?  Although this is not relevent to the seller it does provide background informatin for you.  They won't sell low just because they bought low, and neither would you!

3)   Determine the seller's loan balance.  Again, not a factor to them in accepting your offer but it could be important to know if they are in a short-sale (upside-down) position.

4)   Check out the comparable sales (comps).  What have similar homes sold for recently?  This is the foundation for the seller's pricing decisions.  Your agent can provide data, especially important is the last 6 months'.

5)   List to sale ratios.  Are most of the sales at 95% of the list price?  See what the history has been.  An offer of 85% probably won't be received well.

6)   Square foot averages.  See #5.

7)   Have your agent check to see if the home was previously on the market and how long has it been on the market this time around.

Just a few hints...