Raising offer or wait for counter offer?

You could also say "Well, since we didn't receive a counter off, we can not counter in return, but if you are saying the owner will take 1.7 we would agree to that."

It seems that your broker needs to talk to the other broker to find out where the seller stands - this is where the brokers add most value. One way the convo may go is "I can get my buyer to increase another 5-10k, will it get the deal done?". The seller's broker will tell him the bottom line. If the seller is smart, they would not give an answer and make you anxious. They may even say that they have an offer just above $1.7mm but like you better if you can come up to $1.7mm. You will not know what the truth is.

Sounds like you should raise to 1.68m and say it's your final offer. The best deal is the one that makes the seller think real hard.

Do you want the official counteroffer sent to you by Certified mail?

What does your broker say? Seems like a better person to be asking then a message board!! If you don't have a broker, it might be time to get one...

I'm available :) Danielle.Nazinitsky@corcoran.com.

Nothing wrong with waiting, IF you are willing to walk away. You could, if you are so inclined, have your broker communicate to the sell-side an expiration on your offer (say, May 20 at noon, or some such), which would make it harder for sellers to use your offer as a negotiation tool with other prospective purchasers.

Personally, I would never bid against myself, which is what you'd be doing if you up your offer sans a counter. That said, if you truly want THIS apartment at whatever cost, then do whatever it takes to get the deal done.

PS--if you don't already have a buy-side broker, I'd recommend resisting come-ons (as from the likes the previous poster) to take one on at this time. You can negotiate this yourself, and bringing on a buy-side broker at this late date may muddy the waters on your negotiations.

@Hejduk17 - You definitely want to avoid improving against yourself. As @bramster mentioned, this is basically bidding against yourself. It never makes sense to do this, especially in this case where the listing has spent 6+ months on the market and the seller is probably getting desperate this point. If you don't receive a formal counter offer, I would either walk away or lower your offer.

It probably makes sense for you to hire a buyer's agent, especially considering that their advice is free and you can also save a fair bit of money by requesting a buyer agent commission rebate.

https://born2invest.com/articles/three-ways-avoid-paying-nyc-mansion-tax/

It is too late to get an agent if Hejduk did not put in the initial offer via an agent. There is no way the selling agent is splitting commission with an agent once he/she has direct communication and a bid from the buyer.

300_mercer - I don't think that's true. A buyer can bring in an agent at any point of a deal. If they're (the buyer's agent) REBNY the seller's agent has to split 50/50. If they're not they can give nothing or whatever they feel is fair.

That is not my understanding but the brokers on this page know better.

I disagree, if there's no accepted offer you can always walk away and even tell them in writing that you rescind your offer since there seems to be nothing to do. Then you are more than welcome to bring on a veteran buyer's agent who can negotiate for you. That happens all the time.

It's only if you've already submitted an offer that's been accepted - that's when it becomes hard to then say you have a buyer's broker. Even with REBNY rules there'd be a strong case that the buyer's agent was not the "procuring cause" of the sale ..

Tony, what's this https://born2invest.com/articles/three-ways-avoid-paying-nyc-mansion-tax/ ? To my knowledge no way you can avoid the mansion tax if you're over $1mm, and I believe even if you're slightly under for new developments you're in trouble as the transfer taxes etc add to your basis

Not sure about rebates, but could be interesting to consider at this stage if you do decide to pull out. Maybe it can help "bridge the gap." Recommend Hauseit if you consider that route, they work with the best in the city.

As far as I know, at ANY point in the process a buyer can choose to be represented by their own broker. In fact, the Dept of State in NY frowns upon "Dual Agency" (i.e. where one broker represents both the Buyer and Seller) and actively encourages Buyers to get their own brokers.