Real estate agents will tell you that you’ll offend a seller with a low offer. It’s true. More importantly, low offers are embarrassing for them to present to a seller, and embarrassing for you to write. But then, I have a friend who recently embarrassed himself into a lakefront home for less than it is worth. Hmm… Would you like to buy a home AND immediately increase your net worth by several thousand dollars? Of course…
Low offers work, but how often? Rarely. Accept that if you want a bargain, you will lose a lot of potential homes, spend a lot of time making offers, and annoy real estate agents. Of course, unless you are under time constraints, or nurturing the fantasy that there is one “perfect” house for you, this isn’t so bad.

However, if none of your offers are even countered, you may really be wasting your time and trying to go too low. The home buying secret here is : low, but not too low.

Even if your real estate agent actually is your friend, she may not be looking out for your best interest. They can’t, if they are working for the seller, and unless your agent specifically is working as a buyer’s agent, he or she is likely legally obligated to work for the interest of the seller. What does this mean? Among other things, it means that anything relevant you say (”Oh, I might go ,000 higher.”) will be passed on to the seller. So if you say anything, the real estate agent will pass it along. Something you may think is irrelevant like “I have always wanted ‘xxx’ in my house, I see this has it”, may make your bargaining harder becuase they know you want it.

Even when the agent is working for you, be careful. People - even good agents - talk to other people. Don’t say anything extra that you don’t want known by all. Also keep in mind that an agent makes money only when there is a sale - and makes more on a larger sale, or one with a higher commission. This might mean less-than-perfect objectivity in helping you choose a home.