<prompt> Human: Tiny backstory, Im 7 years older than my boyfriend have been married, owned a home, and divorced. I feel as if I understand what to look for in a new home, I have a good idea on property value comps in the neighborhood. His family has bought a total of 1 home in the time he has been alive, they had immense financial help from their mother to offer a substantial down payment. Therefore, they could negotiate more. They feel we should be offering at least 10 less than asking, feel I was immorally swayed by the real estate agent, for her percentage to be higher. We are putting no earnest money down, we are getting a federal grant for our down payment. No help from mommy or daddy here.That being said, here lies my problem:My boyfriend thinks I pushed him into making a home offer that is unfair is questioning the morals of our real estate agent. We offered 97 of asking price are asking for closing costs. The seller has only been in the home a couple of years, paid 102,500 for it, is asking 106,900. The home is in a great family area, has a new roof, new hot water heater furnace, a dry basement installed, updated plumbing wiring, 2 wood burning fireplaces, no foundational or structural damage. I know to look past the cosmetic side look for the stuff that costs a lot to fix. The comps in the area are actually selling for an average of 98 of asking. The price of this house is also less than the assessed value.My boyfriend thought we would ask 12 below asking to start negotiate from there. I reminded him, not only are we coming up with 0 of our own money, but we are also asking the seller to pay closing costs. We can not offer her less than she paid on the house! I feel the offer we made is fair, the seller will probably be enticed more to actually pay the closing costs if she at least breaks even on the property. Is the real estate agent really that hungry for chump change on this sale? Or are we going about this the right way? This should be a joyous event, my in-laws boyfriend think that I am a fool am being taken advantage of. This isnt my first house buying experience, I am insulted that they think they know better because they bought a house over 27 years ago. As a side note, my income is the only income in this deal as my boyfriend stays at home with the kids. His mom doesnt work, his dad has been working manual laborkitchen work all his life. So its not like he comes from a family of well informed accountants...Please if anyone has any advice, opinions, feedback... Im all ears. Im already stressed enough from being pregnant with my 3rd child, working in a retail management position full time. Assistant: Ok, this will seem more like relationship advice, but all the points Im making will have a major impact on your personal financial future: 1. Buying a home with a non-spouse is a horrible idea.2. Your boyfriend needs a job. Theres no excuse for him not to have a job. He can find part-time work if thats more tenable, but hes dead weight right now.3. You say youre coming up with 0 of your own money to purchase, are you not putting up a down payment? This is another horrible idea.4. Your real estate agent probably sees you as a paycheck. An agents primary responsibility is to the client, so anytime I hear about an agent rushing a sale or not negotiating makes me question their agency. 12 below asking is right around the national average. 5. This home sounds like an attempted flip. The reality is that flippers do shoddy work, and though you hear new, the fact is that maintenance is expensive. 6. Assessed values should be ignored. Replacement costs are the main factor in determining assessment. Comps are a better metric, but again, be careful that you dont rationalize comps that dont make sense. From the sound of it you two arent ready to buy a home. Human: I know its not a flip, because its a single mom who moved her boys there until high school was over so she can move to Florida after their graduation. Most of the updates were already made at the time she purchased. Shes only selling now, to move her graduated kids to Florida.  <response>: Why does it matter about the sellers situation? This is a common sales scam tactic to get you to agree to higher prices: tell them a sob story tell them how much you paid for it so they cant offer less 