wrote in message
...

I'm interested in buying a home in IL, first time home buyer.
There is a home came out as fair condition and is priced $195000.
My realtor said it is 'a bit under priced' didn't exactly mention how
much.

My realtor wants me to put as much earnest money as possible to get it
closed as quickly as possible.
He also believes that will help him for negotiation process.

In this market condition - I heard it is buyers market, what is the
reasonal amount for earnest money?
I was thinking that I can put $5000. Should I put more or less?
Also, my realtor is thinking about making initial offer for $180,000,
expecting to close the deal
around $190,000. My realtor explains that though it is buyers' market
and for some houses, those come out
as discounted as much as 20 - 30%, however that would be rare for the
housing market that I am interested in,
under $200,000. In usual situation, I would agree with my realter
100%, however, in this given market condition, I'm not so sure,
feeling that I could demand lower price; however, on the other hand I
wouldn't want to scare off sellers that I'm getting a bit tired of
home buying process.

well, this pretty much sums up my situation.
Do you think that I could demand lower than or around $180,000?

One time I went with a friend to look at land. We looked at a 100 acre
parcel that the owner wanted $200,000 for ,and according to the realtor,
would only come down slightly. As my friend wasn't particularly interested
in this parcel, he played both the realtor and the owner, like a deck of
cards, at the point that he walked away from the deal, she was down to
$50,000. A house is worth whatever someone is willing to pay. You need to be
your own advocate. You need to see what comparable houses in that area are
selling for, not what they're asking for them, but what they're actually
selling for. Rule number one. Your realtor works for the seller. Unless
you've hired a buyers realtor, the realtor works for the seller. In some
states, they actually have to have you sign a form, so you understand this.
Your realtor will say anything, do anything, hopefully within the law, to
make a sale. Get all your information independent of the realtor,and just
use them to get you into houses you want to look at