Offering 13% below asking on a serviced apartment in Jakarta — sensible or too aggressive?

[lina.snow]

13% below IDR 16,300,000,000 is where I am considering opening. The serviced apartment has been advertised for 24 days and needs updating, but I have little evidence of completed prices nearby.

I can provide proof of financing, a breakdown of the expected work and some flexibility on completion. I would also set a clear but reasonable deadline for the seller to respond. Would that make the figure look properly supported rather than opportunistic?

I do not want the discount badly enough to waive inspection or financing conditions. I would also keep appraisal protection in case the valuation falls short, rather than covering an unknown gap or putting the deposit at unnecessary risk.

 

[ada.moss]

Thirteen per cent below is not inherently insulting, but 24 days on the market alone does not give you much leverage. Present it as the price you can support, not a verdict on the apartment. Include the limited completed-comparable evidence, known updating costs, financing proof and a reasonable response deadline. I would retain inspection protection and avoid putting the deposit at risk before the relevant conditions are satisfied.

 

[ada.moss]

Also, what does “needs updating” cover, and have you separated apartment repairs from anything connected with the serviced operation? If you ask for 13% off because of the condition, then seek another large repair credit after inspection for the same visible items, the seller may see that as double counting.

 

[lina.snow]

That distinction is helpful. I do not yet have a properly itemised scope for the updating, so I’ll get that before attaching a number to it. I’ll also ask the agent what matters most to the seller—price, certainty or timing—and use the flexible completion date only if it is genuinely useful to them.

My current plan is to submit the 13% opening with financing proof, a clear but not artificial response deadline, and no dramatic language about the listing price. I would keep inspection and financing/appraisal protection rather than trying to make the offer look stronger by shifting all the risk to the deposit.

 

[round_workshop]

I’d be slightly more cautious about making the appraisal gap part of your opening argument when completed comparables are thin: you do not yet know that there will be a gap. Make the offer, explain the observable condition and your terms, then let the seller counter. Before paying a deposit, have the release and forfeiture wording checked for the Jakarta transaction rather than relying on assumptions about how contingencies operate.