Can I bypass the auctioneer and offer direct to vendor?

B

bill.murphy

Guest
Would it be possible / legal / smart to make an offer to the house owner instead, bypassing the EA?

This may sound like a very newbie question, but I didn't find any answer in this forum.

Any answer would be greatly appreciated,

Thanks
 
if you know the owner and have their details then go for it. They may tell you to go through the EA but you have nothing to lose
 
THanks mayoman2.

I thought to go to the owner after viewing the house, but I guess they have a point in the contract to not contact the potential buyer directly after the viewing?

Or, having a solicitor, would it be safe to do so or is it dangerous?
 
They may already have a contract with an EA in which case they would be entitled to pursue the % anyway??
 
I presume that you have already had contact with the estate agent, and that he or she arranged for you to view the property. If that is so, then attempting to deal directly with the owner is unethical, and if the estate agent is bypassed he or she would have a strong case for fees, a case that a court would almost certainly uphold.
 
Its not clear why you would feel a need to do this. The owner has decided to use
an EA to sell their house, so may not want to do any direct dealing and as has been
said will have to paythe EA anyway in these circumstances,
I have heard of people not trusting the EA and feeling that their offer is not being passed on to the owner. In this case, putting a letter in the door of the house is not a bad idea, but the owner might not be pleased, or just pass it on the the EA.

When I sold my house, if anyone tried to contact me directly, unless it was a complaint about the EA, I would think it cheeky. ( of course these days probably wouldn't want to annoy a potential buyer, even a cheeky one).
 
A friend of mine saw a house she really wanted that was for sale and just knocked on the door, told the couple how much she loved the place, made them an offer and they accepted. Presumably they both saved money by cutting out the middleman.

Obviously sellers will use EA's to try to gain access to more potential buyers but I don't see an EA as an absolute necessity if both parties are happy to deal direct. I am considing doing this at present, and would welcome other's views on it? If the sellers tell me to go through the EA, of course I will.
 
Padraigb said:
I presume that you have already had contact with the estate agent, and that he or she arranged for you to view the property. If that is so, then attempting to deal directly with the owner is unethical, and if the estate agent is bypassed he or she would have a strong case for fees, a case that a court would almost certainly uphold.
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Unethical - isnt that the middle name of most EA's anyway ;)
 
Vega said:
A friend of mine saw a house she really wanted that was for sale and just knocked on the door, told the couple how much she loved the place, made them an offer and they accepted. Presumably they both saved money by cutting out the middleman.

Obviously sellers will use EA's to try to gain access to more potential buyers but I don't see an EA as an absolute necessity if both parties are happy to deal direct. I am considing doing this at present, and would welcome other's views on it? If the sellers tell me to go through the EA, of course I will.
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But your friend wouldn't have known the house was for sale if it wasn't for the EA advertising it. The 'middleman' was already involved, and should have been paid. It would only have been fair if your friend loved a house and knocked on the door to ask would they be interested in selling.
 
Would it be possible / legal / smart to make an offer to the house owner instead, bypassing the EA?
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The seller has the contractual relationship with the EA and its none of the buyers business. Once the owner of the property is aware of all offers, the buyer has nothing to gain by bypassing the EA.

If, for whatever reason, you think your offer will not be passed by the EA to the owner, then the best thing to do is write a "to whom it concerns" letter to the buyer stating that you wish to make an offer of X amount on the property. Its up to them to instruct the EA that they wish to accept the offer.
 
I sold my house last year and I would not have liked it if someone had contacted me directly.

However I also bought a house this year and had looked at many many house before purchasing. In one instance we were told by the estate agent that he thought our offer was too low and he would not even put it to his clients. I don't know whether he did or not but that house is still for sale now. So maybe if you think the agent doing something like that maybe approach yourself. Otherwise I would say no. I found it quite stressful selling and would not have liked to have to deal with individual purchasers.
Also I believe even if it had occurred I would still have to pay the Agent so what would the seller gain?
 
I sold my house in 2007 and would have no problem with someone coming to me. EA are in my eyes part of the problem with the old boom!!

There are loads of houses out there and if a seller snubs a buyer coming directly to them - is a fool in this climate. You are leading the show now, you have the money, so let them dance to your tune - IMO
 
My uncle was selling a house before the boom. It was on the market with an EA who wasn't doing anything. So he got rid of the EA and put a for sale sign out the front. eventually he sold it, only for the EA to ring him up looking for commission. I forget how it worked out in the end but I don't think he paid them.
 
Unless the EA had introduced the buyer who ended up buying the house then the EA has no entitlement to a fee.
 
Untrue - it all depends on the nature of the contract between the parties (vendor & EA).
 
mayoman2 said:
I sold my house in 2007 and would have no problem with someone coming to me. EA are in my eyes part of the problem with the old boom!!

There are loads of houses out there and if a seller snubs a buyer coming directly to them - is a fool in this climate. You are leading the show now, you have the money, so let them dance to your tune - IMO
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So as a seller previously, were you happy to take a fair price and did you not want/hope for a bidding war to materialise? EA's were part of the problem as were buyers and sellers.
As for dancing to peoples tune, when buying or selling a house there is a bit more involved than simple economics which makes house purchasing slightly different. When people start visualing raising a family etc in their 'dream home' common sense sometimes leaves the room. The flip side is that when you are leaving a house that you have turned into a home over the years you are highly unlikely to feel the need to dance to someones tune because they have a perception of how the deal should work.
 
MrMan said:
So as a seller previously, were you happy to take a fair price and did you not want/hope for a bidding war to materialise? EA's were part of the problem as were buyers and sellers.
As for dancing to peoples tune, when buying or selling a house there is a bit more involved than simple economics which makes house purchasing slightly different. When people start visualing raising a family etc in their 'dream home' common sense sometimes leaves the room. The flip side is that when you are leaving a house that you have turned into a home over the years you are highly unlikely to feel the need to dance to someones tune because they have a perception of how the deal should work.
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To be honest its all about supply and demand now and if a buyer / seller starts all this visualising a family nonsense then someone is going to get stiffed. There are loads of houses out there for a single guy and loads for raising a family. If one thinks with your opinion then they will be looking at paying more or not selling respectively. There are loads of people loosing their jobs and loads of people with serious issues with mortgages that want to get the hell out. This is why I say let them dance to your tune because Johnny Cash will win and if you have it, you are laughing. In regards to orginal poster, I would love to be in your situation now because you hold the power, don't forget that!!!!
 
mayoman2 said:
To be honest its all about supply and demand now and if a buyer / seller starts all this visualising a family nonsense then someone is going to get stiffed. There are loads of houses out there for a single guy and loads for raising a family. If one thinks with your opinion then they will be looking at paying more or not selling respectively. There are loads of people loosing their jobs and loads of people with serious issues with mortgages that want to get the hell out. This is why I say let them dance to your tune because Johnny Cash will win and if you have it, you are laughing. In regards to orginal poster, I would love to be in your situation now because you hold the power, don't forget that!!!!
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do you really think people don't develop any emotional attachment when buying a house? Does dream house not suggest that people do look beyond the practicalities of living in a box.
There are loads of people in trouble financially and they do want to get the hell out of their problems, but unfortunately for the prospective buyer, if they are to get out of trouble they cant take massive losses on the price of their home, the mortgage still has to be paid.
 
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