Key Post: How to deal with an estate agent ?

Hi

Just wondering, what tips or suggestions you may have for dealing with an estate agent when after a house.

Here are a couple of my own thoughts, to get things started:

* If caught in a price war, make small increased offers when forced to up your bid. You don't have to increase by €5k each time !

* Make sure you can afford to cover the new offer, without having to give up 2 meals a day.

* Always take your time, before agreeing to increase the offer. Most vendors are anxious to close a deal within a certain time frame ... this can be to your advantage

* Don't tell the estate agent anything about your personal cirucmstaces (how much you have to spend, what you think of the house in detail etc etc) - they will most likely use this information against you, to get a higher price

* Remember, the estate agent is not loyal to you - they are engaged by the vendors & paid by commission on the sale price

* If you really feel the estate agent is misleading you, regarding a competiting bidder & continues to tell you the other party has increased their bid above yours ... insist on the estate agent holding a sealed envelope bid - gives each of you 1 chance, puts you out of a lot of missery & may quickly tell you if the estate agent is telling the truath.

* Don't be afraid to tell the estate agent your not increasing the offer, or set a deadline on your new offer - they are not the ones in charge of your life ... you are !

* Remember - there is always another house !

... now let's have some more please

Regards

G>

Be tough, be fair but stand your ground

I have purchased more than a few properties over the years through estste agents and I always operate the same way as follows :

1) When making the offer, I always tell the agent that I am making one offer, one offer only.
I follow this up immediately in writing (usually by fax)
I also put a time limit on the offer (2 to 3 days)

2) Make sure that your offer is reasonable.I don't play silly games. I study the market well in advance and bid accordingly.

Any attempt to raise the bid is met by a stubborn "no" and immediate reference to the conditions of my offer.

Be prepared to walk but to be honest this has worked over and over again.

The no-nonsense serious buyer approach seemms to go down well.

I always tell the estate agent that the money is ready
and I will close within 4 weeks.

Re: Be tough, be fair but stand your ground

* If caught in a price war, make small increased offers when forced to up your bid. You don't have to increase by €5k each time !

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An old hat gave me advice to the opposite. Something like this
Make your mind up what you can afford and what the house is worth. If someone bids more than your opening bid then go straight to your highest figure. This will scare off people who would be taken in by the adding a bit more every time. It may cost you a few extra bob in the end but you wont have the worry of 'have I, haven't I' over a week or two. Obviously the note above about a time limit applies here also.

Re: Be tough, be fair but stand your ground

Make sure that your offer is reasonable.I don't play silly games. I study the market well in advance and bid accordingly.

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I think this is very important. Judging from posts here on AAM, buyers seem to expect to want the option to put in low-ball bids, well below the price they expect to pay, but they take huge offence when the tables turn and the price goes up. You can't have it both ways.

auctioneers

No matter what bid you put the auctioneers will always come back and say that it is not enough. Greedy vendors want more and more for the little run down cottage. I do not where you got the figure that the buy put a low-ball bids well below the asking price this is not true it is nearly always above the asking price put is not enough for greedy seller and the auctioneer.

Re: >> How to deal with an estate agent ? (key).

I have just been in a price war on two different houses and lost.

The estate agents are deliberately giving a low guide price approx €40,000 low to get people to look at the house and get you interested. The only way to stop the leap frogging of prices is if we all put a time limit on the offer and then withdraw, who knows we could be bidding against a phantom bidder

Re: >> How to deal with an estate agent ? (key).

This has worked for me several times.
Decide what the house is worth.
Bid that amount and tell the estate agent that you will not bid any higher under any circumstances. Tell hinm its valid for only 1 day before you move to your second choice house.
Always have a second choice house standing by. This will enable you to be more objective on the price of your first choice and not get carried away.

Last year i bid €300K for a house with asking price of €295k which had been on the market for 6 months (needed a lot of work). Agent came back the next day and said that their had been an offer that day of €310 so i said i
dont care. Agent called back about a week later and said that the 'phantom bidder' had dropped out and i could have it for €300K.

So for pig iron i called to the house and told the person living there what the estate agent had done and offered them €295K. They said agent hadnt gone to them with my bid yet. They were very annoyed. Gor the house in the end for €295.

If everybody buying a house made one bid only there would be less of this rubbish for estate agents.