How do I know if an estate agent is bluffing?

B

bearaman

Registered User
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Hi All,
Interesting in a house but haven't put any offer down yet. Before viewing, agent said there were no offers down on it but now he said there is one and they're very keen to buy.
How do I know if it's a bluff?
Do I put in a lower bid, thinking that there is no other bidder?
Do I increase the bid he says the other party have?
Thanks,
B.
 
welcome to the world of private treaty sales, everyone has this fear, i have previously suggested that buyers ask the auctioneer for the vendors solicitor to confirm bids, some solicitors will do it especially in this market. they can do it by asking the existing bidder to put it in writing to the vendors solicitors. sounds confusing but it can work especially if the vendor is keen to get a higher bid
 
Ask yourself these questions:

Do I like this house?
Do I want to buy this house?
How much am I willing to pay for it?
Am I willing to walk away from this house?
Then offer what you like and let it be known that, while you may, just may, be interested in going up ever so slightly, that, in reality, there are lots of other houses around and your offer is only on the table for a limited time. If there is no other bidder, then they will not want you to disappear. If you are told there is another bidder, then you have to use your own judgment as to whether that is a phantom bidder or not. If you think its phantom, put a deadline on your offer. if you think its a real person, decide how much you are willing to pay and then bid up to it.

No-one will force you to buy the house. There is no conspiracy. Vendors and purchasers alike just want to achieve a best price scenario. That is called a contract.

mf
 
Ask him if he's a member of of the IAVI. If he's not then he's bluffing, if he is then he's definately bluffing.

It's their job simple as that.
 
thomasmc01 said:
welcome to the world of private treaty sales, everyone has this fear, i have previously suggested that buyers ask the auctioneer for the vendors solicitor to confirm bids, some solicitors will do it especially in this market. they can do it by asking the existing bidder to put it in writing to the vendors solicitors. sounds confusing but it can work especially if the vendor is keen to get a higher bid
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This cannot work. Any bid would be made subject to contract/ contract denied - for very good reason. There cannot be a binding contract in place until full evidence of title is on offer, investigated and accepted.

Any bids therefore will have no legal standing and , I assume, would be easy enough for the vendor to "rig" with a couple of mates.

And could people please remember that behind every EA is a Vendor - I deal with EA's all the time and I just do not have the same negative attitude to them as I see on this board. They are doing a job and , for both vendor and purchaser it can be a very stressful time.

mf
 
It's a buyer's market now.
Who cares if the estate agent is bluffing? - there isn't exactly a shortage of houses for sale at the moment.
 
Would you think about having a friend 'phone the EA to enquire about properties for sale in the general area and they should get a synopsis of the sale status on it. They will be told if there is interest or an actual bid.
 
reply to mf1
agee with you, there is no legal standing but the solicitor wont do it unless they are fairly sure, its just a way for an estate agent to prove (to some degree) there is a bid and thus helps those unsure...there is no real definite way
 
bearaman said:
Hi All,
Interesting in a house but haven't put any offer down yet. Before viewing, agent said there were no offers down on it but now he said there is one and they're very keen to buy.
How do I know if it's a bluff?
Do I put in a lower bid, thinking that there is no other bidder?
Do I increase the bid he says the other party have?
Thanks,
B.
Click to expand...


Just to summarise what I think you are say: You enquired about a house and at that time there were no offers, since then you have seen it and now there is an offer. Do you think that you are the only interested party? I presume there is something good about the house if you are interested so the possibility is surely there that there are other like minded people. If you are truly concerned that you are being taken for a ride then either move on or simply put in the offer you were initially going to bid.
 
Thanks for all the advice. I'll get a friend to check and then just put in my original bid, we'll see then what happens. Thanks again for your time.
B.
 
What's also important is the status of the other bidder - are they in a chain, are they ready to go. Ask the estate agent. Are you in a chain or ready to go? This affects your bargaining power hugely. A relative's house is on the market since Jan 08. They are currently on their third Sale Agreed, as one buyer was bluffing about having sold their own house, and next buyer's own sale fell through. So an EA will always prefer someone who's ready to proceed with the sale rather than someone who's waiting for someone to sign contracts on their own house.
 
i bought my house a year ago , i offered estate agent x amount below listing price , she came back 3 times saying the owner wouldnt sell

with that a neighbour i know told the owner i made 3 offers and she came to meet me personally and said the estate agent never called her at all

and i end up getting it 20k cheaper

go to the owner urself and offer a price without estate agent and negotiate a good price
 
3rdLevel said:
i bought my house a year ago , i offered estate agent x amount below listing price , she came back 3 times saying the owner wouldnt sell

with that a neighbour i know told the owner i made 3 offers and she came to meet me personally and said the estate agent never called her at all

and i end up getting it 20k cheaper

go to the owner urself and offer a price without estate agent and negotiate a good price
Click to expand...

That story makes absolutely no sense so presuming truth I would say its the exception rather than the rule.
 
MrMan said:
That story makes absolutely no sense so presuming truth I would say its the exception rather than the rule.
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Agree that it doesn't seem to make sense as the objective of an EA is to secure a sale.
With a 1% commission, a €20K below asking price offer would result in a €200 reduction in EA's fee if accepted.
Logic would seem to dictate that the EA would not dismiss the offer due to this modest reduction in fee chargeable.

However, could it be the case that in areas where several EA's are competing for business that it is in all their interests to keep prices high?
Each EA would not wish to be seen as the one who achieves the lowest prices for fear of losing future business.
 
JMR said:
However, could it be the case that in areas where several EA's are competing for business that it is in all their interests to keep prices high?
Each EA would not wish to be seen as the one who achieves the lowest prices for fear of losing future business.
Click to expand...
Likewise, they wouldn't wish to be seen as the one who fails to close the sale because the prices are too high.
 
that experience happened to me I am afraid.I put in a good offer on a house in the uk a few years ago, when I was viewing the house the vendors made it very clear to me they were very interested in what I had to offer as I was a FTB funds in place and ready to go. They really needed to sell and they said to me there was a couple interested, however the other couple was in a chain and they were far more interested in my bid.
I (doing things by the book) left their house had a good think about it and put in an offer via the agent, the EA told me another "single" person was interested and had put in higher offer to mine, I went higher and this went on for 3 bids.In the end I pulled out as it was getting stupid and I was beginning to think this other person didnt exist, if he had said it was a couple I would have been none the wiser as I would have assumed it was the couple the vendors had told me about.
I wrote the vendors a note telling them that I had placed a number of offers, but unfortunately had to pull out due to the price going to high and what a shame it was as I loved the house , money ready etc etc... put my mobile on it.I slipped it through there front door. (naughty I know)
They called me the next day and said they had never knew I had offered and they had been disappointed as they had been sure I would offer. the vendor went back to EA and made him call me to apologise,:D they accepted my first bid (which was the asking price!) which I thought was very decent of them and I belive they reported the EA.
I have a number of friends who are or were EA and the phamtom bidder was certainly common practice about 5/6 years ago!
 
The whole subject of Estate Agents and honesty has never been properly explored by the media. They either report on Agents failures or successes with wild abandon and innuendo, or repeat calls for the Government to bring them to justice. So what is an Estate Agent. Its a person who puts a buffer between a seller and a buyer.
Why would a seller use an Agent?
Usually because they don't want to deal with buyers. It could be because they are timid, or too busy, or unsure about selling and want to be able to change their mind. It's often because another seller recomends a particular agent to them.
Are there any good agents?
I believe there are loads, but buyers won't necessarily like them because they are doing their job.
"Complainer" asked if the agent was bluffing, the word lying should have been used. If the agent is lying he runs the risk of losing his buyer, madness in the current market.

Buyers are like buses, they often come in pairs.

Offer what you think the house is worth- then move on.
 
Estate agents are up to all sorts of tricks. I know of a well know agent who wanted to reduce the value of a house (I won't go into the details here), so a couple of good soaking with hose up in the attic was called for. It was left for a few weeks with windows closed. Then it was valued...
 
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