# Possible false bids on a house?



## WhatsGoingOn (3 Sep 2007)

Hi,

I am interested in buying a house. I know the house has been on the market for a few months, so was planning on bidding 10% under the asking price. The asking price is 570,000, so I was planning on bidding 520k. When I went to look at the house the Estate Agent said the house is on the market 2 weeks (which I know is not true) and that there is a bid of 550k on it. I have a feeling this is also not true. Can you get Estate Agents to prove that there is a bid on the house? (I'm sure you probably can't, but just asking in case anyone else has had a similar experience)

Thanks.


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## angela59 (3 Sep 2007)

Hi there,

The only way I would do it is to call the EAs bluff and say you're not interested at that price, be honest and tell him you heard the property has been on the market a while - see the reaction.  Worth a try.


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## Brendan Burgess (3 Sep 2007)

Or tell the auctioneer you are interested in another house as well and that you will put in a bid for the other house as it's better value. 

Brendan


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## Dave Vanian (3 Sep 2007)

Or tell him that you're disappointed as you were planning to bid "just below" the current bid.  But seeing as this won't be of any use, you're heading off to bid on a different property in the area.  See how long it takes for the alternative bid to vanish.


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## Howitzer (3 Sep 2007)

Scream hysterically down the phone. Break down in tears. Tell the agent that this is the property for you, your dream property and that you would literally kill to get it. 

Then bid 521K. No point appearing too eager.


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## Bronte (4 Sep 2007)

Maybe the owner has told the Estate Agent that he will not consider anything under 550K, so the EA has told you that there is a bid of 550 to sort out those who he can really sell to.  The owner may be very calm and willing to wait to get his price.  There is no way you can tell if it's a real bid. You can still tell the Estate Agent you would be interested at 520K and if the sale at 550 falls through to come back to you.  If you really want the house you'd better bid 551.


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## Murt10 (4 Sep 2007)

Ignore the EA altogether. Go straight to the owner and tell him that you are being messed around by the EA, that he has told you lies and here's your bid.  If its not an owner occupier leave a letter in the door outlinging the position.

The EA won't like it but so what. He's not your friend and neither are you paying him. He's just an overpaid salesman employed by the vendor and he contributes nothing to you.

Murt


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## paddyd (4 Sep 2007)

Brendan said:


> Or tell the auctioneer you are interested in another house as well and that you will put in a bid for the other house as it's better value.
> Brendan



If there are indeed other properties for sale on the same street/area, I would certainly use this for leverage. One of them will be willing to negotiate.


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## NHG (4 Sep 2007)

I thought that I read here somewhere on another thread some time ago that you are entitled to see the 'bid book' or was I just dreaming.....

I know that I had a bid of 150K on a small investement property a few years ago and the lady who bought it claims that she got it for €129K... seems very odd to me...


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## Bronte (4 Sep 2007)

NHG - isn't 129 close to the stamp duty threshold at that time.


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## extopia (4 Sep 2007)

Just tell the EA that your bid of 520 stands, and to get back in touch if the 550 bid falls through.


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## WhatsGoingOn (4 Sep 2007)

Brendan said:


> Or tell the auctioneer you are interested in another house as well and that you will put in a bid for the other house as it's better value.
> 
> Brendan



Thanks everyone.
Was thinking of doing what Brendan said beforehand, so will probably go ahead with that. I will ask the EA to let me know if the bid falls through because I am still interested, but not at the current price (which is true).


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## mad m (4 Sep 2007)

Have read that if the EA is legit or registered,they have a bidding book which they write the bids into and you can request to have a look at them!


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## mf1 (4 Sep 2007)

mad m said:


> Have read that if the EA is legit or registered,they have a bidding book which they write the bids into and you can request to have a look at them!



This is not true - just a delightful urban myth. They are under no obligation to produce evidence to a potential purchaser of the reality or otherwise of an alleged bidder.

mf


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## MrMan (4 Sep 2007)

Just be straight with him, tell him you have been monitoring the market over the last number of months and you know that it has been on the market for x number of months. Explain that you know that he is trying to do his job, but you are a serious client and when he is ready to discuss a serious offer on the property to contact you and you may negotiate a price or not whichever the case may be. TBH he seems naive to try and say its only on 2 weeks if it has in fact been on a number of months because most people do now monitor their area of choice. 

Regarding proof of bids, if you have reason to believe he is being dishonest you can report it to IAVI IPAV  whichever he is a member of and they may ask to see the record of the bids as members are required to keep on file the date name and price of each bid for each home


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## Bronte (5 Sep 2007)

MrMan that's fantastic, so if the professional body come calling the EA just writes in his brother in law's name with the correct bid and date  

If the house has been for sale for some time then maybe this is a new EA who has been selling it for 2 weeks.


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## MrMan (5 Sep 2007)

> MrMan that's fantastic, so if the professional body come calling the EA just writes in his brother in law's name with the correct bid and date



Its not foolproof, but how can bids be kept in a manner that will keep people happy, it would be fair to say that any thread whereby somebody is in a bidding war people straight away assume that the EA is using dirty tricks instead of the far more likely scenario that more than one person likes the house!

If people make assumptions i.e whats the point, they'll only make up a name then the situation is never going to improve and the actual dirty dealers are never going to be rooted out.


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## elcato (5 Sep 2007)

Dont see what the problem is here ? You're interested in the house but only if it's at 520k so offer 520k and if the EA says there's a bid of 550k then walk away or offer higher. Its immaterial how long the house is on the market apart from the fact that you want to feel you've got a bargain.


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## Jamie76 (10 Sep 2007)

MrMan said:


> Its not foolproof, but how can bids be kept in a manner that will keep people happy, it would be fair to say that any thread whereby somebody is in a bidding war people straight away assume that the EA is using dirty tricks instead of the far more likely scenario that more than one person likes the house!
> 
> If people make assumptions i.e whats the point, they'll only make up a name then the situation is never going to improve and the actual dirty dealers are never going to be rooted out.


 

I suggest you use APTI (www.apti.ie) If anyone reads my previous posts they will see that I suffered at the hands of a dishonest estate agent but if you believe that all estate agents are the same then this is a fundamental mistake, keep the faith and you will find a nice home within your budget just as we have. Regards, Jamie


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## money man (11 Sep 2007)

whats the apti.ie the website does not come up?


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## ClubMan (11 Sep 2007)

Works fine for me:


> APTI  						(Authenticated Property Transactions Ireland) is a new  						Internet based service that facilitates estate agents  						and auctioneers in Ireland to offer their clients a transparent property transaction with real-time  						information.
> 
> ...


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## Lobby (11 Sep 2007)

Hmm, just checked out that APTI website. Looks interesting, not too sure though how it eliminates false bids??? Surely it'd be easy for an EA to add in a false bid.


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## sam h (11 Sep 2007)

You should try being more forceful with the EA.  We had a similar situation a number of years ago.  We had decided on going for an investment property until we saw a house we were happy to move to.  Similar situation as the house had been on the market previously and only re-submitted after they did some work to brng it up to scratch.  
Made a bid to the EA and we made clear the bid was only open for 2 days and outlined that we were in a strong position to close immediately as not in a chain.  2 days later and no word from EA.   I called and he said that the seller wanted €10k more.  I made it clear that I did not believe he had put the bid to the seller or he would have called me back with that information.  I gave him half day to get back or I would be closing on the investment property (also made it clear I woud ensure the seller would find out about our bid!).  
Surprise, surprise, an hour later and the house was ours.  I actually spoke with the seller afterwards and he confirmed that the EA had not passed on the initial offer as he was ready to accept any reasonable bid as he had bridging finance.   

This is an area that should be regulated in a far greater way.  EA's get paid a fortune to handle the sale of property and I certainly think they should have to adhere to some basis ethical principals.


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## MrMan (11 Sep 2007)

> This is an area that should be regulated in a far greater way. EA's get paid a fortune to handle the sale of property and I certainly think they should have to adhere to some basis ethical principals.



They do have to adhere to basic ethical principles, but like in many professions if not all there are bad apples and the introduction of the regulatory committee is being pushed by most qualified auctioneers as it may help clean up the image of the profession.


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## Jamie76 (11 Sep 2007)

Lobby said:


> Hmm, just checked out that APTI website. Looks interesting, not too sure though how it eliminates false bids??? Surely it'd be easy for an EA to add in a false bid.


 
Hi Lobby,

We found the APTI system to be a breath of fresh air as did our estate agent (decent guy)! APTI's recording is there in the event of any dispute and the ability to see everthing as it happens is impressive and comforting.

If you go back to my first post (http://www.askaboutmoney.com/showthread.php?p=444156#post444156) afew months back you will see that we were devestated that an estate agent did not pass on our bid to the seller, we would never have known only for the fact that my father knew the seller. With APTI the seller see's all the bids on their property.

The bad estate agents are few and having come through the process of dealing with a professional estate agent it is good to see an honest days work for an honest days pay (even if the pay is a little high!)


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## Lobby (11 Sep 2007)

Yeah, I can see how it would alleviate the problem of EAs not informing sellers of bids. Can't figure why an EA wouldn't pass on a bid though (other than the seller had expressly instructed a minimum value), surely it's in the EAs interest to try and get a sale agreed. 

What's there to stop the vendor placing bids (anonmously via the EA)? At the moment (I'm an EA) if we're asked to fabricate a bid by a vendor, we refuse. I'm not saying its easier to make one, but the vendor can now verify if his "bid" has been recorded....


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## thomasmc01 (11 Sep 2007)

Ask the auctioneer to provide proff of the offer from the bidders solicitor. Tell the agent that you got stung before and are just being carefull.


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## Jamie76 (11 Sep 2007)

Lobby said:


> Yeah, I can see how it would alleviate the problem of EAs not informing sellers of bids. Can't figure why an EA wouldn't pass on a bid though (other than the seller had expressly instructed a minimum value), surely it's in the EAs interest to try and get a sale agreed.


 
In our case I do not know for definite why that particular estate agent didn't pass on our bid to the seller! The seller was told the property was selling for €22K lower than what we were offering! Perhaps he was getting a "bung" from this buyer? Commission + bung was probably greater than Commission + 1 to 2% of €22K! I do not know and do not want to think about it anymore!



Lobby said:


> What's there to stop the vendor placing bids (anonmously via the EA)? At the moment (I'm an EA) if we're asked to fabricate a bid by a vendor, we refuse. I'm not saying its easier to make one, but the vendor can now verify if his "bid" has been recorded....


 
Having all the bids recorded indepently will make a fraudulent agent think twice before making up a "bid of the wall"! I believe it is current practice for the two esate agents and auctioneering bodies in Ireland, IAVI and IPAV to request a complete recording of bid activity (names, addresses, amounts etc) in the event of any dispute and it will also be required by law: [broken link removed]) 

With APTI it was good to have the confidence that an independent recording was there in the event that something went wrong and to feel part of the transaction - It's alot of money to be spending!


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## thomasmc01 (11 Sep 2007)

www.apti.ie


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## Lobby (11 Sep 2007)

> Having all the bids recorded indepently will make a fraudulent agent think twice before making up a "bid of the wall"! I believe it is current practice for the two esate agents and auctioneering bodies in Ireland, IAVI and IPAV to request a complete recording of bid activity (names, addresses, amounts etc) in the event of any dispute and it will also be required by law:


 
But that's my point, they're not being indepently recorded (they would be if bids had to be made through APTI). It's only a public version of the EAs list of bidders - and may or may not be false bids. Neither the bidders nor APTI can tell if the EA is submitting genuine bids. If the APTI system is based on "trust" with its agent members then it's no better than the current system. 

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for such a system. We currently have a bids notebook that has all offers in it, and as it has names/phone numbers of bidders it can't be shown to anyone who asks (we must respect the privacy of bidders). We do regularly get asked if an offer is genuine and we can only hope they trust us when we say it is - anything that would make this more transparent would be welcome.


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## mo3art (11 Sep 2007)

That's interesting Lobby.

We are obliged only to accept written bids via letter, email or fax with full name, address and contact details........  These are the only form of bids that will be passed onto the client, and the offers are generally directly copied to them.


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## Jamie76 (11 Sep 2007)

Lobby said:


> But that's my point, they're not being indepently recorded (they would be if bids had to be made through APTI). It's only a public version of the EAs list of bidders - and may or may not be false bids. Neither the bidders nor APTI can tell if the EA is submitting genuine bids. If the APTI system is based on "trust" with its agent members then it's no better than the current system.


Hi Lobby, You sound like a caring esate agent . As a property buyer that used APTI, I could see my bids on the system shortally after instructing my estate agent to update them. I presume that APTI's independent records cannot be "doctored" by an estate agent who comes under pressure! With the current "in-house recording" by estate agents, I presume it is possible to "edit" details if an estate agent see's problems ahead?, with APTI I would imagine the record is "independent" and cannot be changed. I think APTI's "trust" is that members trust APTI to hold this independent record. I presume the APTI software detects the likelyhood of a false bid?




Lobby said:


> Don't get me wrong, I'm all for such a system. We currently have a bids notebook that has all offers in it, and as it has names/phone numbers of bidders it can't be shown to anyone who asks (we must respect the privacy of bidders). We do regularly get asked if an offer is genuine and we can only hope they trust us when we say it is - anything that would make this more transparent would be welcome.


I think you are right about looking for transparency, there is a perception that estate agents are all the same and can't be trusted but as I said in a previous post when you get a good agent your opinion changes.

Goodluck with your business, I hope you are still making a living in a slower market.

Jamie


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## csirl (12 Sep 2007)

With modern technology and the internet, it should be possible to put the price of the highest bid on adverts myhome.ie and daft.ie etc.

Would be great if when you click on a properties profile, it would say "Bidding currently at €000,000" - potential buyers could see exactly how much they need to bid.

Another solution would be for all the reputable estate agents to set up an independent bid accepting agency. Need not be a huge operation - handful of staff and some computer software. Could be funded by very very small percentage levy on fees. Anyone putting a bid on a property has to ring up the bidding agency who record and verify the details before passing onto the estate agent/seller. Information on current highest bid is also made available to the public online. Could have rules like in auctions - once you bid you are liable - to rule out people putting in false bids to bump up the price.


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## Roo (23 Sep 2007)

Hi,

Fristly, this is my first post, but I've found this website very useful for ... well ... just about everthing!

We are house hunting at the moment and to date the EA's we have dealt with have been excellent ... until yesterday.

We spotted a house about a month ago that we were interested in but at the time were considering makeing an offer on another property - which in the end we were outbid on.  So this week, we decided to take a look at the other house and rang to see what the current situation was.  We were told it was still on the market and had no current bids so we made an appointment to see it yesterday.

While we were viewing the house, my husband made a comment to me upstairs that he thought it was overpriced.  The EA who was downstairs at the time, heard this and suddenly there was a bid on the house of 35k under the asking price that according to him had been there since day one.  I pointed out that I had asked his office if there were any bids on the property and after checking they confirmed that there were none - at which point the EA made excuses about it taking about 20mins to register a bid and the bidders details on the computer and gave the impression that he couldnt be bothered.

He also started quoting how his company were achieving or exceeding asking prices on property at the moment - which is not what we're seeing in the current market as buyers!  And also referred to another house on the same road which was on at a higher price.  It was us who had to point out to him that the house he was refering to was on for more than 6 months, had an extra bedroom, was in great condition (which the one he was selling was not) and had just dropped their asking price by 60k.  He didnt seem to really care.

Ok, we havent put an offer in, but we are interested in a second viewing but are not over joyed at the fact that if we do put an offer in that we will have to deal with him.  The house is empty for a substantial amount of time so the suggestion of posting our offer to the owners to make sure they are aware of it wont work this time.

I suppose I'm just really annoyed and like the rest of the posts feel that the EA is just not being honest.

Ok, rant over!


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## Thomas22 (23 Sep 2007)

Roo said:


> Hi,
> While we were viewing the house, my husband made a comment to me upstairs that he thought it was overpriced.  The EA who was downstairs at the time, heard this and suddenly there was a bid on the house of 35k under the asking price that according to him had been there since day one.  I pointed out that I had asked his office if there were any bids on the property and after checking they confirmed that there were none - at which point the EA made excuses about it taking about 20mins to register a bid and the bidders details on the computer and gave the impression that he couldnt be bothered.



In my opinion you should believe a word this EA is saying to you.
Put in a bid at least €50k below the asking price and say that is your final offer and watch him/her squirm. Also say that this is your final bid.
I think the other offer will disappear in a week or so!


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## Roo (23 Sep 2007)

thanks thomas22, its certainly worth a try!


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## Thomas22 (23 Sep 2007)

Roo said:


> thanks thomas22, its certainly worth a try!



You've got nothing to lose and maybe €50k to gain so it's definitely worth trying.


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## Vicky_2 (23 Sep 2007)

csirl said:


> With modern technology and the internet, it should be possible to put the price of the highest bid on adverts myhome.ie and daft.ie etc.
> 
> Would be great if when you click on a properties profile, it would say "Bidding currently at €000,000" - potential buyers could see exactly how much they need to bid.
> 
> Another solution would be for all the reputable estate agents to set up an independent bid accepting agency. Need not be a huge operation - handful of staff and some computer software. Could be funded by very very small percentage levy on fees. Anyone putting a bid on a property has to ring up the bidding agency who record and verify the details before passing onto the estate agent/seller. Information on current highest bid is also made available to the public online. Could have rules like in auctions - once you bid you are liable - to rule out people putting in false bids to bump up the price.



This is more or  less what this www.apti.ie thing seems to be. I have registered with them and there is a "demo" property listed, it gives an example of how the system works. I am able to see Bidder 1, Bidder 2 etc and the amount. I cannot see their names. So, if you want to see the bidding on a property ask the estate agent to add your details for that property and then once they do you can see past bids. 

They are a bit like a bid acceptance agency as you mention. But wouldn't they need a license if they were to accept bids from users? I mean if they accept bids themselves they are basically agents?

I like the way it is. It is professional and they appear to be independent and genuinely fair to everyone. I think once this takes off everyone will want an agent that uses APTI? 

As a seller at the moment the great problem for sellers is that estate agents are not passing on bids for their properties and are in favour of large housing estates and developers instead. I read about this in a paper recently. I think this service will mean that estate agents will pass on all bids as the bidder will see from APTI that his/her bid  has not been included. Interesting service.

Does this reduce the need for private seller and sell it yourself and sef sell? I would think it does and I am surprised that estate agents have not this kind of service in place already.


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## Lobby (24 Sep 2007)

Vicky_2 said:


> This is more or less what this www.apti.ie thing seems to be. I have registered with them and there is a "demo" property listed, it gives an example of how the system works. I am able to see Bidder 1, Bidder 2 etc and the amount. I cannot see their names. So, if you want to see the bidding on a property ask the estate agent to add your details for that property and then once they do you can see past bids.


 
No, it isn't. Just becuase the bids are available to view on a website doesn't mean they are genuine. They could all still be false bids! Slightly more hassle for an EA to submit than under the regular system, but still relatively easy to do nonetheless. 

A system whereby the BIDDER submits the bid to the website is the only way to ensure transparency (and even still, bids are not legally enforceable so a vendor can ask his mates to submit bids so even that system isn't perfect).


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## GerL (25 Sep 2007)

Lobby said:


> No, it isn't. Just becuase the bids are available to view on a website doesn't mean they are genuine.


 
It is the estate agent that uploads the bids therefore it is up to them to "be concerned" with the authenticity of the bidder. An estate agent must take due diligence that the bidder is a valid person. It is against the professional code of conduct of both the IPAV and IAVI to accept irregular bids and I am surprised you do not know this! It will also be enforceable in law by the NPSRA that an estate agent has this legal responsibility firmly on his/her doorstep!




Lobby said:


> A system whereby the BIDDER submits the bid to the website is the only way to ensure transparency (and even still, bids are not legally enforceable so a vendor can ask his mates to submit bids so even that system isn't perfect).


 
I do not know why you think this? It is the estate agents responsibility! A bidder submitting bids would be a joke - Consider the amounts involved here! If an estate agent is "genuinely conned" by a false bidder then the only party that would do this is someone "acting on behalf of the seller" This is against the professional code of conduct of both IPAV and IAVI and will be enforced in law by the NPSRA. 

An independent recording will help estate agents that find their credibility questioned and defend them in the ensuing lawsuit that could follow. Lobby I think you have to accept the old days are gone! Tribuneral this, Tribuneral that! People no longer expect high ethics it is their given right!


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## Lobby (25 Sep 2007)

GerL said:


> It is the estate agent that uploads the bids therefore it is up to them to "be concerned" with the authenticity of the bidder. An estate agent must take due diligence that the bidder is a valid person. It is against the professional code of conduct of both the IPAV and IAVI to accept irregular bids and I am surprised you do not know this! It will also be enforceable in law by the NPSRA that an estate agent has this legal responsibility firmly on his/her doorstep!
> 
> I do not know why you think this? It is the estate agents responsibility! A bidder submitting bids would be a joke - Consider the amounts involved here! If an estate agent is "genuinely conned" by a false bidder then the only party that would do this is someone "acting on behalf of the seller" This is against the professional code of conduct of both IPAV and IAVI and will be enforced in law by the NPSRA.
> 
> An independent recording will help estate agents that find their credibility questioned and defend them in the ensuing lawsuit that could follow. Lobby I think you have to accept the old days are gone! Tribuneral this, Tribuneral that! People no longer expect high ethics it is their given right!


 
Gerl, please tell me why this is an independent recording? And how could it be used as a defence?

You've completely missed the point. I'm merely pointing out that if an EA wishes to use false bids, then this website does not prevent it. Or if a vendor wishes to have his "mates" make false bids, then the EA will still (unknowingly) record it on this so called "independent" system. It can't prevent that. 

And FYI, vendors are allowed to bid on their own property - even at a public auction!


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## GerL (25 Sep 2007)

Lobby said:


> Gerl, please tell me why this is an independent recording? And how could it be used as a defence?
> 
> You've completely missed the point. I'm merely pointing out that if an EA wishes to use false bids, then this website does not prevent it. Or if a vendor wishes to have his "mates" make false bids, then the EA will still (unknowingly) record it on this so called "independent" system. It can't prevent that.
> 
> And FYI, vendors are allowed to bid on their own property - even at a public auction!


 
Lobby,

Pardon the sarcastic wit here but:

Independent: _Not subject to bias or influence; not obsequious; self-directing_

So a system (website) that holds an Independent recording that is not editable by anyone is the same as an estate agent recording the bidding activity on the back of a box of cigarettes in pencil?

Hmmm. Cant you use an eraser to delete these details? 

I think it is a valid point! And if you cant see that I just dont know! 

FYI: Vendors bidding on their own property will soon be illegal and punishable!  If an estate agent is "in on the act" then I am sure no profesional body (IPAV/IAVI) would want such an estate agent as a member of their professional body today?

I think in terms of preventing false bids it comes down to accountability and the ability to prove that someone has acted in a wrongful manner.

Why are you so against something that may actually help your industry?


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## Lobby (25 Sep 2007)

GerL said:


> Lobby,
> 
> Pardon the sarcastic wit here but:
> 
> ...


 
Firstly, as I've said previously, I'm totally in favour of a system that will allow bidders to view other bids. 

Your definition of "independent" above does not describe the system as described by apti. Remember it is the EA that submits the bids, so there is no way for Apti to verify them. If an EA wishes to submit false bids then it is just as easy as it is today (and still wrong but thats not what we're discussing). 

What does the website do if a bidder withdraws his bid? Or reduces his bid? Will this suddenly look suspicious? It happens frequently. Surely the EA can submit a statement to say a bid is withdrawn. 

Any reputable EA should be keeping a bids book today which lists the exact same information as this website suggests. 

It's not a simple problem, merely "publishing" the bids book on a website doesn't address the shortcomings of the system. Much much more is needed to be done to make the system more transparent. 

Consider the following sample scenario, EA receives bid of 200K on property with AMV of 280K, submits it to system. Vendor gets notified by SMS, asks his sister/brother/mate to ring EA and place bid of 220K. This is a false bid, is unenforceable and is now registered on the system (assuming the EA doesn't recognise the bidder). 

How can this be addressed?

I hope the regulator is established and has some teeth, and can penalise heavily rogue EAs. That's probably the only way things will change. 

Oh and maybe a register of all sales once they are completed, at least that way folk'll know (albeit after the fact) what the actual sale price was.


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## GerL (25 Sep 2007)

Libby, To prevent a possible libel action against askaboutmoney, I will stop this discussion with you now. I have stated my positive opinion about such a general type of system and have not referred to the said company in any of my postings directly or in any defamatory way. 

I urge you to be careful in your apparent disliking of such a system in what may be perceived to be directed at the said company.


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## mf1 (25 Sep 2007)

GerL said:


> Libby, To prevent a possible libel action against askaboutmoney, I will stop this discussion with you now. I have stated my positive opinion about such a general type of system and have not referred to the said company in any of my postings directly or in any defamatory way.
> 
> I urge you to be careful in your apparent disliking of such a system in what may be perceived to be directed at the said company.




Huh? 

All I saw was a questioning of how effective the proposed system could in reality be? Its a new operation, I'm not aware of it from any of my own clients as to how effective it is, I don't know what EA's are registered, so I can only go on what I read here and what I regard as valid observations of potential shortcomings. 

mf


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## Lobby (25 Sep 2007)

I don't believe there's anything defamatory in here? 

Mods, opinion?

If you have enough confidence in a public list of bids from an EA then fair enough, I'm just saying its not enough.


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## paddyodoors (26 Sep 2007)

Have to agree with Lobby on this, EA controls the bids, nothing to stop them adding false bids, however that said I think it would still be a step above where we are now. 

Not sure why the new poster GerL is so passionate about this - any vested interest you want to declare?

Regardless of what happens when you do get to actually use the service, since there is no marketing being done there is no drive to get the EA's to sign up and hence no buy in.

I am in process of buying and EA had never heard of them and have no interest in signing up coz no one else is - 

Paddy


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## GerL (26 Sep 2007)

paddyodoors said:


> Have to agree with Lobby on this, EA controls the bids, nothing to stop them adding false bids, however that said I think it would still be a step above where we are now.
> 
> Not sure why the new poster GerL is so passionate about this - any vested interest you want to declare?
> 
> ...


 
Paddy?, If you took a little time and read my first post you might have seen where I got my "vested interest". Being a victim of an unregulated esate agent is not great. But I am not alone! 

Click here to see last night's primetime: [broken link removed]

I think it is easy to see what side of the fence you are sitting on! Are you buying or selling boss? ;-) oh every thing is grand lots of activity in the market.......


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## paddyodoors (26 Sep 2007)

Lol

I had read yr first post - great marketing!

If you read my post you will see I am only buying - so would love it if your website worked!

Paddy


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