# Full asking price rejected



## Manny (26 Oct 2012)

Hi,
We are trying to sell and buy at the moment, we are sale agreed on our house, by a first time buyer (who is obviously keen to close by the end of the year). We were sale agreed on a property which fell through last week.
We were about to give up on finding somewhere to buy in enough time to close by year end when a great house came on the market this week, we viewed it and as we don't have time to get into bidding back and forth, we offered full asking price, on the condition that they didn't go ahead with viewings this weekend. 
We would never have done this only the location is perfect for us (not perfect generally, just perfect for us for family reasons) and we are running out of time. We put a time limit on the offer. 
EA just informed me that they have rejected our offer, they want to go ahead with this weekends viewing and see what happens. 
I reminded him that our offer would be off the table by then, and that's ok by them.
I'm really surprised that the offer was rejected as no house in the area has reached full asking price in the 3 months we've been looking. We didn't make this offer lightly, we're serious buyers and are ready to go. Now I'm wondering if they are serious about selling or are they just testing the water?
Any advice?


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## Brendan Burgess (26 Oct 2012)

It's impossible to know.

Different auctioneers have different strategies about asking prices. They set a high price and home to achieve something close to it. Others set a lower price to generate a bidding war and hope to exceed it. 

I suspect that the fact that you showed such enthusiasm probably motivated them into thinking that there are plenty of other buyers out there.


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## elcato (26 Oct 2012)

They are calling your bluff. Chances are they may not get anybody but will say that they have and ask you to bid higher. They know you are keen. Unfortunately you need to be willing to walk away at this stage or else see what happens. It seems you want the house so this may be hard to take.


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## Manny (26 Oct 2012)

Well our offer is off the table now, so as much as I want this house I am prepared to walk away.
We probably did the wrong thing by offering full price but we wanted to avoid a bidding scenario and thought this was the best way of doing it.


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## lyonsie (26 Oct 2012)

'Don't cut off your nose to spite your face'...  Wait the weekend and see what emerges....
They might be more than willing to take your offer.... then who is in the driving seat????


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## MrMan (26 Oct 2012)

The vendor is in charge on this, so when the auctioneer went back to tell them that they had the offer, the vendor would have thought that they went in too low.

The auctioneer most likely would have had to talk the vendor down in the first place, as most vendors think that their house is worth more than it really is, so they now feel that there is more to come.


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## huskerdu (26 Oct 2012)

If I was selling a house and someone offered the full asking price in the first week, before the first weekend viewing, I wouldn't take it.  I would wait to see if this was an indication of a lot of interest in the house. 

 Maybe in this market it would be a mistake, but it I would consider it worth waiting a few weeks. 

Maybe the EA will be back to you in a few weeks, but there is nothing you can do if the seller wants to put the house on the market for  a few weeks to gauge interest.


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## Kerrigan (26 Oct 2012)

There are very few bidding wars happening at the moment.  Unfortunately, it was a mistake to bid so high.

I had a similar situation some time ago when I tried to get my hands on a commercial property.  I placed a bid, that was classified as considerably high, considering the times we are in.  The agent took my offer and a mammoth amount of information.  This went on for months on end.  Finally the penny dropped that we were being tricked and involved in matters out of our reach.  

The owner of the property was indebted and in NAMA.  The property was never going to be mine. 

I wonder is there similar game playing going on here?

I think you've had a lucky escape Manny.


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## elcato (26 Oct 2012)

If you are prepared to walk away (good mindset) then wait to see what happens. If they come back offer less and put that on the table for a given period. You are in a good position if they come back. Just make sure and stay in that position i.e. be prepared to walk away. Good luck and be aware that there are very few deals made between now and March next year (traditionally).


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## Manny (26 Oct 2012)

I don't think I've any hope of getting this house and closing before year end, do I?
So I think walking away is the only thing I can do...


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## Brendan Burgess (26 Oct 2012)

As you like this house, you should remain interested in it. 

Send someone along to the viewing tomorrow to see how much real interest there is in it. 

Put in a lower bid on Tuesday.  

It will probably be rejected. 

But keep on looking at other houses as well.

Brendan


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## Manny (26 Oct 2012)

Brendan Burgess said:


> As you like this house, you should remain interested in it.
> 
> Send someone along to the viewing tomorrow to see how much real interest there is in it.
> 
> ...


Do you think there's any point carrying on looking at properties or getting in to bidding on this one, given our time constraint with our buyer?


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## Setanta12 (26 Oct 2012)

Brendan Burgess said:


> As you like this house, you should remain interested in it.
> 
> Send someone along to the viewing tomorrow to see how much real interest there is in it.
> 
> ...



Put in that lower bid today!


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## HMC (26 Oct 2012)

Manny
A friend offered on a house in south co Dublin a few weeks ago without specifying a deadline. Silence from ea for ages who ignored her calls.  Then one day she spotted on ea's website that there would be open viewings one weekend and worse still, house was priced for less than she had offered! The buyers ultimately accepted her offer and the purchase is now going through.  So, if you really want the place, hang on in there.


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## Manny (26 Oct 2012)

Thanks for all the advice.
I have someone going along tomorrow to see how the viewing goes and also to make sure the EA doesn't tell people he has an offer and use our offer as a starting point for bidding!


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## commonsense (26 Oct 2012)

Brendan Burgess said:


> As you like this house, you should remain interested in it.
> 
> Send someone along to the viewing tomorrow to see how much real interest there is in it.
> 
> ...



What you could also do is get the person  you send to put in a lower offer.


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## MrMan (27 Oct 2012)

commonsense said:


> What you could also do is get the person  you send to put in a lower offer.



So basically it's ok to play tricks as long as it's in your favour?

If the OP starts lowering their offer already then the EA would think that you are just another messer who thinks that they can 'play the game'. 

Treat this as the massive investment that it is, and don't expect things to be wrapped up quickly to your liking. The owners of the house you are interested in have to be satisfied that they are achieving market value, just as you have to be happy that you are paying the right price. This cannot and should not be rushed.


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## Knuttell (27 Oct 2012)

I would have rejected your offer as well,from their perspective the house isn't a wet day on the market and they have a bid at full asking,I would just sit back and see how far over the asking I can get also its likely the property price was pitched low in order to get a lot of people viewing and bidding.


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## Manny (27 Oct 2012)

well i just heard how the viewing went today. There was a lot of people viewing, and the ea told everyone that they had an offer of full asking price.
Our offer was off the table since yesterday and there wouldnt have been enough time for anyone else to make an offer before the viewing so the ea lied.
Im really annoyed, but im suppose i shouldnt have expected anything else from estate agents! Im probably more annoyed at myself for taking the risk and making a high offer.
Any advice where i should go from here?


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## Tillo (27 Oct 2012)

I don't necesarrily think that's a bad thing. I've used it to my advantage in the past
People will be scared off by the vendor not accepting a bid of the full asking price and 
may be inclined to know you are a serious bidder and not be willing to get into a bidding war so may walk away. You still have the risk of someone out bidding you but that was always a possibility once the house went on the market. A full asking price bid will only keep the genuine serious bidders involved something you can't avoid.


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## sadie (28 Oct 2012)

Thinking that you can sell your house one day and move into the new house you buy the next is a mistake in this climate, in my opinion. It will cause you untold stress. You would be very very lucky for both these events to coincide perfectly. 
The sale of your own house may fall through, the purchase of your new house may fall through - due to reasons only emerging a few weeks into the sale processes. 
I think you should plan an interim stage where you are renting or moving in with relatives for a while before you buy your new house. You are now being rushed into buying a place at the full asking price when you haven't even sold your own house yet. 
Maybe you have the savings to buy the new place outright and it is not dependent on selling the old house, in that case it's different.


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## Manny (28 Oct 2012)

We have a tracker mortgage which our bank are allowing us to move to our new preperty, so we have to buy and sell at the same time, we cant sell then rent for a while til we find a house. The house we bid on is the perfect home for us, those houses dont come up very often so we felt we had to do everything we could to try and get it.
In hindsight, i believe it was a mistake.
But we cant undo it.


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## MrMan (28 Oct 2012)

You can still offer more for it if it is the perfect house for you. People at the viewing were told that a full price offer wasn't accepted, and that is still the case.


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## Knuttell (28 Oct 2012)

Manny said:


> We have a tracker mortgage which our bank are allowing us to move to our new preperty, so we have to buy and sell at the same time, we cant sell then rent for a while til we find a house. The house we bid on is the perfect home for us, those houses dont come up very often so we felt we had to do everything we could to try and get it.
> In hindsight, i believe it was a mistake.
> But we cant undo it.



Ring the E/A up in a weeks time and ask him what figure the vendors would go sale agreed and take the house off the market,if its acceptable to you offer it if not walk away.


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## michaelm (28 Oct 2012)

...


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## michaelm (28 Oct 2012)

Manny said:


> We are trying to sell and buy at the moment, we are sale agreed on our house, by a first time buyer (who is obviously keen to close by the end of the year). We were sale agreed on a property which fell through last week.


If I were you I'd go ahead with the sale of the house and line up a short-term rental.  Buying before year-end is only worth, at most to you, €900 per year for the next 5 years . . not enough to rush into a purchase for.  You may well still get that house, but in the new year and at a reduced cost . . or you'll find a better one.

Ah, I missed your transferable Tracker post . . still, I wouldn't allow a Tracker to become financial handcuffs on my plans.


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## dont1know (31 Oct 2012)

This happen to the Vendor on our new house we purchased.  He got a offer straight away of 340k (asking 375k) and turned it down.  He told me during the viewing (both EA and Vendor) that they turned down 340k.  I told them they were both mad and good luck to them.

I got the house a few weeks later for 335k after a biding war with two other couples.  

In this example the vendor made a big mistake and got greedy, he even rang up the original bidder and told him he accepted his offer of €340k, the bidder told him to forget it, he had bought something else.


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## FergusCurley (31 Oct 2012)

Manny said:


> well i just heard how the viewing went today. There was a lot of people viewing, and the ea told everyone that they had an offer of full asking price.
> Our offer was off the table since yesterday and there wouldnt have been enough time for anyone else to make an offer before the viewing so the ea lied.
> Im really annoyed, but im suppose i shouldnt have expected anything else from estate agents! Im probably more annoyed at myself for taking the risk and making a high offer.
> Any advice where i should go from here?



If you want the house re-bid at a level which you are comfortable at. nothing has changed.


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## fairy_cake (31 Oct 2012)

ooops dupilcate


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## fairy_cake (31 Oct 2012)

"There are very few bidding wars happening at the moment. Unfortunately, it was a mistake to bid so high."

That really depends on the area - in Limerick we've been looking for 6 months and have been the first viewers on plenty of properties. In the last couple of months we've had to walk away from 3 houses as bidding wars got out of hand. Places that house prices never rocketed up they haven't really plummeted either.


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## Manny (1 Nov 2012)

The house is now gone well past the asking price (about 30k!), much more than we were ever willing to pay for it. There is a bidding war in progress at the moment.
Turns out they were right not to accept our offer. I'm very disappointed but what can you do!


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## Jkgt (1 Nov 2012)

There seems to be a lot of panic buying going on at the moment coming up to the end of the tax relief deadline.

Ive been outbid on two houses now with one house going over asking price which is just madness imo, I wouldn't be paying near asking price on a house thats going to loose at least 10k in the new year when the panic is over..

Im now going to sit it out till the new year till the panic is over


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## tallpaul (1 Nov 2012)

Jkgt said:


> Ive been outbid on two houses now with one house going over asking price which is just madness imo,


 
I'm not sure I follow your logic? There is no rule to say that in the current climate a house cannot be sold at or over the asking price! Obviously I don't know the specifics of each house, but I'm sure that there are many houses going for the asking or for more.


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## WindUp (1 Nov 2012)

Different Estate agencys have different strategies
Some set a low asking price hoping to attract a lot of interest and sublequently bids go over asking price
Others set a high asking price - Say 10% -15% more then the vendor wants in the hope that someone will offer 10% -15% less then the asking

Saying that houses are going for 10% greater or less then asking does not mean a lot

Sale prices of similar houses in the same area would give a better picture ---- Thankfully we now have the property register!


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## jinx9000 (4 Nov 2012)

hi manny, sorry about the house. 

my question relates to your bank allowing you to transfer your tracker. i was not aware this was available? any details would be helpful to me,

thanks,

bob.


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## monagt (4 Nov 2012)

> Im now going to sit it out till the new year till the panic is over



Have you calculated the Tax Loss by waiting?

2013 is uncertain..............so gambling that (1) Price drops > Tax, (2) That prices actually drop.


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## Manny (4 Nov 2012)

jinx9000 said:


> hi manny, sorry about the house.
> 
> my question relates to your bank allowing you to transfer your tracker. i was not aware this was available? any details would be helpful to me,
> 
> ...



My mortgage is with ulster bank, they allow you to move your tracker to another property.


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## Jkgt (5 Nov 2012)

monagt said:


> Have you calculated the Tax Loss by waiting?
> 
> 2013 is uncertain..............so gambling that (1) Price drops > Tax, (2) That prices actually drop.



One thing we are almost certain of is that we will be loosing is the tax relief, so I am factoring in that I wouldn't have drawn down on time by year end meaning I'd loose out on the tax relief anyway.. So with even less incentive to buy a house with the tax relief gone in 2013 (budget depending)something has got to give.


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## Bronte (6 Nov 2012)

Manny said:


> We have a tracker mortgage which our bank are allowing us to move to our new preperty, so we have to buy and sell at the same time, we cant sell then rent for a while til we find a house. The house we bid on is the perfect home for us, those houses dont come up very often so we felt we had to do everything we could to try and get it.
> In hindsight, i believe it was a mistake.
> But we cant undo it.


 

Firstly I think you'd be mad to try and sell and buy at the same time.  Are you sure the bank literally want you to try and do this?  Would you mind typing up the terms and conditions.

What would you do if for some reason your buyer didn't get a mortgage at the last moment and you were in a contract to buy with someone else.  The only way this is doable is if you have a clause in your contract to buy that it is conditional on the sale of your house going through.  Please confirm your solicitor has told you these clauses are nowadays acceptable. 

Also to try to buy a house bettween the end of October and mid December to get a tax relief, well that is bound to end in untold grief and stress for you, your buyers, the sellers, your bank and the solicitors.  

The tax relief may be extended, and if it isn't that doesn't mean you've lost out.  All the tax relief does is increase the cost of property, because people can afford to pay more, they bid more.  So come January, what sold for x price will be reduced by the amount of tax relief lost.  

And most importantly, there will always be another property that is suitable for you.


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