# more ghost bidders chat!



## missus09 (23 Sep 2009)

went to view a house on tuesday.EA told us it was on the market for 6 weeks with NO bids. We loved it so we put a bid down that day, got a call this afternoon saying another bid was placed..its gone over and back between us and these "ghost bidders" to increase the price..eventually we were outbid (All in the space of about two hours this evening)

found it very suspicious that this situation happened! we pulled out anyway but the whole thing was just very fishy!!

i appear to be getting outbid on every house i am interested in..
i know its an old topic but can they do this to drive up prices? im beginning to think its what they do best!


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## sadie (23 Sep 2009)

You should never ever increase your price in one phone call upon hearing the 'latest' offer. The behaviour is just too eager.
You should be thinking about it at least overnight and getting back the next day. The EA will try to hasten you saying things like 'the seller wants to close this off today'. Or 'I'm not sure they'll wait till tomorrow to be honest with you'. If you were selling a house wouldn't you wait until tomorrow or the end of the week if you thought you were getting a better offer. 
The EA may have been working you to see how high you would go. And then when you refused to go any higher they you were 'outbid'. 
Were you jumping up the bids in fivers or 1k's or what? 
Or was there just one round of phone calls of 'you'll never guess, the other lot have come back with 247 just there, I really think 250 will sell that house...'

You may well find the EA will come back tomorrow or next week saying the other bidder has pulled out but asking you 'if I could get the house for 255 would you consider it?' 
It's a nail biting business in any of its forms.


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## Chris (24 Sep 2009)

I agree with the previous poster. If the EA comes back to you saying that the other bidder has fallen through, make them another offer, but this time lower than your original first one. Don't fall for the suddenly appearing other offers, it's a tactic that worked during the boom years, but don't fall for it now.


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## senni (24 Sep 2009)

Hi 

They will come back to you.
Is it on with another auctioneer ? if so go thru them 
Make your bid lower than your original bid ands stick to it
Get your mortgage approved..Or if it is already..then tell them you are ready to buy now

STICK TO YOUR PRICE and SLOW DOWN THE BIDDING


Good Luck


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## MrMan (24 Sep 2009)

missus09 said:


> went to view a house on tuesday.EA told us it was on the market for 6 weeks with NO bids. We loved it so we put a bid down that day, got a call this afternoon saying another bid was placed..its gone over and back between us and these "ghost bidders" to increase the price..eventually we were outbid (All in the space of about two hours this evening)
> 
> found it very suspicious that this situation happened! we pulled out anyway but the whole thing was just very fishy!!
> 
> ...



2 possibilities:
1: fake bids -  because you are the only person that could be interested in the house.
2: Real bidder, because someone was waiting until a bid was made before jumping in. People often sit back because they are afraid of making the opening bid and the possibility that they might go in too high. 

either way you can only offer what you are willing to pay. As regards making the offers so quickly, it does happen and when it did happen i hated it because 24 hours later when reality kicks in, the bidders who were so impulsive the day before start to get cold feet.


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## haminka1 (24 Sep 2009)

MrMan said:


> 2 possibilities:
> 1: fake bids -  because you are the only person that could be interested in the house.
> 2: Real bidder, because someone was waiting until a bid was made before jumping in. People often sit back because they are afraid of making the opening bid and the possibility that they might go in too high.



agree with mrman - this is a gamble ... give yourself a treshold you don't want to exceed and stick to it, don't rush into bidding - say it to the EA and while waiting for their reaction, arrange further viewings for other houses. let EA know you are arranging other viewings as well. if this is a fake bidder, you have a good chance the EA will not want their commission slip.


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## kmick (24 Sep 2009)

Well if there were ghost bidders then the EA lost that particular game because he is now stuck with a ghost bid. In reality in this market I cant see a lot of EA's making up bids. When you take into account the percentage they are getting lets say for arguments sake 1.5%. So you put in a bid of 300,000 and your are ghopst bid up to 330,000. What the estate agents cut of that 30,000.
Original cut 300,000 x 1.5% = 4500
New cut 330,000 x 1.5% = 4950
Ghost bid profit 450

Now I know if I was an estate agent (which Im not) I would prefer the 4500 in my pocket and would not risk that to make another 450 on ghost bids which in this market may mean losing the 4500.

At any rate as pointed out if it is a ghost bid then you will hear back. As a matter of interest have you heard back from any of the other properties you were ghost bid on? As far as I am concerned if the EA came back to me it would be starting bid only.


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## Robin Banks (24 Sep 2009)

kmick said:


> As far as I am concerned if the EA came back to me it would be starting bid only.


 
Yes, if he comes back that means you were up against a ghost bidder.
He might then offer you the house at your highest bid, bless him.

You take him back to square one immediately, and put a deadline for acceptance of your original offer. 24 hours, take it or leave it.

If he doesnt agree to that, say goodbye and move on. Dont let these cowboys walk all over you, because they will.


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## MrMan (24 Sep 2009)

Robin Banks said:


> Yes, if he comes back that means you were up against a ghost bidder.
> He might then offer you the house at your highest bid, bless him.
> 
> You take him back to square one immediately, and put a deadline for acceptance of your original offer. 24 hours, take it or leave it.
> ...



You can't say that for sure. Look back at plenty of posts here where people use tactics such as bidding, agreeing then pulling out and coming back at a lower price once they know that the other bidder has moved on. It can't be beyond the realms of possibility that 2 people are interested in the same house.


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## mf1 (24 Sep 2009)

"i appear to be getting outbid on every house i am interested in.."

"As a matter of interest have you heard back from any of the other properties you were ghost bid on?" 

Lads, lighten up! It would be different if OP was saying - and then, they come back a few days later. But she's not. So maybe, just maybe..........there are real people out there buying real houses.

mf


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## Sinbad (23 Nov 2009)

I viewed a house on Saturday, and contacted the EA first thing this morning to arrange second viewing. As soon as I mentioned that it was my second time to visit the property I was told that an offer had been made (I also forgot to hide my enthusiasm for the property when speaking to the agent:/)...I'm a little suspicious as I viewed the house on Saturday, so the offer would have had to be made between 3pm Saturday and 9am Monday morning. Do you think they are trying to force us into a sale or am I just being paranoid?


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## csirl (23 Nov 2009)

Ghost bidders have ghost cash which isnt likely to be accepted by the seller


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## tallpaul (24 Nov 2009)

^
Fantastic post from emmetdoyle. Should be stickied.


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## Chris (24 Nov 2009)

emmetdoyle said:


> I was reading the...



I'm sure there are some interesting recommendations in here, but I gave up reading the post half way through the second paragraph. In absence of any meaningful punctuation most of it reads like jibberish.


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## UFC (24 Nov 2009)

emmetdoyle said:


> Chris try posting something constructive, if you dont like it dont read it, no need to slate other peoples efforts. The previous reader tallpaul obviously found it helpful!!


 
I didn't see the unedited post, but it should be a basic courtesy to make sure your posts are readable.

Back on topic...

I agree with the points Emmet and a few others have made: decide what the house it worth to you, and make sure that's all you pay. This means researching what you can afford to pay, what the house is worth, and how much you are willing to lose if the house price drops.


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## Sinbad (25 Nov 2009)

Hi Emmet,

Thanks for your post, really helpful. 

I cancelled my second viewing and asked the EA to get back to me if the other 'offer' fell through, as we would be interested in making a similar offer. Now it's a waiting game. And I thought this house hunting business would be great fun! I hope I did the right thing.


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## missdaisy (25 Nov 2009)

Hi Sinbad, I do agree with your course of action but do keep us posted!


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## Sinbad (25 Nov 2009)

Will do missdaisy - wish me luck!


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## Chris (25 Nov 2009)

emmetdoyle said:


> Hi UFC
> post is same same....I added a few commas and a full stop here and there.. nothing that removed the thrust of the post...


A few commas and full stops make a huge difference, when there are none before, and your post is now readable 



emmetdoyle said:


> tallpaul was pleased with the post, however Chris a serial moaner wasnt so go figure....
> read and absorb dont read and attack...


I'm not sure where you get the "serail moaner" idea from. I tried to read your post but there was nothing to absorb.

Anyway, I think the OP has done the right thing by putting the EA in his/her place. Call it ghost bidding or a reseve, the EA should be glad that there is interest at all, and not play games with potential buyers.


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## SteveW9 (26 Nov 2009)

I have to agree with Chris. 
Emmet's post was badly written. 
It was very hard to follow its was a bit like a schoolkid's effort.


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## Scotsgirl (26 Nov 2009)

What is it with the slating of Emmets post!  I understood it perfectly and thought he gave very good advice.

Perhaps he mightn't be so quick to help next time someone asks for advice.


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## Sinbad (26 Nov 2009)

Wow, these critical posts read like a bedtime story – boring! You may find the following link to be of some benefit to you: 

http://www.wikihow.com/Lighten-Up


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