Bidding - should we believe estate agent?

That's good news for your friend Mag, I really think she did the right thing. I wouldn't be surprised if her offer ends up being accepted, especially if the seller gets wind of her interest in the other house.
 
From what I have read, the practice of cash under the table to the estate agent seems widespread...? Is this really the case?
 
Mag2006 said:
They rang her back this morning saying the vendor is willing to do a deal at 317.5k + 2.5kcash as the other bidder cannot guarentee when they can close as they have a house to sell. I think she is going to go with it anyway and I am very happy for her, it's a lovely house just hope to god the market doesn't kick her in the behind and the house ends up being worth €300k, thing is it's a home they are buying for their family so it's not like they will want to move in the next 5 years anyway.
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Walk away!!! Danger Walk away!!!!
 
Open Window,
Please read the whole thread before posting. The buyer has moved well beyond this now
 
Unfortunately I have heard that it does happen quite a bit but as to whether it is common practice I cannot comment, many estate agents perceive that cash payment even for Furniture reduces Stamp Duty rates but to facilitate this is must be a doorstep deal with no involvement from the solicitor, tax evasion really. Personally I would not like to have the situation where I am standing on the doorstep after completion to receive a wad of cash, if I were the seller I would be nerveous that the buyer would not pay it over and as completion has taken place where is the proof that they owe me the money. The seller is putting complete trust in the buyer that they will keep their side of the bargain. That my opinion anyway.
 
MandaC said:
My friend lives in Navan (not the Johnstown area) and told me that prices in Navan in general are currently taking a bit of a battering too.

Her sister has recently bought back into Navan (past few weeks) for €5K less than the asking price. My friend told me that there are a number of houses in the Estate where she lives which are currently with two estate agents and no sign of sales.

I know somebody else on the site said that Johnstown usually gets €10-€15k more than the asking price. I would be interested to know if this is still the case in the current market.
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My sister lives up there and when I was up visiting last weekend I actually did notice 2 For Sale signs in alot of gardens!!!. Mad!!.
Just for some interest though, check out this property in Bray that was going for €435k for months and it now €415k. Sign of the times!!. We looked at that before we bought our house recently and the EA told us there was an offer on it for €427k at the time!!. We didn't believe him and walked away, thank god. It's opposite a council estate where the houses are going for €280k, so it's a high risk in my book!!
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Will I be breaking the rules posting this actually???. If so moderator feel free to delete it.
 
Fitzer- very good point. Forgot to tell you that EA "updated" my friend on the house she walked away from yesterday. She said the vendor would only deal at €322,500k (€317.5k contract & 2.5k cash) and would throw the appliances in with it. She stuck to her guns and said no thanks!. She is a bit dissapointed though, she really liked the house. Apparantly the other bidders who have a house to sell bid €325k so they can have it. She did tell her she has an offer accepted on another property and they are going for one final look in the morning before they pay a deposit and EA never budged. Ah well their loss!
 
Fair play to your friend. Its very difficult to walk away from a house you've set your heart on so it must have been a bit of wrench even though your head might be telling you its not a good deal. I'm glad the market is changing and those bloodsucking types of EA are not getting away with those under the table deals any more.
 
I feel sorry for her though, they are fully mortgage approved, even had copy of loan approval sent to EA to help speed it up and still they didn't get what they want. I really hope they end up better off where they are going to buy, it's only 5 mins away from their first preference, difference is one is a bungalow and really quite cul de sac, the other is a tow story quite cul de sac but the green area opposite needs to be kept alot better!
 
All too often the buyer only has the EA word that the cash is being accepted on a doorstep deal as this is how it might have been discribed to them, many sellers will not entertain this for fear of not getting their extra cash or many are not aware of the implication and just think that the solicitor can just do a seperate contract for the contents or even state the amount in the contract, thus reducing their stampduty rate, not good to find out on completion that this is not the case. A neighbour of my brother got caught out in this way, it was terrible, they are still living on floor boards as they cannot afford carpets as it took up such a lot of their cash, about another €10k. If she had have known she would have bought a different property.
 
That's really bad, personally if I was selling my own house I would not agree to a "cash deal", it's just too risky. I do think that EA's suggesting these deals should stop. There is no guarentee there at all that the buyer will pay up once contracts are signed. My friend was more worried about the PP and the risk about getting caught paying cash for a house that was apparantly going for €15k over the asking price. Maybe if enough people get the word around that it's risky and wrong EA's will have to stop suggesting it!
My heart goes out to that person €10k out of pocket!.
 
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