How to solicit a dream house

M

MissRibena

Guest
Hi all
I just wonder if anyone had any experience of trying to buy a house(s) that is not for sale. Has anyone knocked on doors and spoken to people, leafleted, put an ad in the Buy and Sell, got an auctioneer onto it?

I am half-considering attempting some of these to unearth houses that are not yet for sale, since I cannot find one already on the market that suits my requirements.

Thanks
Rebecca
 
I would be a little reluctant to do this, fearing the response you would get. The first question you'd probably want to ask is 'How much?'. Had it happen once the other way round, a woman called to the door and asked how much, I told her roughly (had it valued a few weeks previous) and she said thanks and went on her way. I don't think anything would come of it as the vendor is in the much stronger position and can ask whatever they want for it. Although it would sow the seed of 'upgrading'
 
Thanks Stobear. I kinda guessed that that would be the first response. I don't have one particular house in mind; there are quite a few that have the characteristics that I'm looking for, so I thought it might be worth a shot. I was thinking I'd put it in casual terms like; I like the look of your house and if you're thinking of selling in the nearish future, maybe you'd give me a call.

This is in the sticks, so it might put word about re what I'm looking for at least. I'm still in two minds about it though.

Rebecca
 
Actually I did contemplate this but hadn't the nerve to go through with it, I was expecting a nasty phone call telling me to stop dropping junk mail through their letter box!! I also got into a discussion with the owner of a house we liked and he asked is 'How much would you give me for it', my response was 'How much to do you want?', Stalemate!!
 
If I come under major pressure to find a house (which is looking likely), I might try it in the next few months. On reflection, I would probably do the face-to-face approach; people might take it more seriously and maybe point me in the direction of a neighbour more likely to sell. If they ask a price, I think I'll tell them if they are serious, to let me view the house and have an engineer look at it and I'll give them a fair price. I'm not looking for a special bargain really.

The worst that can happen I reckon is that someone says no. Nobody is going to totally run me; it's still a reasonably flattering of a proposition, I think.

Rebecca
 
Dream house

I suppose it also depends on the location you're looking at, but seems to me that if you have such clear ideas on what you want in your house, why not build instead of buying 2nd hand??
 
Why not build?

Hi Dunners

There are 3 major reasons why building is not for me. The main one is that the rate of new builds in rural Ireland is not sustainable and is making a mess of the landscape and I cannot afford to design one that would not fall into these categories. Apart from that, I want a house with a bit of character and I prefer to not start with blank canvasses in anything.

Yesterday evening I got the local rag and saw a house I really fancy. Now all i have to do is get them to knock about 12% off the asking price and it's all cushtie! Talk about a bloody rollercoaster.

Rebecca

PS How much bother would I get in with the Auctioneer if I find a buyer for the house privately? Obviously I would cover the outlay like advertising etc, but would I be hit for a fee too? I didn't agree explicitly to make him sole agent but he sent it out in a letter to me.
 
You could drop a note in their door asking them to ring you if they are interested in selling. This is what happened friends of mine and they sold! It was an offer they couldn't refuse!!!
 
i think approaching the vendor directly is a bad idea. the auctioneer will still be paid and they might hold your "deviousness" against you
Apart from that, if you appear too keen it definitely counts against you and approaching the vendor directly puts you at an instant disadvantage.
I put in a bid on an investment property not too long ago which i had thought was out of my price range but i knew had been for sale for quite a while. i had looked at cheaper properties in the area but previously discounted this one as it was much newer and in better condition than the surrounding properties and accordingly the asking price (which i thought was very fair) was 25% more than others for sale on the road. The other properties would have needed a lot spent on them to bring them up to scratch whereas this one was almost new. although i had not even viewed the property internally or discussed it with the auctioneer, i rang them up and put in an arm-chancing starting bid 30% under the asking price in the assumption that it would be rejected. i nearly fell off my chair when the auctioneer rang me back to say the offer had been accepted.

the points here are that
1 the property was not shifting.
2 asking prices are plucked out of thin air
3 i played it cool when putting in my offer and said to the auctioneer that i was thinking about buying a property in the area and would buy that one if they would sell it for x but if not , there were plenty more fish etc
4 i had bought from the auctioneer before so he knew i was not a timewaster.
5 as i had not viewed the property, i gave the auctioneer no insight into my budget or motivation.

i was very lucky as the only reason i did it this way was that i genuinely thought i couldnt get it for what i wanted to spend and only actually put in the bid as i was frustrated by the state of some of the properties i had looked at and thought, what the hell- ive nothing to loose.
next time however, i will definitely do it the same way. the only thing is, you have to be prepared to walk away. A bidding war is absolutely the last situation you want to find yourself in.

if i was you,heres how i'd do it
i would get a trusted friend to view the property and if you are interested, they should criticize it (too - dear,small,big,old,new,damp,cold,far away, near) etc to the auctioneer and then walk away . they should also maybe make arrangements to view another property or 2 as well so noone gets suspicious.

contact the auctioneer and make an offer of what you would like to pay, but dont give anything away about your personal circumstances. definitely do not call in to their offices just ring and say you are familiar with the property but are also putting in some other bids on other properties with other auctioneers . rather than putting a time limit on it, say that the bid stands until one of your offers are accepted. that will put them under pressure, not you and create the illusion that you could disappear if they dont accept.
then wait and hope.

just remember that most auctioneers just want a property off their books and 20-30k makes no difference to their 1.5% commission.
The idea of them acting for vendors is just an illusion.
 
DIY

Thanks a million Eamonn for the detailed reponse.

A couple of things though;
1. The house(s) I am half-thinking of soliciting are not for sale. I would be appearing to the vendor completely out of the blue.
2. I confused things by mentioning that I have seen a house that is for sale through an estate agent. I am dealing with the estate agent on this one but still might proceed with 1. above to keep all options open. The asking price is €250K which is quite fair but above what I want to spend. I would like to pay €220 but this would be flukey. I viewed the house and duly grumbled here and there but in fairness. Anyway, I'm going to hold fire til next week as I'm hoping one of my buyandsell dudes (see below) will come up trumps on my own house and I will know my position a lot better then.
3. My own house is for sale with an auctioneer who named himself as sole agent in a letter to me. I stuck an ad in the Buy and Sell for the craic and got a couple of hopeful(ish) responses. I am a bit worried of how much bother I could get into if this avenue proved fruitful. The auctioneer has no offers and is saying that my house is going "slowly".

Sorry for all the confusion and thanks again
Rebecca
 
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