Is Auctioneer telling porkies.

M

minkydog

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Hi. We spotted house we like and would like to make offer. Auctioneer tells us that there is already an "offer" of 298k on this house, and builder will not let it go for anything less than 320k. It has dropped already from 365k. So my question is when an auctioneer tells you there has been an "offer" on a property, is there some legal or moral code that he has to follow to tell you the truth............think I already know the answer to this. We would not be in a position to offer 298k so want to bid lower to see what happens, but dont want to look stupid by offering less than the so called "offer" if you know what I mean.
 
Who cares if you look stupid? If they had an offer of 298k on a house lookin for 320k then it would be sale agreed in these times.. Think the EA is windin ya up..
 
Whether s/he's being honest or not depends on the person.

If you still want to make a lower offer, just say that you can't match the 298k, but you can offer XXXX, so if the 298 offer falls through for whatever reason, then you would like your offer to be considered.
Also mention that you are looking at other properties, so if the seller is considering your offer, the EA should let you know within the week, as otherwise you may have made a firm offer on another property.
 
If you cant afford to meet 298k then the question is irrelevant, offer only what you are comfortable and you can do no more than that.
 
Just tell him you cant match 298 and thank him for his time, plenty more fish in the sea, prices are only going one way.
 
This is just the usual EA Bull. If you are interested, tell him/her that you dont think 298k is a reasonable price (dont mention budget), but you might consider a figure close to it, dont mention any figure. Tell them if the builder does become interested, they have your number. If they dont phone back, no harm, if they do phone then the advantage is yours and you can play hardball on your terms.
 
I agree with parkmagic. Why divulge any figure to an EA. The ball is firmly in the buyers court. You owe the EA and the builder zero.
 
We have been looking at houses and so far we have called 5 agents. 4 out of the 5 have told me that there is an offer on the houses. Spoofing, the lot of them! One of the houses we rejected and is still up on daft. Right now its so hard to get a mortgage i find it hard to believe that any house has an offer on it. And im pretty sure that if anyone got an offer they would be jumping at it and not so eager to hold off on accepting it, just so we can view it. I can smell the lie and to be honest its actually turned me off buying with those agents. Im more excited about seeing the house without the lie attached as i know the agent is at least upfront enough to start.
 
Estate agents are just trying not to waste everybody's time. They say there is a certain offer because the vendor has said they don't want to sell below a certain price. You are not entering into a relationship with the EA, it's a business transaction, just offer your price and see what happens.
 

An interesting talent you have there, lie smelling. If you are looking for a house without an offer on it it doesn't mean there is a lie attached it means just that there are no offers, why do people get so ratty when they view a house, like it want it and then find out that someone else wants it too. Is that so implausable or are your tastes extremely individual?
If people think that an EA is lying that shouldn't matter because surely people have the sense to stay within their budget and only offer what they think is reasonable?.
 
Yeah and maybe but there is nothing worse than having somebody tell you bareface lies to your face. If you are a cash buyer (not in a chain) tell the EA and make your price in line with what you can afford. And if the builder will not sell below a much higher price then he is mad. You just might get a better chance when the Government's agency gets around to selling the properties.
 
parkmagic said:
Why give that away?
Click to expand...

Firstly i'm guessing the OP has genuine interest in the house. The EA usualy states these "offers" because thats a price the vendor will not go below, by saying you would considder an amount close to it, you are giving the EA room to go back to the vendor, with the chance of a slightly lower offer. But as i said you have not named any amount but atleast you know the 298k is bull and they will take below it. The balls in your court then.
 
In Irish terms 298k means 265k. So start at 250k and go up bit by bit.
 
I have been to see about 7 houses in the last month or so - in all cases I was told that there were no offers on the table and the owners were open to offers!
It was so nice not to feel under any pressure!
 
And thats exactly what I wanted to hear. I think the times they are a changing and EA's I hope are a dying breed. We have dealt with the American system in the past and it is much more civilised system for the buyer than over here. I really do feel that EA's here are many goldfish in a bowl with a dwindling supply of water.
 
In our part of the world, the builders are dispensing with auctioneers and trying to sell the estates themselves at knockdown prices. Might be no harm if the OP went to the owner of the property to get the lie of the land. Auctioneers are a dying breed . . . thankfully.
 

That's a bit unfair. When I sold my house in Lucan in 2006, the market had just started to turn slightly. I had a really bad EA and she had not got a clue about this.

After a while with no results, I switched to a guy who really knew his stuff and got me the sale I needed. They were excellent and I dont think I could have sold without them.
 
hi,
I have a similar question. A friend of mine fom overseas is looking at buying an appartment. We're trying to help out with a little advice. When I have looked however at some figures in Auctioneers or EAs they seem still to be v. expensive. You hear this information about prices having fell up to 40% etc or being back at 2004 levels. Reason I say this is becasue I bought my own house in 2004 and houses of a similar vein in the same area are still being put in the paper (at so called reduced rates) for 30%+ than my 2004 price.
My question is does anyone know where one could find info on house prices for this time frame ie. 2004 - so to have something to check against in terms of seeing if these prices being offered are accurate?
Thanks.
 
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