I aggree with Parkmagic here. Say you have a genuine interest in the house, but at the right price, you dont have to say what the price i.e. "a fair bit" below the asking price.
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.
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.
I think you have hit the nail on the head with 'thats exactly what I wanted to hear'. You were given news that didn't suit and automatically went into defensive mode. The American system would be welcomed by EA's as then the commission rates could rise to 3% and not forgetting the charge of up to 3% for the buyer too.
I was not referring to the amount of money that EA's recieve, but the system whereby in the states the EA is working for the buyer and not the vendor. I know the vendor has his own EA working for him, but the system over here where you have two sharks circling a small fish is totally wrong.
The EA working for you in the states is working in your interest. e.g. when we were buying in the states 5 yrs ago our realtor pointed out to us these pipes that were sticking out of the ground closeby to the back of the property. We did not know what they were, he said there was a dump here 10 years back and the pipes were there to release any methane that had built up. Do you really think that would have happened here.....not a chance.
Do you think that EA's that are paid solely by a vendor to sell their house should act in a way that was not to the full benefit of that vendor?
as usual a question is asked and everyone goes off on a tangent forgetting that the original poster actually wanted advice. Im in the exact same position. I viewed a house on Friday that has been reduced considerably since going on the market. There hasnt been any intrest over the last year but I was told by the EA that they had an offer on Thursday(the day before I viewed) of €60k below the asking(the house has been reduced by approx 35% since being put up for sale 18 months ago). As it needs loads of work I'd like to get it for as little as possible. I told her that I would call her and arrange a second viewing with my partner. She said fine and that If they didnt get another offer then they would prob go with the offer that they have(apparently its an executor sale). For a house that has had little intrest I was surprised that she didnt give me a day or two to come back to her but she just said we could arrange something for the following Thursday or so. My plan is to let her know that I'm not in a chain, am mortgage approved and am keen to move ASAP. I will then offer less than the offer that she supposidly has and see what her reaction is. Just to be safe I'll ask her to keep me informed before a final decision is made(I will have to choose my words carefully here). I dont believe that there is an offer already there. My advice is to offer the figure that you had in mind that you are comfortable with and let her know(lie if you have to) that you're not in a chain etc etc. In other words make youself out to be a safe bet(just in case there is someone else sniffing around)
To choose your words carefully I would say as little as possible. If you make an offer she is obliged to keep you informed. My advice would be pick a price you can afford and want to pay and put that forward, if she says its way off the mark and thats all you are willing to pay. Don't go on about the market or be aggressive, if you are nice to deal with people often will try a little harder to make a deal work in your favour.
Thats kind of why I said 'can afford and want to pay' I was making the assumption that everyone wants the cheapest price.Pick the absolute cheapest you think, not the amount you can afford.
Onto that tangent again - but people should read Freakonomics about EA's and how they can work against the Vendor.
Thats kind of why I said 'can afford and want to pay' I was making the assumption that everyone wants the cheapest price.
I can afford to pay a million pounds if im earning 50 million a year. I may love the house and want to pay the million. Sometimes people want something more than the value of something and think becuase they can afford it they will have it. Its the problem with the celtic tiger over the last 10 years
2 Tales from Friends.
First one.
Friend puts offer on house, EA says higher offer put in by already by couple who saw on the same day. Friend knew couple to see, went and said, no point in trying to outbid each other (so one of them can get the house) Couple said they hadn't put on an offer on the house. EA fibbing.
Second, 6 years ago, another friend bidding on house she really wanted. Offer rejected. She was dissapointed by it and called into house she wanted to chat to the sellers about the property when it was sale agreed.
Sellers said they had acepted a lower bid, EA never passed on her offer. Reletive of EA had bid lower.
They cannot be trusted. You are the one with the money. You call the shots. Walk all over them, don't let them walk all over you.
It's always good to get the perspective of a friend of a friend.
Doesn't really bother me what way you take it MrMan
Take it whatever way you want but they're reputation preceeds them.