Strange email from Estate Agent

R

ray_giraffe

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I'm bidding on a property and was told of a bid of €300,000 by email

Less than an hour after being informed of the increased bid, I received another email from the estate agent:


Hi <Bidder>,
I phoned you but got voice mail, The vendor of <property> called into the office this afternoon and informed me that they are accepting the offer of €300,000. I informed them I am awaiting a reply form yourself, however I was told to proceed with this bid.

Should this sale not proceed I will contact you.

Regards,
<Agent>.


This strikes me as very unusual.

How would you deal with this?
 
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Are you a cash buyer or are you depending on sale of own house and/or mortgage?

Vendor may prefer a cash buyer at a lower price.
 
Just received this:

Hi <Bidder>,
I phoned and left a message.
I emailed your offer to the vendor of <property>. I then phoned and put your offer of €305,000.00 to them.
I was told that they are not going to consider any further offers, and they are proceeding with the person who started the first bid.
As mentioned I will keep you up to date on new properties coming to the market.
Regards,
<Agent>.
 
Brendan Burgess said:
Did you actually place a clear bid? How much was it?

If you have been messing them around, they might just say to the estate agent: "Get on with it"
Click to expand...
First viewings of the property were last week.
The first bid on the property [€290,000] was placed on Monday, not by me.
I placed a bid of €297,000 yesterday afternoon.
There was no indication the vendors were in a rush to sell !
 
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Its odd in the sense it doesn't seem entirely rationale, but I don't think its that unusual. Do you know anything about the vendors?

Something similar but more extreme happened to a house near us a few years ago: open viewings, then sale agreed within a few days even though a lot of other people wanted to view/place bids. It went for well under 'market value' given the way prices had increased in the area to the extent we assumed there must be some connection with the purchasers, but we now know them as neighbours and there wasn't. Turns out (from talking to other neighbours!) the house was an executor sale that dragged on and on, and there were so many family members splitting it that they just wanted their money ASAP and a few grand split between about 8 people didn't seem to make a difference.

I also know two people who sold in the last few months as they trade up. Both couples bought in 2012/13 at the bottom of the crash, and have made about 250-300k just through property price uplift. Both sold to the second highest bidder: in one case because it was a family, in the other because it was a young couple. They felt like they wanted to pass on a small degree of their good fortune. People are rarely purely rationale actors no matter what we like to think.
 
ray_giraffe said:
First viewings of the property were last week.
The first bid on the property [€290,000] was placed on Monday, not by me.
I placed a bid of €297,000 yesterday afternoon.
There was no indication the vendors were in a rush to sell !
Click to expand...

Very odd indeed.

Just in case there is any messing by the estate agent, call to the house if it's occupied by the vendors and either write to them or tell them that you just want to make sure you are hearing the full story. But word it in such a way that you are not defaming the estate agent.

It could be a bank forced sale and they just want it done and dusted.

Brendan
 
Brendan Burgess said:
Very odd indeed.

Just in case there is any messing by the estate agent, call to the house if it's occupied by the vendors and either write to them or tell them that you just want to make sure you are hearing the full story. But word it in such a way that you are not defaming the estate agent.

It could be a bank forced sale and they just want it done and dusted.

Brendan
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Thanks Brendan,

The apartment is occupied by the vendors so I can call in to them.

I don't feel I'm getting the full story, just feels wrong.
 
Hi RedOnion,
I'm really green when it comes to property buying so I need to ask for advice.
I'm happy to clarify if something doesn't add up.
At the same time I don't want to include extraneous details.
Ray
 
It happens. They may like the other bidders, they may even know them (not knowing that they were interested beforehand). Or it just might feel good to do the deal with the other party.

I think the agent has been fairly up front and given you what the seller has decided. Agent may not agree, (reading inbetween the lines) but it is the seller that calls the shots.

Agent may be amenable in giving you the heads up on anything similar coming up.
 
This happened me a few years ago. Almost identical situation. I did manage to contact the seller, and ask were they aware of someone else (me) bidding and the estate agent not allowing me to increase my bid. They were fine with it. Not sure what went on but either way all above board.

Delighted in the end, got a much better house, in a better area for the same price 2 months later.
 
presidenttttt said:
Delighted in the end, got a much better house, in a better area for the same price 2 months later.
Click to expand...

While bidding on a home, particularly a first home, can be an emotional experience, what's meant to be, is meant to be...

Sooner or later you get a property, and it evolves into a home that you are delighted with.

Don't let estate agents drive you nuts - they simply aren't worth it. As a "profession", they aren't great, with many focused on little more than their next commission cheque.

Rather than waste too much time on this property, just stick a note in the door addressed to the owners, telling them that you made an offer of XXX, and that you wanted to be sure that they didn't want to accept your higher offer, before you move on. Include a contact number, and ask them to call you by YYY date, if they would like to discuss your offer.

Then start looking for other properties - the right one is out there, just waiting to be found.
 
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Ehh the agent said in writing that they (the agent) did put the offer to the vendor.

So you may want to word any note differently.

ray_giraffe said:
Just received this:

Hi <Bidder>,
I phoned and left a message.
I emailed your offer to the vendor of <property>. I then phoned and put your offer of €305,000.00 to them.
I was told that they are not going to consider any further offers, and they are proceeding with the person who started the first bid.
As mentioned I will keep you up to date on new properties coming to the market.
Regards,
Click to expand...
 
To me it's pretty obvious the property has been sale agreed at €300k, and it matters zilch that it was a quick sale or wasn't. Post No 2 asked you if you were selling a property, a cash buyer or are waiting for mortgage approval, but you never answered that. It would make it easier to understand what's happening if that information was available..
 
I've heard of this happening a lot. The seller may know the other bidder or they could be a cash buyer.

Tbh if I was selling this house (my family home) I wouldn't necessarily go with the highest bidder. I'd want to give it to someone local (if an option). My next door neighbours are elderly and they've been very good to me looking after the place so I'd be conscious of them and who the buyer may be. It's not always about the money.
 
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