Bidding on property but don't trust estate agent

Am considering buying an apt. Have called a particular estate agent who is in one of the branches of a well known firm a few times over the last year to express an interest in a few places. He has promised to e mail or call me when suitable 2 bed properties come on the market but never does. Ok maybe he's busy or lazy or thinks I'm not serious. Anyway I called yesterday about an apt and it was on the web for only a few days. Secretary says there's no offers yet as no viewings yet arranged. She puts me through to this guy who immediately says there's an offer of 1 k over the asking. I don't like this guy, wouldn't trust him at all and quite frankly don't believe him. How can I figure out what is going on. He is the main auctioneer in the town I'm interested in. I thought there was some sort of code of practice for auctioneers. What can I do ? The offer he says he has is 30 k over the last apt that went in this development according to the property price register.

I've been in this worrying position myself, wondering if there are fake bids.

There is an Irish Property Services Regulatory Authority; and it has a Code of Practice; more information with a link to the code of practice itself is [broken link removed].

As the site says, the codes or practice is 'voluntary' for now; auctioneers may or may not subscribe to the code--the intention is that they will be forced to subscribe in time. If they subscribe to the code, you can register a complaint against them if they violate the code. Further, "If you have a complaint, regardless of whether the Auctioneer/Estate Agent has signed up to the Code, you may still write to the Authority and register your complaint for future reference."

We do not know if the person in question is subscribing to the code of practice. I don't know how to find out if he is. The website can tell you of 'licensed' property service subscribers, but I do not know if that means subscribing to the code. Might be worth contacting the Authority to find out whether someone is subscribing or not.

Now, the code on section 1.9 requires him to "maintain a record of
all offers made for property, including the identity of the person/representative making
the offer, the level of the offer and any conditions attached". He must keep this for six years, to be available for inspection by the authority in disciplinary proceedings. He therefore is exposing himself to risk if he reports fake bids.

There are other things you can do to investigate. Do you have any friend, preferably a friend that the auctioneer does not know is a friend, who can call and make enquiries? If the friend gets information inconsistent with yours, that's obviously a huge alarm bell and a basis for a complaint.

However, if the friend reports the same thing as you do, it's probably genuine. The market response to any given property is full of surprises and unpredictability; it is not damning in itself that this reported bid on the property is significantly higher than what another similar one sold for. However, some of what you report does indeed seem quite odd, although secretaries can make mistakes, and confuse one property with another.

I hope that helps.

laois1 said:

He has promised to e mail or call me when suitable 2 bed properties come on the market but never does. Ok maybe he's busy or lazy or thinks I'm not serious.

Click to expand...

Maybe any of those things. However you are aware of the country you live in! Regrettably, what you describe is quite normal - and it doesn't stop at the estate agency business..

laois1 said:

Anyway I called yesterday about an apt ...She puts me through to this guy who immediately says there's an offer of 1 k over the asking. I don't like this guy, wouldn't trust him at all and quite frankly don't believe him.

Click to expand...

This may not seem equitable to you but he's not paid for you to trust him or for you to believe him. He's paid to get the maximum $ for the property.

laois1 said:

How can I figure out what is going on.

Click to expand...

Unless you can read his mind or have his phone and email tapped, how can you?

laois1 said:

I thought there was some sort of code of practice for auctioneers. What can I do ?

Click to expand...

You have a hunch (and in fairness, nobody here would be at all surprised if you were right) but no evidence - and most likely no chance of obtaining solid evidence to back up what you're suggesting. What should you do under those circumstances? -> nothing!

laois1 said:

The offer he says he has is 30 k over the last apt that went in this development according to the property price register.

Click to expand...

Maybe he does and maybe he doesn't. You ask what you should do. I'd propose you come at it from an entirely different direction. Its completely futile to second guess the info you get from an auctioneer. It may or may not be the truth. You have no way of knowing.
Come at it from a different perspective. Do your due diligence and do your research. What is the property actually worth to you personally? On the basis of that, make your offer. Of course, you will be wondering if this is enough or too much. There's not a whole lot you can do about that. You could improve your offer or you can walk away and wait for the next prospect to turn up on daft or myhome. You may get a call back accepting your offer or you may be destined to pursue another property.

I don't think this tells you anything more than you already knew. However, I don't think there's anyone here that can give you advice re. what is precisely the correct offer to be made on any particular property...

Very unlikely that anyone would put an offer in above the asking price for a property that is only advertised for a few days.
Also very unlikely that anyone will get a mortgage for an apartment that is being sold for 30k over the nearest value. Prices are not increasing that fast for apartments outside Dublin.
I’d view it. If you like it then put in a formal offer for what its worth to you, even if it is 30k less than the “offer” he says he has. Then sit tight!