Bidding - should we believe estate agent?

V

Voda

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I got a friend to ring an estate agent this morning to ask about a house I am interested in - she was told there were no bids in. An hour later, I rang to make a bid and low and behold, I was told someone had bidded the asking price.
Apart from the fact that it seems a bit of a coincidence, given the current climate when most houses are having to drop prices a little, why would someone who is the first bidder not offer a little less? It has made me suspicious and a friend of mine who works in this area said it sounds like they are 'trying to hold the asking price' and that there is probably no other bidder.
What do others think??
 
Get your friend to ring back. Or if you believe there is no other bidder, bid what you feel like bidding anyway.
 
I would ring back and put in the offer you were going to make and insist that the auctioneer tells the seller of your offer. I doubt if there was an offer for the full asking price within that hour. I might even hint that I would contact the seller directly and see what the reaction is. Tell the auctioneer if you have mortgage approval/are not in a chain/ are first time buyer etc. Anything that would give you an advantage...
 
And remember the market is starting to turn in the buyer's favour so don't go overboard with your offer!
 
Similar to this my friend just made an offer on a property in Navan on Friday, amv €310k,she was told there was already an offer of €317,500 on the house BUT the bidders had a house to sell. So, she bid €317.5k as a FTB with full mortgage approval ready to go and they came back a while ago with €320k, she can't afford to go that high. So they will go to the vendor again with her original offer coz she is not in a chain and they asked her is she willing to maybe up it to €320-322k with cash, but contracts will reflet €317.5k. Do you think she should walk away or accept it if they say yes. Thing is she loves that house, it's lovely, other ones she looked at at the same price range are not as nice.
 
What they are suggesting is illegal- avoiding stamp duty. In the present market which is strong for buyers I would run a mile before doing business with anybody suggesting a scam like this. Why should she risk prosecution for tax avoidance when in 6 -12 months time she will more than likely buy the same house for less than 300k.
 
Are the vendors not open to tax avoidance risk too though by suggesting this as well as estate agent. From what my friend told me it seemed to be a done thing there as she was told they way they do it etc, so it's probably been done before. My hubbie reckons that €317.5k is too much for Navan anyway esp for a 3 bed semi eventhough it's in fab condition and totally walk in, all she needs is beds and a sofa and the usual compliances to move in. Someone else we know up there told us that with the new motorway coming on stream in the next year or so the houses will rocket up there so she is worried about waiting around and ending up in Cavan in a years time.
 
it may be illegal I would do it in order to get the house she wants. If she should agree then dont be sucked into going too much over the 317k as there is a change in the market in her favour. I would offer 320 for a week and then take off the table. Keep looking in the meantime
 
If your friend has no house to sell she should stick with her original offer. She's a better prospect than the other bidder so all things being equal she should get the house unless someone else comes in.
 
I kind of agree Nelly, if she can get it for the €317.5 and avoid the excessive stamp duty and give some cash over sure it's better for her. She cannot offer €320k, stamp duty too much for her and she's right. What if they did agree to €320k and they accepted she 'd be up the creek then trying to find €10k or so. Oh I dunno, it's a pity they came back with the €317.5k, they knew they are FTB's so I'd say they made the offer up coz she told them she likes the house. It's tough out there!
 
Ok lets get this one straight.

When making a bid enquire to see the BID BOOK.

Most people dont know about BID BOOKS, but under the IAVI rules all IAVI auctioneers are required to WRITE ALL BIDS DOWN.

If you are not dealing with an IAVI then simply run for your life as they really dont know their stuff and will end up costing you time money and heartache because of their inexperience.


Another hot tip is.....

After going "SALE AGREED" you dont have to sign the contracts for around 9 months. Yes thats right,according to IRISH LAW your solicitor can hold on to those contracts while you sit there on the fence requesting more and more "surveys" or water tests ( while you fritter away the months and the vendors are getting desperate because of that crippling bridging loan they took out ). The Auctioneers and the Vendors are powerless once you have the contracts. In a downward market this can pay BIG DIVIDENDS as the auctioneers cannot sell to anyone else while you have the contracts. if they do you can pursue them legally........

You're welcome
 
Frank Zappa said:
After going "SALE AGREED" you dont have to sign the contracts for around 9 months. Yes thats right,according to IRISH LAW your solicitor can hold on to those contracts while you sit there on the fence requesting more and more "surveys" or water tests ( while you fritter away the months and the vendors are getting desperate because of that crippling bridging loan they took out ).
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That's interesting - is there a specific limit after which the buyer is deemed to have decided not to buy and must return the contracts? My buyers certainly took their sweet time; I picked up the phone one day and told my solicitor to withdraw from the sale - all hell broke loose then.
 
Surely your solicitor should ask for a date by which time contracts are returned or else the deal is off? This is what we do any time we're selling. Any links showing this 'Irish Law'?
 
Frank Zappa

I take it that you are not a solicitor or estate agent?

No contract exists until the contract is signed by both parties. I have never heard of a vendor selling signed contracts to a buyer. They send blank contracts and the buyer signs first. At that stage, the vendor has the buyer over a barrell. I have often heard of long delays in the vendor returning signed contracts and I have heard of occasions where the vendor did not go ahead with the deal after the buyer had signed the contracts.

I have not heard of anyone seeing the bid book before. It's an interesting idea. Have you inspected it in practice? Have you ever made a complaint to the IAVI before about auctioneers breaking the rules on guide prices? I suspect that this rule is not observed much either.

Brendan
 
I'm gobsmacked at this information this morning!!. Anyway, advised my friend to get back to estate agent, offer amv again and walk away if she says no, tell estate agent to ring her when it falls thru coz buyer cannot sell their house. She is being messed around with as I think for a second time buyer to bid €317.5k is a bit suspect. We all know the housing market is changing so how can a house is Navan jump €7.5k in 3 days??. I also said to her is she had to sell in 6 months time she wouldn't get €317.5k for it, probably less, god only knows!!
She is going to see 2 more houses today so hopefully no more muppet estate agents mess her around.
 
The idea that you can agree to a sale and not close for 9 months is crazy. We give deadlines all the time to buyers. One developer we sell for gives you 21 days to sign contracts after you pay your deposit or your house is back on market. Lots of EA's have bid books and are happy to show them to you. It is a foolish auctioneer who makes up bids and risks losing a buyer. Just because you are not the highest bidder doesn't mean you won't get the house. Vendors often choose an underbidder if they are a more qualified buyer. I did this myself last week for a vendor. The high bidder was in a long chain of sales and was unable to convince us of his ability to close. We went with the underbidder for E5,000 less as she had cash and went straight to contract.

Brendan
 
SPC100
One of my local estate agents, documents all bids and will show them to someone who wants to bid on the property.
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That is excellent. Would you mind naming and praising the estate agent?

Brendan
 
coinfused said:
What they are suggesting is illegal- avoiding stamp duty. In the present market which is strong for buyers I would run a mile before doing business with anybody suggesting a scam like this. Why should she risk prosecution for tax avoidance when in 6 -12 months time she will more than likely buy the same house for less than 300k.
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What planet are you living on?? Come January 1st the housing market will explode into life once more, same as it has every year after the budget. Less than E300 :D lol.

My advice would be, if you want the house, then tell your morals to take a hike and pay the E317,500 and 2.5K in cash. If you don't want it then go away and wait for the next one, which incidentely will be MORE than E317,500. This is not rocket science.
 
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