Full asking price rejected

M

Manny

Guest
Hi,
We are trying to sell and buy at the moment, we are sale agreed on our house, by a first time buyer (who is obviously keen to close by the end of the year). We were sale agreed on a property which fell through last week.
We were about to give up on finding somewhere to buy in enough time to close by year end when a great house came on the market this week, we viewed it and as we don't have time to get into bidding back and forth, we offered full asking price, on the condition that they didn't go ahead with viewings this weekend.
We would never have done this only the location is perfect for us (not perfect generally, just perfect for us for family reasons) and we are running out of time. We put a time limit on the offer.
EA just informed me that they have rejected our offer, they want to go ahead with this weekends viewing and see what happens.
I reminded him that our offer would be off the table by then, and that's ok by them.
I'm really surprised that the offer was rejected as no house in the area has reached full asking price in the 3 months we've been looking. We didn't make this offer lightly, we're serious buyers and are ready to go. Now I'm wondering if they are serious about selling or are they just testing the water?
Any advice?
 
It's impossible to know.

Different auctioneers have different strategies about asking prices. They set a high price and home to achieve something close to it. Others set a lower price to generate a bidding war and hope to exceed it.

I suspect that the fact that you showed such enthusiasm probably motivated them into thinking that there are plenty of other buyers out there.
 
They are calling your bluff. Chances are they may not get anybody but will say that they have and ask you to bid higher. They know you are keen. Unfortunately you need to be willing to walk away at this stage or else see what happens. It seems you want the house so this may be hard to take.
 
Well our offer is off the table now, so as much as I want this house I am prepared to walk away.
We probably did the wrong thing by offering full price but we wanted to avoid a bidding scenario and thought this was the best way of doing it.
 
'Don't cut off your nose to spite your face'... Wait the weekend and see what emerges....
They might be more than willing to take your offer.... then who is in the driving seat????
 
The vendor is in charge on this, so when the auctioneer went back to tell them that they had the offer, the vendor would have thought that they went in too low.

The auctioneer most likely would have had to talk the vendor down in the first place, as most vendors think that their house is worth more than it really is, so they now feel that there is more to come.
 
If I was selling a house and someone offered the full asking price in the first week, before the first weekend viewing, I wouldn't take it. I would wait to see if this was an indication of a lot of interest in the house.

Maybe in this market it would be a mistake, but it I would consider it worth waiting a few weeks.

Maybe the EA will be back to you in a few weeks, but there is nothing you can do if the seller wants to put the house on the market for a few weeks to gauge interest.
 
There are very few bidding wars happening at the moment. Unfortunately, it was a mistake to bid so high.

I had a similar situation some time ago when I tried to get my hands on a commercial property. I placed a bid, that was classified as considerably high, considering the times we are in. The agent took my offer and a mammoth amount of information. This went on for months on end. Finally the penny dropped that we were being tricked and involved in matters out of our reach.

The owner of the property was indebted and in NAMA. The property was never going to be mine.

I wonder is there similar game playing going on here?

I think you've had a lucky escape Manny.
 
If you are prepared to walk away (good mindset) then wait to see what happens. If they come back offer less and put that on the table for a given period. You are in a good position if they come back. Just make sure and stay in that position i.e. be prepared to walk away. Good luck and be aware that there are very few deals made between now and March next year (traditionally).
 
I don't think I've any hope of getting this house and closing before year end, do I?
So I think walking away is the only thing I can do...
 
As you like this house, you should remain interested in it.

Send someone along to the viewing tomorrow to see how much real interest there is in it.

Put in a lower bid on Tuesday.

It will probably be rejected.

But keep on looking at other houses as well.

Brendan
 
Brendan Burgess said:
As you like this house, you should remain interested in it.

Send someone along to the viewing tomorrow to see how much real interest there is in it.

Put in a lower bid on Tuesday.

It will probably be rejected.

But keep on looking at other houses as well.

Brendan
Click to expand...
Do you think there's any point carrying on looking at properties or getting in to bidding on this one, given our time constraint with our buyer?
 
Brendan Burgess said:
As you like this house, you should remain interested in it.

Send someone along to the viewing tomorrow to see how much real interest there is in it.

Put in a lower bid on Tuesday.

It will probably be rejected.

But keep on looking at other houses as well.

Brendan
Click to expand...

Put in that lower bid today!
 
Manny
A friend offered on a house in south co Dublin a few weeks ago without specifying a deadline. Silence from ea for ages who ignored her calls. Then one day she spotted on ea's website that there would be open viewings one weekend and worse still, house was priced for less than she had offered! The buyers ultimately accepted her offer and the purchase is now going through. So, if you really want the place, hang on in there.
 
Thanks for all the advice.
I have someone going along tomorrow to see how the viewing goes and also to make sure the EA doesn't tell people he has an offer and use our offer as a starting point for bidding!
 
Brendan Burgess said:
As you like this house, you should remain interested in it.

Send someone along to the viewing tomorrow to see how much real interest there is in it.

Put in a lower bid on Tuesday.

It will probably be rejected.

But keep on looking at other houses as well.

Brendan
Click to expand...

What you could also do is get the person you send to put in a lower offer.
 
commonsense said:
What you could also do is get the person you send to put in a lower offer.
Click to expand...

So basically it's ok to play tricks as long as it's in your favour?

If the OP starts lowering their offer already then the EA would think that you are just another messer who thinks that they can 'play the game'.

Treat this as the massive investment that it is, and don't expect things to be wrapped up quickly to your liking. The owners of the house you are interested in have to be satisfied that they are achieving market value, just as you have to be happy that you are paying the right price. This cannot and should not be rushed.
 
I would have rejected your offer as well,from their perspective the house isn't a wet day on the market and they have a bid at full asking,I would just sit back and see how far over the asking I can get also its likely the property price was pitched low in order to get a lot of people viewing and bidding.
 
well i just heard how the viewing went today. There was a lot of people viewing, and the ea told everyone that they had an offer of full asking price.
Our offer was off the table since yesterday and there wouldnt have been enough time for anyone else to make an offer before the viewing so the ea lied.
Im really annoyed, but im suppose i shouldnt have expected anything else from estate agents! Im probably more annoyed at myself for taking the risk and making a high offer.
Any advice where i should go from here?
 
I don't necesarrily think that's a bad thing. I've used it to my advantage in the past
People will be scared off by the vendor not accepting a bid of the full asking price and
may be inclined to know you are a serious bidder and not be willing to get into a bidding war so may walk away. You still have the risk of someone out bidding you but that was always a possibility once the house went on the market. A full asking price bid will only keep the genuine serious bidders involved something you can't avoid.
 
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