Way of checking if there are really other bidders?

Hi All,

I am in a bidding process for a house in north Dublin. The house has been on the market for about 2-3 months without any offers. Last week the estate agent contacted me and informed there was a now an offer slightly below asking price. Two days later, she informed that there was another offer at the asking price. She reached out to me twice more during the week and said there was was xxx offer above asking price. So four offers in week!

It just seems abit odd to me that there is a such a sudden interest in the property within a week. Furthermore, the estate agent is putting pressure on me to make a decision quickly. Whilst I do like the property, I don't want to pay over the odds (whatever that is) by what could be potentially 'phantom' bidders.

Any thoughts on this? There is no way to check if there are other bidders I presume? Am I been too sceptical about the situation perhaps?

Thanks

As far as I know there is no system for recording offers on a property. I have thought that as part of the regulation of auctioneers and estate agents that there should have to maintain a register of offers on a property, that could be inspected by the Property Services Regulatory Authority, psr.ie.

Its probably difficult to put all the pieces together but it would eliminate the doubt about bogus "offers".

Why don't you ask a friend to phone up, show some interest and ask how much interest there is in the house? See what kind of reply you get?

Emily R said:

Hi All,

Am I been too sceptical about the situation perhaps?

Thanks

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I too would be sceptical and would probably not increase my offer, but it’s not an easy one.

Are these higher bids in a position to sign a contract ?

If not, an auctioneer will not usually take such bids seriously, but they can be used as a means of upping the price.

I would stick with my original bid and tell the estate agent that is what the house is worth to you. If the others are genuine bidders then one of them will buy the house at something more than you feel it's worth.
If they are phantom bidders then he/she will be back to you. Don't let yourself be pushed

I lost out on a fabulous house one time because the phantom bidder wasn't a phantom bidder !!

Emily R said:

It just seems abit odd to me that there is a such a sudden interest in the property within a week.

Furthermore, the estate agent is putting pressure on me to make a decision quickly.

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Why is it odd that there is interest in the property, we know two things, you are interested, and the Dublin market is moving.

No the estate agent is not putting pressure on you, it's completely up to you to ignore any pressure, but as another poster said, the phantom bidders may be real. Do you love this property? And can you afford it are the questions you need to be working on.

I had the same dilemma, as I'm sure many people have. I remember looking at the IAVI code of conduct (or scsi as it now is) which said that members could not make up bids, and also had to keep records of all bids made for a period of time, for the purposes of complaint resolution; however I cant find that document now, very annoyingly. It should be somewhere on the scsi site. Of course even if you find it, its no guarantee of anything, but it gave me some feeling of assurance, at least in dealing with the bigger more reputable estate agents.

Surely it is not that surprising? If the house was on the market for a couple of months, probably had a lot of viewings. I could see the case where people would stay on the sidelines initially and not bid, but once one bid comes, then anyone else with an interest in the property will be flushed out. Particularly given the publicity recently RE rising prices in Dublin

If you are sticking with your current bid, you should emphasize any other elements that might make your bid preferable to the vendor even if it is not the highest. e.g. not in a chain, mortgage ready to go, can close quickly etc etc

Emily R said:

I don't want to pay over the odds (whatever that is) by what could be potentially 'phantom' bidders.

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Exactly, what is above the odds? Work out what it is worth to you. If it it were me, and I wanted the house, I would assume that bids were genuine and I would bid up to my limit. If you start second guessing every bid on every house you'll never buy one.