find out about refused offers

daveyliver

Hi, Iv seen recently a lot of houses being under offer and then becoming available again.

If you phoned the EA would they tell you what offers had been refused on the property or would they just want you to make a offer, I ask because I dont want to waste time viewing houses when the seller has refused what I consider to be a fair offer?

many thanks in advance

hostman

Its my understanding they shouldn't tell you the offer amounts. There is nothing wrong with the EA saying there is an offer and his opinion whether or not its likely to complete.

daveyliver

So if you phone the EA and say "you have just had an offer on 123 bla lane turned down can I ask how much the offer was just to give me an idea of what the seller may accept?" they will turn round and say Im not able to tell you.

What would they do if you said ok then forget it I will be in touch if any other properties take my fancy. Sounds like bad business to me, but what do I know??

daveyliver

Yes sorry, under offer on rightmove then two days later available again.

westv

daveyliver wrote: »

Yes sorry, under offer on rightmove then two days later available again.

Sorry about that. I realised you had said "under offer" listings after I posted so I first edited and then deleted my post after only just realising you could do that!!

poppysarah

Why do you want to know? Just make an offer you're happy with and the EA might refuse to pass it on saying they've refused more than that.
If you want the offer passed on put it in writing and cc it directly to the owner.

Doozergirl

How do you know what a fair offer is without viewing a house?

dander

If houses appear as "under offer" on rightmove that would generally mean the offer's been accepted, rather than just an offer's been made. If they pop back up as for sale, probably the buyer got cold feet and dropped out.

Estate agents will often give you an idea of whether a seller is prepared to accept offers, or keen to get close to the asking price.

Although a lot will depend on what you mean by 'a fair offer'. Are you trying to hunt down the sellers that will accept a massive reduction or just trying to weed out the ones with unrealistic expectations?

Lunar_Eclipse

Doozergirl wrote: »

How do you know what a fair offer is without viewing a house?

My first thoughts exactly. Sounds more like shopping beyond the budget (been there) or in search of a heavily discounted bargain. I'm not sure 'a fair price' is much use anyway since a house is worth what one buyer is willing to pay, but must be acceptable to the seller. Good point about minimising time wasting however. Yet very head over heart in approach; never good in my experience. The heartfelt house purchases are better IMO!

In answer to the OP's question, it partly depends on the relationship you have with the Estate Agent and also on their sales strategies/training. Our home (supposedly) had an offer on it when we viewed it and the agent told us exactly what it was. Needless to say we still offered 35k below this offer, which was refused. And then settled roughly in the middle of the gap.

westv

dander wrote: »

If houses appear as "under offer" on rightmove that would generally mean the offer's been accepted, rather than just an offer's been made. If they pop back up as for sale, probably the buyer got cold feet and dropped out.

Wouldn't those properties have "Sold STC" rather than "under offer"?

Frugaldom

Wouldn't 'under offer' mean exactly as it says, the property is under offer - someone has offered x amount for the property and is awaiting a final decision. If it was me, I'd contact the EA and ask for the closing date; I'm assuming that closing dates are relevant regardless of location?