Do Estate Agents know best??

nic_santorini

I am so annoyed!!!!!!!!:mad: Put house on the market two weeks ago and within 6 days got an offer - too little, so rejected it. Then the same person offered £5k more and this was ok but still a little cheap. I asked the estate agent for advice and said that we could take the second offer but what was the liklihood of getting just 2.5k more - this was still a lot less than the asking price. I told him I did not want to lose the buyer by being greedy but he said he would put it to the purchaser. He rang back and said he was 80-85% sure she would go that extra 2.5k. I told him I really did not want to lose the deal because we have a house to purchase. We heard nothing for days and now the purchaser has pulled out altogether without an explanation!!!!!!!! I am so annoyed and predicted that this would happen. The purchaser pulled out the day after the Lehmann Bank went down, followed by the Halifax - do you think it was that? or do you think she would have pulled out anyway. We stated that we would accept the 2nd offer and she declined - how weird is that - now we will lose the house we want - so frustrating!!!!!!!!!!!!! I should not have trusted the estate agent I guess? Anyone else found this?

Doozergirl

A buyer would not walk away if you refused an offer and then accepted their previous one. House buying tends to be pretty emotive and if you love a house, you won't let the fact that a vendor put up a little bit of a fight make you turn your nose up and walk away. If the price they accept is one you have offered, it's good news

Your buyer would have walked away anyway, I think. It does happen and yes, the state of things earlier in the week would scare a lot of people.

Better sooner than later I say. Nothing lost. I don't think the EA was to blame at all. I've found that most people have three offers in them, if indeed you haven't already got to asking price on offer one or two.

neas

the more they sell it for.. the more commission they get..

You do the rest of the thinking....

nic_santorini

neas wrote: »

the more they sell it for.. the more commission they get..

You do the rest of the thinking....

I would agree, but we are paying a fixed fee - so it does not matter how much he sells it for really - just wish sometimes I listened to my instincts but on the other hand glad I did not get the ball rolling with the other property and waste money on searches etc etc.

Doozergirl

neas wrote: »

the more they sell it for.. the more commission they get..

You do the rest of the thinking....

Rubbish.

£2500 on the sale price would be £25 to the EA office and very much less, if anything, to the negotiator personally.

1% of a hellavalot of money or 1% of nothing. all for the sake of an extra £25? The goal is to get a sale fullstop.

GDB2222

I must say that I would have pulled out too in the middle of last week. Nothing to do with the £2,500 extra and everything to do with what looke like an economic catastrophe about to hit us all.

IHS88

Nic

Don't fret.

Not really the agents fault and blamely them personally I think will harm a future sale of your home.

They might be less inclined to give your property the push on the sales front if you have previously upset them.

Think positively dust yourself off and thank the agent for the work they've done so far. Thanking them might keep their spirits up. Remember, a depressed agent will sell nothing!

If you really want to sell, price is key. Make sure it is on the market at an extremely competitive price.

Agents love bonuses. Announce to the estate agents office that "the negotiator who introduces a buyer will recieve £500 cash on completion".

Watch as the agents start picking up the phone! This trick works and viewer numbers should increase.

Don't worry about losing out on your next home. Chances are it will still be on the market when your property is under offer.

If its sold, it wasn't for you. In this market, theres plenty of fish in the sea!!!

Good luck!

toocan

Ive just put an offer in on a property around 15% below asking now the estate agent came back to me and said there was someone else interested and that they had bid higher and she couldnt tell me how much.. she said this 3 times i presume she wanted me to ask how much so as to revise my bid to match but i just stuck firm.

From my perspective i found it annoying i put a bid in of what the house is worth to me and id rather walk away than play games with some commision hungry EA (the difference from EA to EA is amazing ive found some are straight otherwise are slimey)... something else that might have put them off is whenever i tell people im buying a house in the pub or at work etc. everyone says im mental and reciets horror stories of recessions of old etc. and to wait 6 months at least it could be possible thats why your buyer pulled out.

missile

The estate agent gave you (good?) advice, but it was up to you to make the decision. Many buyers simply walk away before completion with no explanation.

tessie_bear

selling is such a nightmare.should have a health warning attached

Incisor

toocan wrote: »

... From my perspective i found it annoying i put a bid in of what the house is worth to me and id rather walk away than play games with some commision hungry EA ...

Commission hungry EA? One of those would take your offer [and the commission from it] as is, rather than lose you. The issue is vendors, they say yes or no and if the vendor wants more, the EA has to try and get it. Remember the EA is the acceptable face of a vendor.