is this right!! estate agent rip off

chrisandy111

hi,i have had an offer accepted of 211,000 on a house it was offers over 175000 i was advised it was sealed bids so put in my max offer as i really want it,the estate agent spoke to us twive that day to confrm the bid,the next day we were told we were successful but it hadnt gone to sealed bids as there wernt enough,i was unhappy but told by the estate agent not to haggle over price i want to put in a lower bid but dont want to loose the property help!! advice

maninthestreet

So you offered £211,000 for the house, which was accepted by the vendors, but you are now having second thoughts, and want to make a lower offer?
Yes, you can do that, as contracts don't appear to have been exchanged, but it's called gazundering.

pawpurrs

You run the risk of losing it though, so just be prepared for that,where there other offers? It sounds like there where, so the vendors *could* decide to go with one of those.
You were happy with the price, untill you discovered it didnt go to sealed bids, is that correct?

Robert_Sterling_3

It does not sound to me as if there were any other offers.
Two would have been enough when using sealed bids.

poppysarah

If you were the only bidder then, you'll be the only bidder now. Reduce your offer.

stevo2434

I'm sure in the current climate £180,000 would be enough. If they wanted much more, it would have been "offers over £200,000"!!

chrisandy111

maninthestreet wrote: »

So you offered £211,000 for the house, which was accepted by the vendors, but you are now having second thoughts, and want to make a lower offer?
Yes, you can do that, as contracts don't appear to have been exchanged, but it's called gazundering.

i dont think i am being unreasonable i was misinformed that it was sealed bids not having second thoughts but dont want to be ripped off

chrisandy111

pawpurrs wrote: »

You run the risk of losing it though, so just be prepared for that,where there other offers? It sounds like there where, so the vendors *could* decide to go with one of those.
You were happy with the price, untill you discovered it didnt go to sealed bids, is that correct?

i offered the highest we could afford having been led to believe there were a number of interested bidders and it was copmetitive

RHemmings

chrisandy111 wrote: »

i offered the highest we could afford having been led to believe there were a number of interested bidders and it was copmetitive

That in itself would be enough to get my back up and make me feel I was justified in gazundering. Though of course you risk getting the seller's backs up too. If I did gazunder in such an environment, I'd explain to all parties why I was doing so.

How many times have I seen advice on this forum that if you do lose a house, another one just as good or better will be along soon?

Whatever happens, can you keep us informed concerning how it turns out?

chrisandy111

RHemmings wrote: »

That in itself would be enough to get my back up and make me feel I was justified in gazundering. Though of course you risk getting the seller's backs up too. If I did gazunder in such an environment, I'd explain to all parties why I was doing so.

How many times have I seen advice on this forum that if you do lose a house, another one just as good or better will be along soon?

Whatever happens, can you keep us informed concerning how it turns out?

how do you ensure the seller recieves the true picture from the estate agent though?

barnaby-bear

chrisandy111 wrote: »

how do you ensure the seller recieves the true picture from the estate agent though?

You don't. The EA is paid by the vendor their legal obligation is to the vendor to get the best price. The "interpreted" the market/interest shown pre-bids as competitive and told you so, if they'd lied and said there were 2 acres when only 1 or alike that would be false advertising though.