7 day period

mickelaine1

Hi,
I am looking to buy a house from an estate agent that has been re-possessed and now being sold buy the bank. The house went in the paper with an accepted offer of 58,250 saying higher offers should be made within 7 days.
I have since made a higher offer of 59,000 and the estate agent says a higher offer has been made but won't say how much and how much would I like to increase my offer.
Is this common practice or am I being taken for a ride to increase my offer.

Any help appreciated.

Thanks

Mick

nikki1520

Depends on the agent, and who the first buyer is. It has been known for the agent to try and psyche you out by saying there is a higher offer. It has also been known for there to be a genuine offer, it's down to you to try and work out what's going on.

The best you can probably do is consider how much you'd be happy to pay for the house, and bid that much. We did and got our dream house (following a lot of messing about) - however, if you're just interested as it's a bargain, then make your best offer and if it's not "enough" then move on to the next one.

Of course, you could always find out who the lender is and approach them directly - has also been known for some offers to not be passed on. Not all estate agents are this shabby, but there's always one...

Hope that helps

McKneff

this sort of practice should be banned. The estate agents should be squeaky clean and be able to prove who has made the higher offer (even if it is afterwards)

G_M

It's common.
The EA I dealt with would not tell me what other offers had been received, but would tell me if they were higher than mine.
I made a formal increase in my offer of £5K, and then asked if they had a higher offer. Was told yes. Increased my offer by another £2K, and asked again.....

A stupid game, and one where you don't really know how honest they are being.

Try the bank's reposession dept as suggested, or the solicitors acting for them.

mickelaine1

Thanks for all your replies, they have all been very helpful. Looks like i will just have to play the game.

Cheers.