Estate agent rejected my offer with sarcastic laugh

abinanthanb

I had viewed this property twice in past one week and liked it. It was on the market as Offers above £109000. The last sale in the region was on April 2007 for £121000, for the same size property. The average drop in my town since then is around 16% and this particular area is not really a well demanded one!!
I made an offer for £101000. The estate agent gave a very obvious sarcastic laugh and told me that she wont even bother the Seller with my quote. She added that there is already an offer on this property for £119000 and I can make an offer around that price.
I straight away told her that I cannot match that price and told her this property is not worth it. She immediately changed her tone and informed me that I can bargain a little bit. By this time I was really !!!!ed off and told her that I was no longer interested in that property and asked her to look for something that matches my criteria. She then pressed again if I was sure and I simply said that I didnt want to waste my time and the seller's.

How can an EA treat a prospective buyer (I was in touch with them regarding my mortgage and solicitor hence they know my position in terms of finance) like this when I offered just 8% under the asking price?!!

Am I right in doing that? Its glaringly obvious that in a weak market like this noone will offer more than the asking price, that too 10% more. If someone really did that how can a seller keep looking for any other buyer?!! For all the researches I have done for past 2 weeks, this property is not even worth the price the seller is asking for!! Should I have kept the door open rather than shutting it down because of the attitude of the EA?

plum86

It sounds to me like there wasn't even another offer and the EA was trying to play you. I think you were quite right to be clear on what you are willing to pay. If you are not too desperate for the property
I would just keep an eye on it for a while, if it stays on the market the seller may be more willing to compromise on price to clinch the deal. But if you are in a hurry and really want it I would wait a couple of days to let them them think over your offer then maybe offer slightly more if they don't get back to you, but do be careful to set yourself a top budget, if it goes above that cut your loses and keep looking.

All the best

Running_Horse

If there was no other offer they will be in touch. If there was you are better off out of a bidding war. If it was on for offers over 109, then how can an offer of 101 be 8% under the asking price? While any buyer should be treated with respect, the EA is acting for the vendor, not you.

eco-friendly_2

WHAT? £101,000..... he he, your avvin a laff aint you?...... nothing new there, usual tripe from an EA ,this one is living pre 2007..... and is arrogant.


Problem is, many sellers are mortgaged up to the eyebrows and are unable to take your offer.

abinanthanb

Running_Horse wrote: »

If there was no other offer they will be in touch. If there was you are better off out of a bidding war. If it was on for offers over 109, then how can an offer of 101 be 8% under the asking price? While any buyer should be treated with respect, the EA is acting for the vendor, not you.

So how do you quantify the difference between your quote and an asking price of --- and over? I just took the base price as the ref and calculated it. Is it wrong?

Forget about the sarcasm, by using words like "wont even bother the seller" she is not even acting for the vendor, I suppose! Without buyers how is the EA gonna help the vendor?!!

abinanthanb

eco-friendly wrote: »

WHAT? £101,000..... he he, your avvin a laff aint you?...... nothing new there, usual tripe from an EA ,this one is living pre 2007..... and is arrogant.

I was ready to offer upto just 1 or 2k below the base price and just wanted to start with a low offer. The way the EA behaved left me in bad taste. I even thought of telling the seller about this (he is in good terms with me and even gave his home number to speak to him incase if i want!), but felt that its not my business to poke my nose.

eco-friendly wrote: »

Problem is, many sellers are mortgaged up to the eyebrows and are unable to take your offer.

The time he bought this house, it was around 55k and just about a decade back. I guess at least the mortgage was not taken when he bought the house!

Running_Horse

abinanthanb wrote: »

So how do you quantify the difference between your quote and an asking price of --- and over? I just took the base price as the ref and calculated it. Is it wrong?

Forget about the sarcasm, by using words like "wont even bother the seller" she is not even acting for the vendor, I suppose! Without buyers how is the EA gonna help the vendor?!!

The clue is in the phrase "offers above". Perhaps the vendor has told the EA not to pass on low offers; my father in law did exactly that. Did you ask the vendor or agent what they were looking for before bidding?

brit1234

I am sure they have to pass the offer on what ever it is. We all know that prices are falling. I would report them to the NAEA.

They were out of order. Would you like to name and shame them here for our readers?

brit1234

Informing clients about offers

You must give your clients written details of all offers received from potential buyers. This information must be passed on promptly. It can be sent by hand, post or fax.

You should keep a written record of all offers that you receive.


If your client tells you in writing that it isn't necessary to pass on certain offers, you don't have to write in those circumstances. For example, this could happen if the client doesn't want you to write with offers below a specific price level.


Office of Fair Trading

http://www.oft.gov.uk/advice_and_resources/resource_base/legal/estate-agents-act/handling-negotiations#named1

Here is the address to complain to the NAEAs
[EMAIL="compliance@naea.co.uk"]compliance@naea.co.uk [/EMAIL]

asharon

Arrange to view the property when the vendor is there and tell them about your offer directly. Some EAs are great and some really do give the rest a bad name.

maninthestreet

Why hasn't the vendor accepted the £119,000 offer yet? That's £10,000 more than their own minimum asking price, assuming the offer is genuine.