Estate Agent insider dealing suspected, what can i do?

C_Mababejive

DVardysShadow wrote: »

Knowing what a good agent can do with difficult sales, Tesco is not the way to go.

I realise that there are good,professional agents who do serve their customers well but in general,i think the whole industry has a bad press/is held in low regard and for good reason.

wodgerdodger

DVardysShadow wrote: »

Knowing what a good agent can do with difficult sales, Tesco is not the way to go.

Until such time that there is some real "professional" qualification and transparency of bidding i.e offers in writing and submitted to buyer (not just EA) then we are stuck with the flawed system we have. The only downside would however be that the cost of selling a home would be higher if some form of professionalism was created.
Although many in the UK complain of the current level of estate agent fees the typical EA here is certainly one of the cheapest in the EU and I dont think they are any less unscrupulous in France or Spain.

jockosjungle

It is disapointing for you but why do you say you were both the winning bidder and had an offer not passed on? With a repo they are legally obliged to advertise the winning bid in the paper and would no doubt tell someone what your highest bid was to beat it. If it was your house being reposessed you'd want them to accept the highest bidder and not the lowest, even if a lower bid was accepted it may be that they were more confident in the bid succeeding (cash buyer, etc.)

R

JQ.

There is a fully transparent method of selling a house, it's an auction. However, auctions often don't raise the best prices because the process is fully transparent and requires bidders to have everything in place prior to auction. Limited interest at one moment in time can seriously restrict bidding. Estate Agents use their negotiating skills to raise the price of a house as high as they can over a period of time, which is what they are paid to do.

OP, if it's a repo house, as stated above, the EA will have to advertise the offer made in the local press and invite any further offers before a certain deadline, just increase your bid above that level and you're back in the running. If the EA has secured a higher offer than yours then it sounds like they're doing a good job and I'd be happy if it was my home that had been repossessed.

Phone the EA asap and see if the advert has gone in the press already as you may have missed it.

FraudBuster

http://www.oft.gov.uk/OFTwork/estate-agents/register/

tf0401

When a "public notice" is posted after a bid is made. Does this notice HAVE to show the price bidded? I was under the impression it was so that others could beat it and the bank could get as much as possible from the sale?

ILW

tf0401 wrote: »

When a "public notice" is posted after a bid is made. Does this notice HAVE to show the price bidded? I was under the impression it was so that others could beat it and the bank could get as much as possible from the sale?

It usually does, should give you a chance to better it.

silvercar

I know of an offer not being passed on by an EA or by the EA falsely telling the bank in reposession that they didn't feel that the buyer would be able to proceed.

A number of repossessed will end up going bankrupt if they are in negative equity; they are not that bothered if the lender doesn't get the full amount back.

ILW

Did the OP make the highest bid or not?
Did they have the funds?
Anything else is beside the point.

googler

C_Mababejive wrote: »

They simply use us,the public,to further their own ends at our expense ..........

Roll on tesco home sales i say.

Every business owner in the country is looking to maximise their profit margin in order to grow their business. Petrol is more expensive than it was so that petrol companies can stay in business. New houses are more expensive than years ago so that housebuilders can stay in business. Why do you see Estate Agency any differently?

What's different about Tesco/iSold?