Should one wait for a higher rival bid to be accepted on sale before offering higher?

iondy

Hi there,

First post here.

We are in the process of buying a house and had our second offer on the place accepted (although we have never received written confirmation of this accepted figure).

One day before the mortgage valuation survey a rival "cash buyer" put in a higher offer. The estate agents came back to us and told us the situation and recommended a higher bid for us that would beat his. We went with this. The next day they came back again and said he had raised his offer and after a bit of talking recommended a figure that would be higher than his. Again, caught up in the moment we went with this.

Hind sight is a wonderful thing, and I am now analzying the situation more. Our original offer is the only one that has ever been accepted on the property. Since this "bidding" began with us and the "cash buyer" the seller has not been contactable and so has not accepted or declined any offers since.

Should we have waited in the first place for his offer to have been accepted or otherwise before countering?

Many thanks.

henpecked1

move on, dont play the games

Eric1

so, on the mortgage valuation day, you decide to get a bigger mortgage.
have you already paid for the valuation?

nearlynew

Don't get involved in a bidding war.

Especially now during a buyer's market.

Doctor_Gloom

iondy wrote: »

Should we have waited in the first place for his offer to have been accepted or otherwise before countering?

Many thanks.

The other buyer probably doesn't exist. Estate agents have a nasty habit of making stuff up.

tealady

Tell the EA "No thanks" and walk away. Then go back in 3 months (if it hasn't sold and you still want it) with a much lower offer. EA's work for the house seller not you.

david29dpo

It may all be true or total lies, you are unlikely to find out unless you can contact the seller.

seraphina

Suspect you're being played like a fiddle. Was one of your conditions of your offer being accepted that it was taken off the market and all further viewings cancelled? In which case how did another buyer see it?

Tell them you're not budging - you'll soon find out if this buyer actually does exist, at which point you can revise your offer accordingly.

Emy1501

I would go on gut instinct. There are some EA's I have come across who I would believe if they told me your story whilst there are others who I would suspect would be just trying to get a price increase.

My first question would be why is the property still being marketed after an offer has been accepted. What happens if a higher offer is received near exchange after more money has been layed out. Personally I would walk away from any potential sale where a seller kept marketing the property to get a higher price.

Doctor_Gloom

iondy wrote: »

One day before the mortgage valuation survey a rival "cash buyer" put in a higher offer. The estate agents came back to us and told us the situation and recommended a higher bid for us that would beat his. We went with this. The next day they came back again and said he had raised his offer and after a bit of talking recommended a figure that would be higher than his. Again, caught up in the moment we went with this.

.

I'd be tempted to tell the estate that the 'other buyer' can have it. That'll take him aback. Then you can expect a phone call from the estate agent in a few days time saying that the mysterious other buyer has dropped out. Then go back to your original offer, not any of the higher ones.

But all the same you've put yourself in a poor bargaining position by being played by the estate agent thus far, you may be on a hiding to nothing with this property. But you can it down to experience and it's not as though there isn't many more unsold proeprties available.

catloverbex

I think it depends on how much you want the house (and more importantly how much you can afford!).

We had pretty much the same thing happen to us. We had a sneaky suspicion that the EA was playing games so we said we're not increasing our offer, not interested in getting into a bidding war but let us know if it falls through and our original offer "may" still be available if we havent found somewhere in the meantime.

Turned out the estate agent wasnt playing games and was genuinely trying to help us not lose out on the house (I know that surprised me too what with all the bad press they get!!). It did actually sell within 24 hours to the other bidder and we had a slight regret that we hadnt increased our bid because we had liked the house.

Anyway - we have now just had an offer accepted on another house which is much nicer than the first so it's all worked out in the end!

I hope it all works out for you - dont get manipulated into going higher than you want to/can afford to. It really is a buyers market from my experience and having the patience to hold out can really pay rewards!

Good luck