first offers!!!! estate agents.

lost_but_looking

my partner and i have put an offer on our possible first home, after some good advise found on here we put a low offer in........... but the agent is being in our opinion very rude!!! is this right, he almost refused to except the offer. he wants full asking price.

lynzpower

of course he does he gets the commission of it

If you are not embarrased by your firtst offer, lower it. I read on here.

They have to put the offer to the vendor tho and the vendor can refuse it, then you decide whether to up yoour offer or not

good luck

A_Nice_Englishman

It's the vendor who accepts or refuses the offer, not the estate agent, but the estate agent must tell the vendor of all offers received.

If the vendor declines your offer you can either:

Forget it

Offer more (but not more than similar properties have sold for recently - see sites like https://www.nethouseprices.com)

Ask for your offer to be kept on file. The vendor may decide to accept if he doesn't get any better offers.

Make sure you have your mortgage offer in place and can prove it. Knowing that you are 'ready to go' can be worth a couple of thousand if the vendor has placed an offer himself.

lush_walrus

Hhhm ok, as someone who owns EAs I have to say the problem you are facing if you put a very low offer in is that EAs do not take you very seriously and think that chances are you are not serious either. Like it or not, that is how it works for the majority.

Thing is, for a lot of areas in the UK, the market is still rising with plenty of buyers around. EAs dislike very low offers for that very reason, as they are the people who have to go to the vendors and say...We have had an offer but it is very low Im afraid...The offer is such and such....The vendor generally turns around and says what do you think about that offer (if they consider it) and the EA will definately say, it is too low. So, no EAs do not like low offers.

With regards to the myth surrounding its about commission, well to be frank it makes very little difference to a £2000 fee if the offer is lower....Maximum the commission will come down is £500 which really is neither here nor there if the sale is fast and the property is not advertised very much.

It also is in the way you say it, another myth is that you should say you can not afford more than such and such offer...If it is very low, then the EA just finds it annoying that you have been viewing houses you can not afford. Similarily if you state that the reason for the low offer is that it needs such and such work done to it...The EA knows if it needs work and values it accordingly so that is not a good argument.

If you do put in a low offer, start by asking the EA what they think the lowest offer the vendor will take is...They will come back with a figure, and you can try just below that by £1000 or £2000, but if you come back with something £15000 below then you just are not going to get it.

EAs want things sold quickly as it ups their profit, but they do know the worth of the property and they do know what the vendors position is and what level they will accept. So if you do not take any of what they say onboard, then yes you will annoy them and when they put the offer forward, likelyhood is they will not report it particularily favourably to the vendor.

lost_but_looking

thanks for the replies,
i was cringing when putting the offer forward, the house is up for £123,995 and we put a cheeky offer of £105,000. i knew it was going to be refused but i wasn't expecting to be made to feel like was i doing wrong!!!! i was hoping that the agent would come back with a view to what the seller would more likely except, but to also show that i'm interested....but the agent was moaning and saying the seller couldn't even buy a garage for that!!!!! and i don't believe my offer was put forward. i was totally shocked by the comments this agent was coming out with.
we have a mortgage promise and can prove it.
though i may leave it a day or so before upping my offer but i'm not too keen on dealing with the chap, can we request that someone else from the firm deals with us?

lost_but_looking

lush_walrus wrote:

Hhhm ok, as someone who owns EAs I have to say the problem you are facing if you put a very low offer in is that EAs do not take you very seriously and think that chances are you are not serious either. Like it or not, that is how it works for the majority.QUOTE]


how do you come to this assumption??? what makes you feel i would not be serious if i have never met nor spoken to you before?
why are people looked at poorly for putting in low offers??? when you buy a car, or anything for that matter, do you buy it for exactly what it says on the banner??? i think not.

in my opinion its not the agents job to judge, there job is to put it to the seller and let them make there own mind up. if the seller feels they can sell for X then so be it, if not then ok. but it's not the agents call to make is it???

Jorgan_2

lost_but_looking wrote:

[in my opinion its not the agents job to judge, there job is to put it to the seller and let them make there own mind up. if the seller feels they can sell for X then so be it, if not then ok. but it's not the agents call to make is it???

The Ea's job is to get the best price possible for their client - the vendor. If the agent feels he/she can get more money for the property they are duty bound to inform the vendor of this.

lost_but_looking

i do understand that, i really do. but they can not treat people like crap nor can they act in such a mannor to the extent of being totally rude. surely not all agents are the same and obviously i have a bad one but come on, there is no excuss for treating people badly.

Jorgan_2

If you feel the agent has been rude to you or treated you in an unfair manner then report them to company they work for. A good agent should treat you in a professional manner at all times, as I tell my staff, todays buyer is tomorrows seller.

The majority of agents out there do treat people in the manner they would ecpect to be treated themselves, you may have got a bad one or someone having a bad day, which is no excuse.

ginvzt

We put an offer of £130K on property which was on the market for asking price of £145K. The estate agent said it was too low, etc, but my partner insisted on putting it forward to the vendor. The estate agent put it forward and the vendor came back in few hours to EA saying that he has a part-exchange offer of £135K as he is buying new build. The house was on the market since June with no offers! We waited 4 days and put an offer of £133K on Friday. The vendor is 'thinking' till Monday. Will see what happens!!!!

linlin_3

Insist on asking for a copy of the letter to the vendor informing them of the offer.....you should receive one anyway as a matter of course. Then politely ask the agent the keep you informed but refuse to be drawn on whether you'll up your offer or not. (If you are not met with politeness, insist on speaking to their manager.)
Then it's a waiting game. The agent will play auctions with you and anyone else interested. If you do decide to increase your offer, make conditions! Anything you like really, but insist on direct contact with the vendor and that a decision on your increased offer be made within x days/hours! It's only by making contact direct that you'll find out the vendor's true timescale/conditions for moving/details of chain etc etc. and you won't get that contact until or unless your offer is accepted..........which could be weeks.....more waiting and "auction" games. You'll also stop the agents from interfering.