Should I be cynical about sales negotiator's behaviour?

Thefunkygibbons

We are going through the legal process on our house, with a target date of the end of June

We are downsizing and have no mortgage so no funding issues.

Spotted a new build, that we like, notwithstanding the tiny garden

Anyway, it is a Marmite type house, due to its contemporary styling

It is noticeable that the developer has only built three of them and the asking price was £10k lower that a more traditional style that was identical internally

The phase of the development is finished, and the house is the very last left and they are closing the sales office on the phase and moving onto a new phase.

They have now added carpets and blinds (of limited value to me) and put an incentive in on paying stamp duty. I guess they know that this house is more difficult to sell because it will be looking at the remaining building site for a couple of years (although noise should be more limited as it is set back from the boundary of the 2 remaining phases)

So, pricing, they have it advertised at £475k, allowing for the stamp duty incentive. No mention of other interest or other offers

I suggested a price of £440k, which they said was too low and they could not go below £460k. After chatting around it, I said, can you speak to the boss and see if we could get it done at £450k.

I rang them just before 5pm and no answer, but no mention of other interest

Next morning, I was called back and told my offer was too low, and that it had been sold to someone else. No indication of what price or no invitation to price match.

Okay, says I.

So what we think? Have they found a knockout offer in the few hours between my offer and the end of the day, or is it likely that I will get a call in the next few days saying that their preferred buyer is dragging their feet but for a few more grand, the place is mine?

Seems a high risk strategy so not sure what to think

Lucy_Lastic

Sounds fishy - keep us posted.

pleasedelete

My brother had something similar. He stuck it out and when they came back lowered his offer! He got it. What they didn't know was that his mother in law lived across the road (it was a new build estate). She knew no one had looked at that and sales agent was lying.

You are in a strong position. Even if there is another buyer they may not get mortgage etc.

If they do come back to you try for 440 again by saying that you have found something else.

Doozergirl

I don't think saying it's sold is a tactic. It just shuts the door, doesn't it?

It's different to saying that there is other interest on the property or that they've received another offer etc which would be enticing higher offers.

If I was trying to get someone to offer more for my house, I can't imagine that telling them it was sold would help. Do you?

I think you have to apply common sense. Not everything a sales negotiators says is open to interpretation.

Egg_custard_2

Doozergirl wrote: »

I don't think saying it's sold is a tactic. It just shuts the door, doesn't it?

It's different to saying that there is other interest on the property or that they've received another offer etc which would be enticing higher offers.

If I was trying to get someone to offer more for my house, I can't imagine that telling them it was sold would help. Do you?

I think you have to apply common sense. Not everything a sales negotiators says is open to interpretation.

Normally I would agree, but not when house-buying and EAs are concerned. It's well known that people want what they cannot have, so I wouldn't put it past an EA to say the house is sold in order to invoke a feeling of disappointment, which they can then take advantage of a few days later when the "other interested party pulls out."

Caroline73_2

Get a friend to enquire about any properties available on the development. Play them at their own game. If that's what they are doing.

shimano

Dont agree it shuts the door from their perspective, before I bought my place, I offered on another at asking (was set at £249950), offer got accepted.

Few days later, EA said a cash buyer has come in with a greater offer, I'd have to offer more however given they are a cash buyer. I refused and withdrew my offer

1 week later..."The buyer was unable to get a mortgage, would you be willing to put your offer back in" Errr..you said it was a cash buyer...No thanks, was not born yesterday.

Few weeks later...they offered more off. As far as I am aware, it ook months to sell and they didnt sell it for £250k. My mistake in this was I gave the impression I was really keen, so they probably thought they could capitalise.

On my current place, the EA kept saying to me there are other buyers hovering, someone may be willing to put in a higher offer etc, it's generally BS to make you act on impulse and up your offer.

Of all people to be cynical of, an estate agent/new build seller should at the very least be contending for automatic Champions League qualification in your league table. Problem is when you mix emotion with house buying, they will pounce on it.

Caroline73 wrote: »

Get a friend to enquire about any properties available on the development. Play them at their own game. If that's what they are doing.

Great piece of advice...we done this on many properties/the one I bought to get better perspective on their tales.

Doozergirl

Egg_custard wrote: »

Normally I would agree, but not when house-buying and EAs are concerned. It's well known that people want what they cannot have, so I wouldn't put it past an EA to say the house is sold in order to invoke a feeling of disappointment, which they can then take advantage of a few days later when the "other interested party pulls out."

People have really quite odd views of EAs in their heads. When are people going to get beyond thinking they're like Derren Brown?

I speak to EAs all the time. They are all pretty normal people! We're looking to buy right now and so I'm speaking to them almost daily. No one is telling me weird stuff, no one is trying to manipulate me although one girl wants me to view everything on her books regardless of the criteria (for which I can't blame her for trying, at least she's keen). It's buyers thinking that someone is trying to pull the wool over their eyes that perpetuates most of the animosity. Telling someone that something is sold is not a tactic to get someone to buy, not even in Estate Agency.

My neighbour can rant about Estate Agents at length, with great gusto. Only ever bought one house, about 10 years ago yet knows more about them than I do.

shimano

There's nothing wrong with being cynical about them; their job is to extract as much money as possible from you, and like a singificant proportion of salespeople, they will inevitably tell porkies to do so.

Your job as a buyer is to minimise your outlay, so information & conservatism is key.

Doozergirl

shimano wrote: »

Dont agree it shuts the door from their perspective, before I bought my place, I offered on another at asking (was set at £249950), offer got accepted.

I'm not sure how that is the same as trying to negotiate a price but then being told "sorry, it's sold"?

It may well be that the sale does not proceed and they go back to the OP, but that doesn't mean that they weren't intending to proceed with another buyer or that they were making them up. The same for your case.

No Estate Agent is really that interested in agreeing a sale and then trying to get more money for it. They'd rather sell two houses once than one house twice. They simply don't get paid enough in commission to be cared about another few K, just a sale. As a vendor, you will get worked just as hard to reduce your expectation on price as they will ask a buyer to raise theirs, it is not a one way street.

Some of them are indeed inept, some of them are liars, but that is life and you come across idiots and liars every day, it's not confined to EAs. I'm not an EA but the total BS that comes out of the mouths of prospective viewers direct to me as a vendor is astounding. People make offers, withdraw them, tell lies about their situation all the time. EAs have to try and sift through all that BS and yet get blamed for it themselves. Even on this board we get the smugness of people thinking they're a cash buyer when they aren't.

But genuinely believing that an EA would close negotiations with you saying that a property is sold as a tactic is a wee bit bonkers. If you expect odd behaviour then I can see why people would believe that anything that comes out of an EAs mouth is odd, but you have to consider with it that they simply might be telling the truth.

geoffky

I really think it is sold.....some things happen for a reason.