making a counter offer for a house STC

BeauLiLuLu

kokolino23 wrote: »

I would put an offer on the table just for the fun of it.

If this was the flat I'm buying thats listed as STC on Rightmove, I'd be absolutely devastated... over 2 years since I first started looking, 4 properties fallen through for one reason or another, and surveys, solicitor and searches having been paid, I'm not quite sure who this would be 'fun', as you put it, for?

I only echo what other posters have said - the agent admits they have made a mistake, so just keep yourself at the forefront of their mind drop them a chatty/friendly phonecall/email every few days or so, and build a relationship with the EA - goes a long way... Also if you get a bad reputation for yourself, it can go against you too - its such an 'inbread' (excuse the phrase - couldn't think of a better way to explain!) game.
The EA of the property I'm now buying, is a personal friend with the Vendor of a property I tried to buy previously that fell through - due to problems on the survey - fortunately the vendor was understanding, but if in that case I'd have played silly !!!!!!s and messed about, it would have potentially jeopardised the chance of buying my current property that is very close to exchanging contracts....

kokolino23

I went and spoke to the EA and he said that they misunderstood the price bracket I was looking for. When I asked them to check their system, they had the right details so I was right and they were wrong. Anyway, pointless to argue now.


I've made it clear to them that I'm really interested in buying a house and even made an offer (subject to a viewing) for that house. They didn't bother to response in a day and when I rang them, I've been told that the senior negotiator is busy and he will ring me back. He didn't bother and sent me an email instead talking about reputation and things like that.


I still can't understand why I can't view the house and my offer is not considered and presented to the vendor. I don't like to argue with them but I feel like they are tacking the mickey.


The potential buyer hasn't done the survey yet so they won't lose any money. I thought the EA should has a contract with the vendor and NOT with the buyer and also he should present an offer to them. It's seems like this is not the case and I'm being put off for a silly reason. I've heard about situations where the potential buyer had a call from EA to say that somebody else put an offer higher than theirs.


I'm tempted to knock on the vendor's door and let them know about this. Or put a letter through the door.

gallygirl

kokolino23 wrote: »

I went and spoke to the EA and he said that they misunderstood the price bracket I was looking for. When I asked them to check their system, they had the right details so I was right and they were wrong. Anyway, pointless to argue now.


I've made it clear to them that I'm really interested in buying a house and even made an offer (subject to a viewing) for that house. They didn't bother to response in a day and when I rang them, I've been told that the senior negotiator is busy and he will ring me back. He didn't bother and sent me an email instead talking about reputation and things like that.


I still can't understand why I can't view the house and my offer is not considered and presented to the vendor. I don't like to argue with them but I feel like they are tacking the mickey.


The potential buyer hasn't done the survey yet so they won't lose any money. I thought the EA should has a contract with the vendor and NOT with the buyer and also he should present an offer to them. It's seems like this is not the case and I'm being put off for a silly reason. I've heard about situations where the potential buyer had a call from EA to say that somebody else put an offer higher than theirs.


I'm tempted to knock on the vendor's door and let them know about this. Or put a letter through the door.

It is normal practice for a house to be removed from the market as soon as an offer is accepted and no more contact from potential buyers will be put forward. It is on that basis that I make offers for houses and on that basis I accept offers.

There is absolutely no way I would entertain an offer from someone as unscrupulous as you. What goes around comes around - how would you feel if your offer had been accepted, you had instructed a solicitor and put things in motion but then someone else put in a higher offer? Let it go.

BarleyGB

Cant help but feeling that if you're coming across to EAs as you come across here, im not at all surprised theyre not giving you the time of day.

The house buying process is a game, you've got to play the game to get on, you've got to be prepared for knock backs and disappointment. That said their are written and unwritten rules, some of them include reputable agents not going back on the verbal contract of an accepted offer. Reputations can be broken and easily damaged within the geographic areas they work, like wise if you don't play the game you yourself could find you're bottom of the list when it comes to getting a sniff at viewings, never mind being the first person they call.

As I understand the market in my local area, there are a lot of buyers chasing few properties, there is not much quality coming to the market and when it does its snapped up. You could be one or 200, 300 people on the EAs list, many of them could have hit it off on the right foot and be getting the calls, like has been said by someone earlier, theyre going to call 6,8,10 of those people. Some of them may have their own property for sale with the same EA so there are other vested interests in play.

I think you need to work at it but also relax a bit, play the game, have patience and the viewings will come.

If youre approach to the agents is anything like the approach you seem to favour with regard to riding rough shod over other buyers who have worked just as hard, if not harder than you then you deserve what you get.

To repeat whats already been said, other peoples offers are usually placed on the basis that when accepted a property is taken off the market, that means no further offers. If agents break the unwritten rule, it wont take long for their reputation to be tarnished.

thequant

BarleyGB wrote: »

Cant help but feeling that if you're coming across to EAs as you come across here, im not at all surprised theyre not giving you the time of day.

The house buying process is a game, you've got to play the game to get on, you've got to be prepared for knock backs and disappointment. That said their are written and unwritten rules, some of them include reputable agents not going back on the verbal contract of an accepted offer. Reputations can be broken and easily damaged within the geographic areas they work, like wise if you don't play the game you yourself could find you're bottom of the list when it comes to getting a sniff at viewings, never mind being the first person they call.

As I understand the market in my local area, there are a lot of buyers chasing few properties, there is not much quality coming to the market and when it does its snapped up. You could be one or 200, 300 people on the EAs list, many of them could have hit it off on the right foot and be getting the calls, like has been said by someone earlier, theyre going to call 6,8,10 of those people. Some of them may have their own property for sale with the same EA so there are other vested interests in play.

I think you need to work at it but also relax a bit, play the game, have patience and the viewings will come.

If youre approach to the agents is anything like the approach you seem to favour with regard to riding rough shod over other buyers who have worked just as hard, if not harder than you then you deserve what you get.

To repeat whats already been said, other peoples offers are usually placed on the basis that when accepted a property is taken off the market, that means no further offers. If agents break the unwritten rule, it wont take long for their reputation to be tarnished.

Despite all the hysteria around gazumping, in my 2 years of house searching and coming across many estates, many of which were deserving of the bad reputation EA's have. I never came across one who encouraged or condoned this kind of behaviour.

moneyistooshorttomention

thequant wrote: »

Despite all the hysteria around gazumping, in my 2 years of house searching and coming across many estates, many of which were deserving of the bad reputation EA's have. I never came across one who encouraged or condoned this kind of behaviour.

You're not in my current area then. There is one EA here who makes a downright policy of encouraging gazumping and, unfortunately, the house I was buying from them (have now bought in fact) was with that particular EA. Hence...I had to keep a very close eye on both them and the dishonourable little vendor I bought the house off to nip attempts in the bud.

googler

kokolino23 wrote: »

Why I can't view the house and put an offer through ?!

From a purely practical point of view, there has to come a point where the seller accepts an offer to the exclusion of other subsequent offers, or else they'll never sell. First offer 1 Jan, seller accepts. Before contracts exchanged, another offer on 1 Feb. Seller decides to accept this one. Before contracts exchanged, another offer comes in on 1 Mar. There has to be a point, before contract exchange, where the seller sticks with an offer, or else they're just dragging their own sale out for months and not getting anywhere ...... one must assume they do actually want to move house, after all.

Ethically, my view is that if you accept an offer from a buyer, you're honour-bound to stick with that offer, unless extreme circumstances force you to withdraw before contract exchange. Accepting another offer behind the back of the first offer is just plain wrong, which is why, in Scotland, if a seller wants to accept a second offer having previously accepted a first, their selling solicitor must, under law society rules, withdraw from acting for that seller and essentially tell them to find another solicitor to proceed with their underhand tactics.