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How to tell if you're being played by EA
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If you feel the agent isn't playing it straight, why not attempt to make direct contact with the vendor? If they live there, knock on the door. If not, leave a letter saying how much you like the property, and how you would be a very safe buyer- no chance of pulling out. Maybe ask around with the neighbours to pick up any more background info.
I'm sure most agents are completely straight. However there may be cases where they have a preferred buyer, possibly a family member and have not declared the conflict of interest.
The property is on for offers over 300k, the OP has offered 285k which they freely admit is 5k more than they even think its worth and is possibly dreaming up reasons why the vendor wont accept it
What possible good (but potentially harm) can it do to bother the vendor directly? At best they will get told to offer something a lot better than 285k and at worse told to !!!!!! off and deal with the EA, plus you end up hacking off the EA for good measureNever, under any circumstances, take a sleeping pill and a laxative on the same night.0 -
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They got back to me today and said the other offer is still higher but the vendor is now considering our offer, however the other buyers are going for a second viewing tonight to "have a chat" with the vendors and the vendor will decide who to go with in the morning. Letting this one go now and leave them to make the decision. If they take the other offer we'll find somewhere else rather than overpaying for this one. Little bit perplexed though as to why the other buyer would be going for a second viewing if their offer is already higher than ours...0
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All those talking about offering over 300K, are you seriously telling me you take that wording literally?? I'm starting to think some of those being arsey about my post are estate agents...0
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The property is on for offers over 300k, the OP has offered 285k which they freely admit is 5k more than they even think its worth and is possibly dreaming up reasons why the vendor wont accept it
What possible good (but potentially harm) can it do to bother the vendor directly? At best they will get told to offer something a lot better than 285k and at worse told to !!!!!! off and deal with the EA, plus you end up hacking off the EA for good measure
I agree with not contacting the vendors directly. Someone did that with us after making an offer on our property, turning up at my door twice and it put me right off them!
I'm not sure why you say I'm dreaming up reasons why the vendor won't accept my offer? It's the EA that's said there's another offer on the table...0 -
Thrugelmir wrote: »People use agents for good reason. I'd never deal direct in such instances. House buying and selling is fraught with issues. A cool head in the middle is worth the money.
All agents have their own personalities and it can be hit and miss what you end up with. The estate agent selling our last house was a total idiot. Unbeknown to us he told two people that their offer was accepted (both at asking price) because he wanted them as clients on his books too, selling their house (we knew that part, but he was supposed to tell one of them that we'd decided to go with the other cash buyer who came along a few days later). It wasn't until a few days before completion with the other buyer when I got angry facebook messages that I found out they'd only just been told, 2 months down the line!! It didn't end there, the agent then phoned me and said he'd managed to get another 7K out of one of them and would we allow them to gazump (he didn't use that phrase). I obviously told him where to go, but it amazed me as up to that point he'd seemed quite decent and genuine.
There are some good agents about that can facilitate a sale really well, and there are others who do very little leg work and show little interest. The problem I've got is that with the territory of being an estate agent there's nearly always lies involved, whether it's a little fib ("there's been loads of interest in this one" when it's just been reintroduced to the market after being sat there for 6 months) or full blown lies. I've had Estate Agents slip up and reveal that stories were completely fabricated in the past. To be a good liar, you have to have a good memory!
Sometimes I think it'd be nice to buy a house without the haggling. The vendor states a realistic price that they want and you leave it if you think it's too much, or you just pay for it if you think it's the right price, rather than them adding 10% on and you trying to knock 15% off until you end up somewhere around what you'd have paid anyway!0 -
. Little bit perplexed though as to why the other buyer would be going for a second viewing if their offer is already higher than ours...
Double check it's as good as they thought. chance for last minute second thoughts, ( they are spending three hundred thousand pounds, they'd probably spend more time choosing a car), show another relative around for second opinion, ,ask about buying certain items the vendors may be leaving, let the vendor know how strong their financial position is, put a human face on them so they are more likely to be accepted ................ there are many many possible reasons,0 -
either way, good luck to you, at least whatever happens you arent going to feel you overpaid for this one
nightmare all round this buying lark, the feeling of relief when you close a chain is pretty deep.........then all the rest of it kicks in though !Never, under any circumstances, take a sleeping pill and a laxative on the same night.0 -
Ill be frank,brutal but honest. You're a nightmare purchaser.0
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Ill be frank,brutal but honest. You're a nightmare purchaser.
That's nice of you to say mark. I know you like conflict, but I won't bite. A more constructive approach in the future after making such a strong opinion known is to give a valid reason why. You can make that clear now, if you like :-)0
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