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Agent has told me about an offer made to a different agent...

I'm trying to buy a house listed with three agents.
I have been told by Agent 1 that the vendors have received an offer identical to mine via Agent 2.

Agent 1 phoned me to ask if I could offer any more so "we" could clinch it. Agent 2 no doubt wants the same for his buyer, too. Lots of mentions of "bridging the gap" and other concepts.

Assuming this situation is not more fiction from Agent 1, is there any way I can best play this? Can I somehow use Agent 2 (put in an offer with them instead??) to my advantage? I have no ties to either of the agents here.

The offers currently are 155 each.

Comments

  • eddddy
    eddddy Posts: 18,552 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    49IM wrote: »
    Assuming this situation is not more fiction from Agent 1, is there any way I can best play this? Can I somehow use Agent 2 (put in an offer with them instead??) to my advantage? I have no ties to either of the agents here.

    Putting an offer through agent 2 would be a bad idea - it would put you at a disadvantage.

    If you did that, the seller would be liable for both agents fees, if they accept your offer. (Whereas they're only liable for one lot of fees if they accept the other person's.)

    You and agent 1 both want you to win this battle - so I'd suggest you work closely with them.

    But ultimately, it's really simple - whoever offers the most will probably win.
  • MyOnlyPost
    MyOnlyPost Posts: 1,562 Forumite
    You can put in an offer with agent two of £155k and they will probably tell you if they already have an offer of that amount and are looking for more
    It may sometimes seem like I can't spell, I can, I just can't type
  • MyOnlyPost
    MyOnlyPost Posts: 1,562 Forumite
    eddddy wrote: »
    Putting an offer through agent 2 would be a bad idea - it would put you at a disadvantage.

    If you did that, the seller would be liable for both agents fees, if they accept your offer. (Whereas they're only liable for one lot of fees if they accept the other person's.)

    I did not know that, seems unfair as buyer should be able to choose which EA he buys through
    It may sometimes seem like I can't spell, I can, I just can't type
  • saajan_12
    saajan_12 Posts: 5,769 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    MyOnlyPost wrote: »
    I did not know that, seems unfair as buyer should be able to choose which EA he buys through

    Not really, if you choose to go through agent 2 then they are entitled to their fee as they do the leg work in keeping the sale together. As far as agent 1 is concerned, they found and introduced a proceedable buyer who wouldn't have known about agent 2 without them, so agent 1 is entitled to their finders fee and offsetting their time in viewings, dealing with other potential buyers. The seller would not want to pay 2 fees when overall they just get a house sold, and were happy with either agent.

    Regardless of double fees, contacting agent 2 wouldn't help you anyway. Agent 1 currently will only get paid if your offer is accepted so they will be promoting you. If you go via agent 2, then they would be indifferent to you as they have no reason to promote you ahead of their current buyer.
  • G_M
    G_M Posts: 51,977 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    The fact that there are 2 agents is irrelevant.

    You've made an offer and so has someone else. The seller will try to increase both offers and will eventually decide who to sell to.

    Plus as stated above, offering via 2 agents just complicates the seller's agency fees and risks him having to pay both.
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