House sold by sealed bids

70sthrowback

disagree with some of the posters, in the area where I live standard properties quite often go to sealed bids, as there are more buyers than sellers. I have been in the situation myself and both won and lost because of it, never found out why or how far off. When I sold my own house 2 years ago we went to sealed bids and we didn't chose the highest, but the buyer in the best position. No chain and ready to move with a large cash deposit.

Scotbot

I am surprised by the lack of negotiation round here. . I have lost 2 houses where the vendors accepted offers within days of going to market. In both cases I had viewings booked that were cancelled and I am a cash buyer. I would have expected the viewings to go ahead and for the agent or vendor to let me know there were offers so I could compete.

In the second case I turned up as my phone had died so didn't get the cancellation. Vendor told me how much it went for and I thought you pratt I would have offered 5k more.

Slinky

Scotbot wrote: »

In the second case I turned up as my phone had died so didn't get the cancellation. Vendor told me how much it went for and I thought you pratt I would have offered 5k more.

Well why didn't you? That early in the process nobody would have spent any money.

Davesnave

Bought my first house by sealed bids. It was a probate property; the sole inheritor wasn't of sound mind and the executor was 82.

The 82 year old lived far away and wanted the whole thing sorted, fast.

So far as I recall, I viewed early in the week and the bids were opened on Friday at lunchtime. I bid an extra 3% over the listed price + £1.

Agent said, "I can't tell you what others bid, but it was extremely close."

At the time, I thought perhaps the extra £1 got it for me, but nowadays I realise agents probably say that sort of thing anyway!

Edit: Maybe the fact that I was a FTB and ready to go was more important.

G_M

Scotbot wrote: »

In the second case I turned up as my phone had died so didn't get the cancellation. Vendor told me how much it went for and I thought you pratt I would have offered 5k more.

Errrr.... who's the pratt?

Seller for accepting an offer so fast (he may need a fast sale) or you for not offering £5K more there and then?

System

eddddy wrote: »

EAs don't tend to reveal the outcome of sealed bids, because it would undermine the process.

i.e.

Everyone would tend to bid low initially. Then, when the EA announces the outcome (the winning bid), lots of people would try to 'gazump' with a new higher offer.

Whereas the intention of sealed bids is to get you to make your best offer at the outset.


But, FWIW, I'm sure that quite a few people who lose on sealed bids still try submitting new offers after the deadline.

The house we just bought went to sealed bids. On our third viewing (a few weeks after our offer was accepted) the EA told us that they were still getting people calling up and trying to increase their offer, after missing out! We just considered ourselves lucky that we had decent vendors, who took the view that they'd accepted an offer and that was that.