Estate Agent Dishonest about sealed bids

betsy123_2

Hello,


Last year, we put in an offer on our home for the asking price of £135,000. The Estate agents said there was one more viewing prior to the home owners making a decision.


We was told the final viewing put in a offer of £137,000, £2000 over the asking price.


The estate agents then told us the only way to split the bids is to go to best and final offer in writing. On the day of the bid the estate agents confirmed the other party had placed their bid (this is confirmed on email) and so we did the same.


The estate agents confirmed our bid of was £142,000 was the higher and was subsequently accepted.


Fast forward 12 months and we have a new neighbour. After speaking to them, it came to light that they was the "other" bidder. Our neighbour explained that she did not offer £137,000, but the asking price of £135,000. The agents also told her that it was best and final offer, she then immediately pulled out.


I was just wondering if there was any rules or regulations in place on estate agents or can they just blatantly lie to obtain a higher offer?


Thanks in advance for any responses.

WeAreGhosts

Estate agents lie every day of their lives, it's practically a prerequisite for the job.

theartfullodger

Ask neighbour to confirm, in writing.

Then sue estate agent. Send LBA first - they might just settle there & then..

Of course there could have been other bidders...

AdrianC

You're assuming there were only two bidders.

You're also assuming that the vendors didn't go "Well, if it's only a small difference, we'll sell to Doris - but if they're willing to put more in, we can't ignore it."

Either way - you were happy to offer £142k. The agent did their job, of getting the best price for the vendor.

Doozergirl

It sounds like your neighbour wasn’t the other bidder at all. It went to best and final and they pulled out. Who says there wasn’t another bidder?

There’s no real reason to go to best and final with two bidders but even if they did, it was your choice to offer £142,000 and no one elses.

The amount of commission agents earn as a company on even £7k at 2% commission (a silly %) is £140. The actual sales person probably gets £10 of that. Worth it to put a sale in the balance? They want sales that complete and lots of turnover, they’re not pushing for tiny increases on cheap houses.

I have no doubt that EAs manipulate people, but they’re trying to hit the sweet spot between vendors and potential purchasers to achieve a sale full stop, not chasing a tenner.

Davesnave

Are you sure there were no other parties involved?

At this stage of the game it's probably impossible to prove there weren't others in the mix, though whether they were willing or able to bid-up the property is another matter.

When we were encouraged to bid our property up like that, we were told it would "give us a better chance" against others also keen to purchase. We didn't bite. We just said that as unencumbered cash buyers we were already in with a better chance than most!

This is a small place. We later found out who the others were. They were not in a position to buy.

This property was certainly priced to encourage a bidding war, as a quick sale was needed, but market conditions at the time weren't good.

Was your property marketed at a keen price like that? After all, you were prepared to bid well over the advertised price.

DaftyDuck

The neighbour would be most unlikely to be the last viewer; it was the last viewer who offered the competing bid. Using your own description, it's highly indicative of another bidder... so at least three interested parties.... and it only makes sense to go last and final when there are multiple bidders. With two, you play one against the other.

You offered a price you wished... It was accepted. You have the house.

Typhoon2000

At the end of the day, sealed bids are really just offers. The vendor does not have to go with the highest bid or any bid at all. Basically you offered 135k and they said no. Instead of wasting time negotiating, they said just send me you max offer and I will look at all the offers ( if any) and decide if I will accept your offer. It doesn’t really matter if there was one two or no other parties.

Aylesbury_Duck

I experienced a similar situation nine years ago. We viewed a house that was on the market as "Offers in excess of £350k". We offered £340k which was duly rejected and after a fortnight, upped our offer to £350k. We were told that another viewer had offered £353k, invited to increase our offer and at that point we pulled out. We didn't think the house was worth more to us than £350k, we weren't desperate to move at that point and weren't going to get sucked into an auction. I am fairly certain that we were one of only two parties interested at the time, a fact which seemed to be corroborated some time later when we realised the other party was a neighbour in our street and they too were told of only one other interested party, i.e. us. A couple of years later when I checked the sold price on Zoopla, I realised that they ended up paying £372k and the sale was concluded quite quickly. I strongly suspect they were bidding against a phantom buyer. But, they got the house for a price they felt was worth paying.

Comms69

betsy123 wrote: »

Hello,


Last year, we put in an offer on our home for the asking price of £135,000. The Estate agents said there was one more viewing prior to the home owners making a decision.


We was told the final viewing put in a offer of £137,000, £2000 over the asking price.


The estate agents then told us the only way to split the bids is to go to best and final offer in writing. On the day of the bid the estate agents confirmed the other party had placed their bid (this is confirmed on email) and so we did the same.


The estate agents confirmed our bid of was £142,000 was the higher and was subsequently accepted.


Fast forward 12 months and we have a new neighbour. After speaking to them, it came to light that they was the "other" bidder. Our neighbour explained that she did not offer £137,000, but the asking price of £135,000. The agents also told her that it was best and final offer, she then immediately pulled out.


I was just wondering if there was any rules or regulations in place on estate agents or can they just blatantly lie to obtain a higher offer?


Thanks in advance for any responses.

I would be upset if they didn't!

eddddy

betsy123 wrote: »

Fast forward 12 months and we have a new neighbour. After speaking to them, it came to light that they was the "other" bidder. Our neighbour explained that she did not offer £137,000, but the asking price of £135,000. The agents also told her that it was best and final offer, she then immediately pulled out.

I guess I'm a bit cynical, but from a different perspective...

As you say, some EAs sometimes lie. I also find that some people who aren't EAs (like neighbours) sometimes lie - or 'forget' or 'didn't understand what was happening'.

Sometimes people lie in a game of 'one-upmanship' or through jealousy. For example, could they be subtly saying :

"I wanted your house, but I wasn't foolish enough to overpay for it like you did."

"I'm a better negotiator than you, because I saw through the EA's tricks."

And could the neighbours now be enjoying that they have got you into a "bit of a state" about it?