Is EA trying to get me to engage in gazumping

muz3562

TLDR

• Viewed flat , formulated offer and made this offer to the estate agent
• Whilst on phone with estate agent discovered property was already now listed as SOLD STC on rightmove
• Called agent back who confirmed other offers had been made but did not mention if these had been accepted or rejected by vendor
• Now worried that agent is trying to get vendor to accept my offer and gazump another prospective buyer and I dont want to be involved in that
• Is the EA legally required to inform me if an offer has been accepted ?

So I viewed an apartment I am interested in buying yesterday morning . The apartment has recently been reduced , and has been on the market about 8 months .



Anyway I decided after the viewing that I would seriously consider putting an offer in . There are a few areas that will need some work doing as well as a general redecoration to bring it in line with my tastes . So yesterday and this morning I sat down working out how much the work would cost and ensured that I had enough funds to carry out the work and a reasonable contingency on top in case things come in over cost . I also formulated an offer I was happy with and discussed this over with my parents (FTB) The apartment is listed with offers in the region of an asking price and I have offered 93.75% of that price as my initial offer with a view to upping it to 97.5% of the asking price as a final offer .




I rung the agent around lunch time today to make this offer ,whilst on the phone finalizing contact details and checking that they had my email address , current postal address and correct contact number I started looking on rightmove to bring the property details up to show to a relative and send the link to some friends . I couldn't find it at all using the search criteria I had used previously . It was only when I got off the phone and used the link I had in my bookmarks on my phone that I noticed that the ad on rightmove now said SOLD STC



I rang the agents straight back to ask if there had been any other offers apart from mine which they confirmed but they said that they had sent my offer to the vendor and it was now up to them what they wish to do .



Is the EA legally required to tell me another offer has been accepted by the vendor ? I know they are legally required to pass on the details of other offers until exchange has taken place . But after having some close friends lose out on properties on a few occasions because of gazumping its not something that I wish to be involved with . And I dont myself want to outlay money on conveyancing , searches , surveys and mortgage arrangement costs if the vendor is liable to accept a higher bid at a later stage or become flaky and try and up the price prior to exchange .



If the vendor has accepted another offer then that is fine It is obviously my loss for not making an offer sooner and I would not consider making any further offers if they have already accepted an offer from someone else . Even if its lower than what I would be willing to offer upto .



Is the EA here trying to encourage higher offers for their own benefit ? The EA did sound pretty cheerful on the phone , and there was something in the tone when they said "I am sure I will be speaking to you again very soon" that indicated that this call was a welcome development for them . Obviously if there is more than one prospective buyer the EA will see this as an opportunity to make a bit more money (although I cannot go above my maximum in view of the costs of work that need doing ) , but as I said previously I dont want to be involved in gazumping in any way .

PhilE

EA's job is to get the best deal for themselves and their client. If you put a better offer in, they could pass it on and the vendor can accept it anytime before contracts are exchanged. I've had offers taken after a house I viewed was just listed as sold stc, I've had some EA's just take down my details in case the buyer disappears.

In one case a useless EA failed to pass on my offer and the vendor accepted a lower offer. I spoke to the manager who initially insisted that the house was now a sold stc, when I pointed out that one of his employees had failed to present the offer to the vendor in time, he passed it on and I got the house.

If you dont want to gazump then respect to you. The EA may not have such moral standards though. As a buyer if you have an offer accepted, you must insist that the property is listed as such, as EA's often leave the house up for sale to see if a better offer comes in. (My present property was still on the market after I had actually moved in.)

Sounds like the offer has been accepted judging by the new listing, you could put your offer in anyway but if you dont want to affect another buyer then take the listing as it is.

muz3562

PhilE wrote: »

EA's job is to get the best deal for themselves and their client. If you put a better offer in, they could pass it on and the vendor can accept it anytime before contracts are exchanged. I've had offers taken after a house I viewed was just listed as sold stc, I've had some EA's just take down my details in case the buyer disappears.

In one case a useless EA failed to pass on my offer and the vendor accepted a lower offer. I spoke to the manager who initially insisted that the house was now a sold stc, when I pointed out that one of his employees had failed to present the offer to the vendor in time, he passed it on and I got the house.

If you dont want to gazump then respect to you. The EA may not have such moral standards though. As a buyer if you have an offer accepted, you must insist that the property is listed as such, as EA's often leave the house up for sale to see if a better offer comes in. (My present property was still on the market after I had actually moved in.)

Sounds like the offer has been accepted judging by the new listing, you could put your offer in anyway but if you dont want to affect another buyer then take the listing as it is.

I have put my offer in because I did not realise until I was done speaking to the agent to make the offer that it was listed as sold STC . I guess it is just a case of waiting for the vendor to respond to that offer .



I guess if I do end up affecting another buyer at least at this early stage it is unlikely they would have spent any money on progressing towards purchase . But I would want to know as it might effect my decision to progress as well if the vendor is likely to drop an offer for a higher one .

thelem

If the property has only been marked a SSTC in the last day or two then I wouldn't consider that gazumping. It's not unusual for a vendor to receive multiple offers and decide between them. OK, yours might be a little later than ideal, but the other buyer won't have spent any money yet, so it's not really any different to if there had been multiple offers made on the same day.

muz3562

thelem wrote: »

If the property has only been marked a SSTC in the last day or two then I wouldn't consider that gazumping. It's not unusual for a vendor to receive multiple offers and decide between them. OK, yours might be a little later than ideal, but the other buyer won't have spent any money yet, so it's not really any different to if there had been multiple offers made on the same day.

The property was only listed as SSTC this morning . I was looking at it on right move again last night after the viewing when formulating my offer . It was only just before midday today when I went to find it to send the link to a friend and show a relative I found it SSTC .



The EA has said there are other offers they did not say that any had been accepted . But are they obliged to tell me this ?

[Deleted User]

No. Their obligation is to sell the place for as much money as they can get. They are acting for the seller, they have few obligations to you, I'm afraid.

I think maybe you need to look at how the Housing Market works and try to understand it a bit more, the reality of it. Offering the same day as another offer has been accepted is not gazumping and won't incur the other buyer a loss (as has been said already).

Offering a higher price some weeks/months down the line is what is called gazumping. I think you are allowing yourself to get distracted by things that will make buying rather more difficult for you in what seems to be a buoyant housing market in your area of interest.

kinger101

It's more likely down to the vendor IMO. I'd retract any offer I'd made as I'd have little faith in them not doing the same to me later on.

Bass_9

muz3562 wrote: »

The property was only listed as SSTC this morning . I was looking at it on right move again last night after the viewing when formulating my offer . It was only just before midday today when I went to find it to send the link to a friend and show a relative I found it SSTC .



The EA has said there are other offers they did not say that any had been accepted . But are they obliged to tell me this ?

Good for you that you don't want to be involved in it, but if it's literally just been 'sold' that day then to me that's not really bad in terms of gazumping. Respect to you for not wanting to do it though. :beer:

You can always withdraw the offer if you wish, it's just been bad luck/timing unfortunately. I agree with others that I'd not have faith in the EA if they encouraged this type of thing.

The EAs have to pass on all offers, if I were you I would be more direct and ask specifically in the future 'have they already accepted another offer' if you think there's a chance that's happened.

muz3562

Bass_9 wrote: »

Good for you that you don't want to be involved in it, but if it's literally just been 'sold' that day then to me that's not really bad in terms of gazumping. Respect to you for not wanting to do it though. :beer:

You can always withdraw the offer if you wish, it's just been bad luck/timing unfortunately. I agree with others that I'd not have faith in the EA if they encouraged this type of thing.

The EAs have to pass on all offers, if I were you I would be more direct and ask specifically in the future 'have they already accepted another offer' if you think there's a chance that's happened.

Thanks , my unwillingness to be involved in gazumping is because I have seen it happen to a few friends . One of them lost the sale literally days prior to exchange after someone who had previously viewed the property and had surveys done came back and offered a slightly higher cash offer .



If I ask the EA that question directly are they obliged to answer it truthfully ? FTB so I didn't really have the experience or forethought to ask , they seemed happy to put my offer forward , but then they would if they knew it was higher than others .

Davesnave

muz3562 wrote: »

FTB so I didn't really have the experience or forethought to ask , they seemed happy to put my offer forward , but then they would if they knew it was higher than others .

The EA won't be fussed about a few quid extra; they just want to get their commission and the house off their books.

For all you know, they may consider the other party to look flakey or more encumbered than you.

Around 30% of deals on property fail to complete. It's not just about price.

Slinky

At 93.75% of the asking price your offer could well be lower than the one already accepted, so I wouldn't waste too much time worrying about the morals of the issue.