Is estate agent telling porkies?

Thrugelmir

suffolkboy_ wrote: »

themselves up to try and push me for an increased offer in a few days.

In my personal experience people who offer low initially never come good. Seems as the expectation is for the vendor to foot the bill for the modernisation/renovation work. Last year encountered this issue again with selling my late mothers house. Had huge potential but required complete modernisation. The eventual buyers bid £5k under asking. As in essence intended to gut the property to undertake the plans they had for it. Viewed the property as a long term home. My mother lived there for 42 years.

suffolkboy_

Thrugelmir wrote: »

In my personal experience people who offer low initially never come good. Seems as the expectation is for the vendor to foot the bill for the modernisation/renovation work. Last year encountered this issue again with selling my late mothers house. Had huge potential but required complete modernisation. The eventual buyers bid £5k under asking. As in essence intended to gut the property to undertake the plans they had for it. Viewed the property as a long term home. My mother lived there for 42 years.

Hello Thrugelmir.

Thanks. This is on the assumption however that the asking price is reasonable. Considering that the property I'm looking at needs considerable work, and is listed (Grade 2), I can't see that it is worth the same amount as the property 3 doors down which was in good order. Hence why I think the asking price is above what it's worth. I suppose ultimate value comes down to one thing...what someone is willing to pay for it.

Thrugelmir

suffolkboy_ wrote: »

I suppose ultimate value comes down to one thing...what someone is willing to pay for it.

Agreed. With unusual properties. As we were as executors. EA's said bide your time.

Smodlet

hazyjo wrote: »

There's testing the water, and then there's throwing in too short an anchor and sinking!

I am so sorry, hazyjo, but I am in pedantic mode: I think you missed out the floating off into the blue stage between the two you mentioned.

Leaving now... Drowning, not :wave:

theartfullodger

suffolkboy_ wrote: »

Is estate agent telling porkies? .............

Normally an advisable assumption:

hazyjo

Smodlet wrote: »

I am so sorry, hazyjo, but I am in pedantic mode: I think you missed out the floating off into the blue stage between the two you mentioned.

Leaving now... Drowning, not :wave:

Actually, I should've gone down the shark attack route. Would have made for a better story...

Smodlet

hazyjo wrote: »

Actually, I should've gone down the shark attack route. Would have made for a better story...

To be fair, I think all such scenarios result in a No Sale for the OP. Thank you so much for playing properly, hazyjo. :beer:

MissPony

is the Pope a Catholic?

Do bears deficate in the woods?

suffolkboy_ wrote: »

Last week I put an offer in on a house which requires significant renovation (it's a probate sale). It's listed at £225,000 and has been for sale since April 2019. A similar house 3 doors down sold for £220,000 in 2017 but was in a good presentable condition.
After having a couple of well trusted builder friend have a look at the property, we've come to a figure of about £40k for renovation. I put an offer in last week for £165k - low-ball I know, but thought it would test the water.
The Estate Agent got back to me a couple of hours later to say my offer had been declined, and they already had an offer in for full asking price but were "just waiting for some details" and if I wanted to I could go back and make a higher offer. I thought about it over this weekend and question whether it's a bit too much of a coincidence that a full asking price offer has come in after 4 months, the same time I've put in an offer.
I phoned to estate agent again this morning to try and call their bluff, I told her that I would not be willing to pay the asking price, and therefore questioned if it was even worth me putting in an offer. Her response was that "we are waiting for a few details about the existing offer, like a few background checks before listing the property as under offer"(is this the done thing??). "you can make an offer by all means and I can put this to the executors to be fair to all parties to let them know what you are willing to offer".
I'm questioning if by that statement if she's given the game away and actually i'm the only one bidding?
I would really like the house. It's in the village I want to live in where houses rarely come on the market and where they do they are usually always way over my price range. Equally I don't want to overpay for a property.
Any thoughts?

But perhaps I should address the other questions/points you raise

Probate sales can take a while to sell, particularly ones that need repair/refurbishment.
Not everyone wants a 'doer upper' and not everyone can afford one, as the mortgage company may not be prepared to lend on it, will only lend a small LTV, or will only lend in stage payments, pending the repair/refurbishment necessary.
Or it may be the property hgas been under any number of previous offers, and for whatever reason, those offers did not coem to fruition.

There seems to be an issue with the existing offer if they are "waiting for some details". It may or may not be accepted, but it seems to be there as your attempt to call their bluff revealed.

The executors are under an obligation to obatin the best price for the poroperty, all things considered. Those things could include how long the sale may take to go through, and possible wasted costs that may be incurred if an offere is accepted and then does not proceed to completion.

Yes, the vendor can agree any terms they wish with their agent over how they advertsie it.
1. They could ask for it to remain on the open market (usually until exgamnge is completed)
2. They could ask for the property to be marked as 'under offer' if they have an offer. Doesn'ty mewan a thing, but tends to gee up anyone fillying and dallying about putting in an offer
3. It could be marked sold, subject to contract. Again means nothing, but may actually put off those but the most determined to put in an offer
4. They could ask for it to be removed from the market. This is usually a term required by the potential purchaser, and then a suitable timeframe is usually agreed during which the property is removed pending exchange, or the potential buyer withdraws their offer.

Your initial offer has been rejected; it is very unlikely you will be asked if the offer still stands later. The executors presumably thing, as you acknowledge, the offer seriously undervalues the property.
Even if there was no other higher offer forthcoming, the executors can always go to auction if they need to, and presumably they are quite confident the property will attain more there if necessary.

If you really want the house, if it's in the village you want to live, if houses come up rarely in that village, and when they do they are out of your price range, you need to either put in a sensible offer (and hope you are in a better situation to proceed then any other offer made), or take your chances and hope the property comes to auction.

The estate agent is under an obligation to put forward all offers, even if they are so low they will firmly inform the seller not to accept, or indeed if there is already a higher offer oin the table.

It may never come to auction, and if it does, no one knows what price it will attain on the day. But the executors could place a reserve on it. You will never know what that is unless you are the hioghset bidder on the day, don't reach the reserve, and the seller is then prepared to accept or negotiate the selling price with you.

MissPony

suffolkboy_ wrote: »

...
No, I'm not surprised it's been rejected at all, but as I said, I was looking to test the water - can always increase an offer, can't decrease it.

...

Making an offer so low that you were fully expecting it to be rejected is not a good strategy, sorry.

The agent & seller now may think you are a time waster, or at best identify you to be a chancer. If you go back now and make a sensible offer, even a low senisible offer, you will have demonstrated you can easily afford more than you offer (so you cannot use that as a plea for it to be accepted), and you may have put yourself in a worse position than the current offerer or any other subsequent offerer. i.e. not the most favoured offer, offer otherwsie being equal, due to your manner.

In fact, as your offer would have done to the sellers, they may not be so receptive to a further offer from you as the agent is making out; the agent is keen to sell but the seller makes the ultimate decision and you have already explained how they don't seem to hurried to do so, the property having been on the market for the last 4 months.

suffolkboy_

MissPony wrote: »

is the Pope a Catholic?

Hello Miss Pony.

Thank You for taking the time to write such a considered response.

I'm a bit more hopeful now that the Estate Agent has said that my second offer wasn't dismissed and they will consider it is this other offer doesn't materialise. I'm guessing they may be having concerns that the other party can't get the funding (possibly?)

The house is technically habitable by mortgage standards - it has a working kitchen and bathroom. My next concern if I do get an offer accepted is a potential lender offering me what I need to buy it....I'm not a cash buyer and will be requiring a mortgage with a 90%LTV