Bullying tactics from Estate Agents

UnderOffer

leanne_flan said:

Thanks everyone for your help and tips. We will definitely take this as a learning experience. Was just crazy this all happened within a matter of minutes, we literally agreed £5k more within minutes of him first telling us this. When he first told us, he actually said "the house is guaranteed to be yours" for £5k more.

There will be more houses...  

Definitely other houses out there, this one wasn’t meant to be. It is disappointing but you also have to feel right about your offer and not regret increasing it and always wondering if there really was another bidder and think you may have overpaid. 

When we were first time buyers we made an other that was declined and we just said “oh well, we’ve got other viewings”, within 5 minutes that very same offer was accepted. The EA was just pushing his luck, trying to get more for vendor, understandably. I really do believe that you just move on if not successful. Try not to stress.  

leanne_flan

moneysavinghero said:

We were so gutted as he told us initially that we could have it by increasing our offer by £5k to which we agreed within minutes

This is not quite a true representation of what happened. The EA told you what was needed to get the property but you decided to negotiate instead:

The EA then told us that the vendor said the house was ours if we increase our offer by £5k, we tried to negotiate first to which he heavily sighed and said "there are times you negotiate and times you don't. The vendor is being very fair to you and doing this because they liked you". The EA got back to us 10 mins later saying they declined the price we tried to negotiate and we immediately said we will go the £5k more and meet their proposal

He really built our hopes up and then just crushed them

Or did he try to make your dreams comes true by telling you what price the vendor would be happy to take? Maybe you crushed your own hopes by ignoring the vendors wishes.

Thanks for your comment. Not helpful and not really nice, but I guess thanks anyway?

moneysavinghero

leanne_flan said:

moneysavinghero said:

We were so gutted as he told us initially that we could have it by increasing our offer by £5k to which we agreed within minutes

This is not quite a true representation of what happened. The EA told you what was needed to get the property but you decided to negotiate instead:

The EA then told us that the vendor said the house was ours if we increase our offer by £5k, we tried to negotiate first to which he heavily sighed and said "there are times you negotiate and times you don't. The vendor is being very fair to you and doing this because they liked you". The EA got back to us 10 mins later saying they declined the price we tried to negotiate and we immediately said we will go the £5k more and meet their proposal

He really built our hopes up and then just crushed them

Or did he try to make your dreams comes true by telling you what price the vendor would be happy to take? Maybe you crushed your own hopes by ignoring the vendors wishes.

Thanks for your comment. Not helpful and not really nice, but I guess thanks anyway?

If you listen to advice it can be helpful (whether or not it's what you want to hear). Learn and move on to the next house and maybe you will get somewhere, But if you keep ignoring vendors wishes there is always every chance that they will choose the other bidder. Yes EA's can be little *********s, but sometimes it just seems like they are little *********s when in fact they are just doing what the vendor instructs them to.

teachfast

moneysavinghero said:

leanne_flan said:

moneysavinghero said:

We were so gutted as he told us initially that we could have it by increasing our offer by £5k to which we agreed within minutes

This is not quite a true representation of what happened. The EA told you what was needed to get the property but you decided to negotiate instead:

The EA then told us that the vendor said the house was ours if we increase our offer by £5k, we tried to negotiate first to which he heavily sighed and said "there are times you negotiate and times you don't. The vendor is being very fair to you and doing this because they liked you". The EA got back to us 10 mins later saying they declined the price we tried to negotiate and we immediately said we will go the £5k more and meet their proposal

He really built our hopes up and then just crushed them

Or did he try to make your dreams comes true by telling you what price the vendor would be happy to take? Maybe you crushed your own hopes by ignoring the vendors wishes.

Thanks for your comment. Not helpful and not really nice, but I guess thanks anyway?

If you listen to advice it can be helpful (whether or not it's what you want to hear). Learn and move on to the next house and maybe you will get somewhere, But if you keep ignoring vendors wishes there is always every chance that they will choose the other bidder. Yes EA's can be little *********s, but sometimes it just seems like they are little *********s when in fact they are just doing what the vendor instructs them to.

And lying through their teeth in the process: standard practice in that shady 'profession'.

leanne_flan

UnderOffer said:

leanne_flan said:

Thanks everyone for your help and tips. We will definitely take this as a learning experience. Was just crazy this all happened within a matter of minutes, we literally agreed £5k more within minutes of him first telling us this. When he first told us, he actually said "the house is guaranteed to be yours" for £5k more.

There will be more houses...  

Definitely other houses out there, this one wasn’t meant to be. It is disappointing but you also have to feel right about your offer and not regret increasing it and always wondering if there really was another bidder and think you may have overpaid. 

When we were first time buyers we made an other that was declined and we just said “oh well, we’ve got other viewings”, within 5 minutes that very same offer was accepted. The EA was just pushing his luck, trying to get more for vendor, understandably. I really do believe that you just move on if not successful. Try not to stress.  

Thank you so much, really appreciate the support

Robroy79

Yes - a few bad experiences. I was selling a property and I told the agent if he couldn't get hold of me (I work in financial regulation and often am prohibited from having my mobile phone out) he could call my girlfriend but that she couldn't decide on my behalf (the flat was in my name). He then tried to put pressure on her to commit and that the buyer was going to walk. 

I had to phone him later on that day to say never to do that again then to his boss to get him taken off my sale (the boss told me the guy was actually on his notice period). The next guy was much better and we got the buyer back. 

They will frequently bounce buyers off one another or use your home to sell another - sadly it just feels like part of how the market runs.

Salemicus

teachfast said:

moneysavinghero said:

leanne_flan said:

moneysavinghero said:

We were so gutted as he told us initially that we could have it by increasing our offer by £5k to which we agreed within minutes

This is not quite a true representation of what happened. The EA told you what was needed to get the property but you decided to negotiate instead:

The EA then told us that the vendor said the house was ours if we increase our offer by £5k, we tried to negotiate first to which he heavily sighed and said "there are times you negotiate and times you don't. The vendor is being very fair to you and doing this because they liked you". The EA got back to us 10 mins later saying they declined the price we tried to negotiate and we immediately said we will go the £5k more and meet their proposal

He really built our hopes up and then just crushed them

Or did he try to make your dreams comes true by telling you what price the vendor would be happy to take? Maybe you crushed your own hopes by ignoring the vendors wishes.

Thanks for your comment. Not helpful and not really nice, but I guess thanks anyway?

If you listen to advice it can be helpful (whether or not it's what you want to hear). Learn and move on to the next house and maybe you will get somewhere, But if you keep ignoring vendors wishes there is always every chance that they will choose the other bidder. Yes EA's can be little *********s, but sometimes it just seems like they are little *********s when in fact they are just doing what the vendor instructs them to.

And lying through their teeth in the process: standard practice in that shady 'profession'.

Perhaps sometimes, but in this case it seems the estate agent was telling the truth. There was another buyer.

Seems to me everyone did the right thing here - estate agent got a good price for the vendor, OP didn't end up overpaying, and the other buyer is presumably happy to have secured the house. Congratulations all, and especially to OP, who I hope finds another house they love even more.

[Deleted User]

I have only limited experience with EAs but it's hard to determine whether they are telling the truth (even if, as in my case, they were!) It's such a blind and vague process as a buyer and so fraught with trying to make the right decision based on very little information that it would be good if EAs made the process easier. Unfortunately though, their job is focused on getting the seller the highest amount of money possible. Sorry to hear you're disappointed but I agree with others who've said you have had a lucky escape - you no longer have to deal with this particular EA and hopefully there will be something better out there for you. 

AdrianC

leanne_flan said:

When he first told us, he actually said "the house is guaranteed to be yours" for £5k more. 

IF you'd said "Yep, OK. +£5k.".
Which you didn't.

You said "Ooh, no. Maybe £2.5k?"
Then you wandered off to have a think.

If he was trying to "bully" you into offering more, why are you now continuing to search?

leanne_flan

AdrianC said:

leanne_flan said:

When he first told us, he actually said "the house is guaranteed to be yours" for £5k more. 

IF you'd said "Yep, OK. +£5k.".
Which you didn't.

You said "Ooh, no. Maybe £2.5k?"
Then you wandered off to have a think.

If he was trying to "bully" you into offering more, why are you now continuing to search?

Thanks for the comment. We actually said £3.5k and then agreed to the £5k... literally within minutes. He also had a copy of proof of our deposit funds and AIP as we sent this as soon as it was asked, so knows we were serious.

We're continuing to search as we want a property...