Fake offers from agent

TheJP

F37A said:

eddddy said:

F37A said:

So if agent makes up offers what are our options generally. Ask for them to show copy of offer to my solicitor seems best bet. Any thoughts / anyone disagree? I hear too many lies from agents.

I wonder if you're over thinking this.

• Are you buying or selling?
• What exactly is it that you want the agent to show to your solicitor? 
• • (If you're another buyer - the agent can't disclose the name of the person making the offer, and usually cant disclose the amount of the offer)
• What do you want your solicitor to do as a result? 
• Have you instructed a solicitor to do this - how much will the solicitor charge you for doing this?

And... how are you hoping any of this will help you?

I'm buying
evidence that the offer they claim to have received is real
i wouldn't need the name of the other person that has offered. The amount of the offer / date / time.  If what you say is true that the amount of the offer can't be disclosed and therefore proven then its pretty corrupt and the system can be abused by the agent. It would be a joke that we live in a place where this is allowed to happen.
I'd want my solicitor to verify that competing offer is legit. But if what you say is correct i.e amount of offer can't be disclosed then pointless.
I haven't yet.
Well I certainly wouldn't offer as much if I know nobody offered on the property.

Not going to happen, the seller is the client not you. Also how do you verify an offer without the persons details, my offers were confirmed via a phone call with the EA and then a week later a letter detailing the offer, by this point i had accepted an offer before seeing the 'evidence'. 

Sounds like you are getting a little paranoid, if you don't like this EA then look at what others have on their books.

aoleks

if it's a property that's been up for sale for weeks/months and suddenly there are multiple offers exactly the moment you become interested, you know it's bluff. quite stupid, as well, as the agent might turn away a real, buying customer, but hey, these people are worse than parking attendants or mould, so no surprise there.

if the property just went up and you barely got a viewing because they had about 200 calls in 15 minutes, you're out of luck.

luckily, there is the only proven method that works in every single case: do your own thing. offer what YOU think the house is worth, other (fictional) offers, higher or lower, are completely irrelevant.

diystarter7

Make a lower offer than you want to pay, insist they put it to the seller and if they reject it, make a higher offer. I've in the past offered xxx and the EA has come back saying no and they would accept xxxx and I think I've paid that or close to it.

We've always been in a ready to move position in the past so I guess that counted for something as well to some sellers.

t1redmonkey

Just don't allow yourself to get suckered into these games that EA's play.  Have a maximum price in mind when you want to make an offer and stick to it.  EA's will say anything to squeeze extra money out of you.  Be prepared and willing to walk away if they keep saying things to press you for more money.

74jax

Why would an agent fake a sale?  Have you offered and been turned down because of 'another offer'?  If so what benefit is this to the agent, they only get commission on an actual sale, not a made up one.

If you've offered and been turned down due to other offers, just put in your best and final (if what you have already submitted is testing the water) and it will either be accepted or not. 

As you mention a solicitor, have you had an offer accepted, in the process of buying and now along comes an increased offer and you have been asked to match it or the seller will pull out of your sale and go with the new buyer? If so, how far along are you in the sale process? 

Doozergirl

It doesn't matter what other people offer or even whether they do or not.   It's irrelevant.  There's no need for mind games or paranoia.  Offer what you feel a property is worth and know where you maximum is.  

The key is to find a price that two parties are happy with so that a sale can be agreed and progress through to completion.   The obvious way to do that is to try and get both parties as happy as they can be with the price and a price that is reasonable to pass survey.  

I could not care less how an agent wants to make that happen but I know for a fact, after many years, that if there is negotiation involved, then agents work both parties hard in order to find that agreeable price.   They are working to achieve a sale, not to take sides.   

The bottom line is that if any agent wants you to raise your price it's because it isn't acceptable to the vendor.  

canaldumidi

Don't let the paranoia take over.

There is only one thing that the EA might say that matters: wjether or not your offer has ben accepted by the seller.

If it has, great.

If not, decide whether you are willing and able to increase your offer or not.

If yes, increase your offer.

If not, find another property.

F37A

eddddy said:

It sounds like you're saying that you want the agent to disclose any/all other offers to you (or your solicitor) so that maybe you can offer £500 or £1000 more than anyone else.

But then the agent would disclose your offer to any/all the other buyers (or their solicitors), so one of them would offer £500 or £1000 more than you.

So essentially it would turn into a slow, painful auction - with buyers increasing their offers by £500 or £1000 each time. And if it was done via solicitors, it would probably take weeks.



That's a key reason why agents don't disclose the amount of other offers - they want to avoid a long, slow auction.

But they did disclose an offer and its amount to me. And they have on other occasions but not in writing

F37A

TheJP said:

F37A said:

eddddy said:

F37A said:

So if agent makes up offers what are our options generally. Ask for them to show copy of offer to my solicitor seems best bet. Any thoughts / anyone disagree? I hear too many lies from agents.

I wonder if you're over thinking this.

• Are you buying or selling?
• What exactly is it that you want the agent to show to your solicitor? 
• • (If you're another buyer - the agent can't disclose the name of the person making the offer, and usually cant disclose the amount of the offer)
• What do you want your solicitor to do as a result? 
• Have you instructed a solicitor to do this - how much will the solicitor charge you for doing this?

And... how are you hoping any of this will help you?

I'm buying
evidence that the offer they claim to have received is real
i wouldn't need the name of the other person that has offered. The amount of the offer / date / time.  If what you say is true that the amount of the offer can't be disclosed and therefore proven then its pretty corrupt and the system can be abused by the agent. It would be a joke that we live in a place where this is allowed to happen.
I'd want my solicitor to verify that competing offer is legit. But if what you say is correct i.e amount of offer can't be disclosed then pointless.
I haven't yet.
Well I certainly wouldn't offer as much if I know nobody offered on the property.

Not going to happen, the seller is the client not you. Also how do you verify an offer without the persons details, my offers were confirmed via a phone call with the EA and then a week later a letter detailing the offer, by this point i had accepted an offer before seeing the 'evidence'. 

Sounds like you are getting a little paranoid, if you don't like this EA then look at what others have on their books.

Not really. Given the number of lies that come out of these agents perfectly reasonable to question to see if they trying to game the system.

Shaztastic3000

You sound very young and naive. Kinda cute!