Could Estate Agent be lying about passing offers to vendor and/or playing silly games?

fackers_2

mi-key said:

Really does it matter? They could well be making up stories or not passing on offers, but if you really want the house and are happy to pay the asking price then go for it.

You can always 'what if' and think you could have got it cheaper, but if it is a couple who have inherited, then they may not be desperate to sell at all, so won't consider lower offers anyway.

Or while you are trying to get money off, someone else who loves it and wants to pay the full price may snap it up or even offer over. You can always consider you are getting £50K off from what it would have cost if you had bought it when it was first listed...

An agents job is to get the best price they can for the seller, so I'm sure all sorts of dodgy things go on, but you know if the house is worth what you are spending, whatever price that ends up being.

Sounds like you’d fall for the Black Friday “reduced by 99.9% off sales” - that was inflated to cover off the discount a few days before 🙈🙈 

same principle as your point here. The asking price is just that. Savings come when it’s bought at under market / survey valuation may I add, the seller is also always responsible for setting the asking price… what do they know? I’d love £1mil for mine, it goes for £500k  does that mean it’s 50% off? 

fackers_2

molenpad said:

Just as an update our offer was eventually accepted, which is great news for us. 

The vendor apparently needed to mull it over and in the words of the estate agent has "reluctantly accepted to let it go at the asking price"

Great news for us as I say. I am not sure that when the EA saw the value of our AIP and proof of deposit they may have seen an opportunity to squeeze a bit more out of us, but no matter now, the house is ours - excepting all the usual mortgage offer, survey and conveyancing woes

Great news. What was the final offer accepted? Has it also been taken off the market? Maybe they just needed time to think it over. 

Best of luck with it! 

eddddy

molenpad said:

 I am not sure that when the EA saw the value of our AIP and proof of deposit they may have seen an opportunity to squeeze a bit more out of us,

That's very, very unlikely.

Playing games with you to get you to offer, say, £5k more could have 3 possible outcomes:

• 1) They spend hours or days "playing games" with you, and you give in and offer £5k more - and the agent get £50 more commission

• 2) They spend hours or days "playing games" with you, and you refuse to offer more.

• 3) You get fed up with them "playing games" and walk away - and the agent loses £3,800 in commission.

None of those is a good outcome for the Estate Agent. 

Doing hours (or days) of extra work and only getting £50 more isn't worthwhile.

And they won't want to gamble making an extra £50 against potentially losing £3,800.

GDB2222

We saw a house the other day that was a wreck, but priced as if in perfect condition. We offered 50% of asking price, but I don’t think the EA passed it on, even though it was the only offer that was made. 

They get the instructions by wildly overpricing, but then they have a problem with reducing the seller’s expectations but not getting sacked!

Surrey_EA

eddddy said:

molenpad said:

 I am not sure that when the EA saw the value of our AIP and proof of deposit they may have seen an opportunity to squeeze a bit more out of us,

That's very, very unlikely.

Playing games with you to get you to offer, say, £5k more could have 3 possible outcomes:

• 1) They spend hours or days "playing games" with you, and you give in and offer £5k more - and the agent get £50 more commission

• 2) They spend hours or days "playing games" with you, and you refuse to offer more.

• 3) You get fed up with them "playing games" and walk away - and the agent loses £3,800 in commission.

None of those is a good outcome for the Estate Agent. 

Doing hours (or days) of extra work and only getting £50 more isn't worthwhile.

And they won't want to gamble making an extra £50 against potentially losing £3,800.

And that's £50 to the firm, not the individual. More likely £5-£10 (gross) to the agent themselves. 

It's simply not worth it.

molenpad

fackers_2 said:

molenpad said:

Just as an update our offer was eventually accepted, which is great news for us. 

The vendor apparently needed to mull it over and in the words of the estate agent has "reluctantly accepted to let it go at the asking price"

Great news for us as I say. I am not sure that when the EA saw the value of our AIP and proof of deposit they may have seen an opportunity to squeeze a bit more out of us, but no matter now, the house is ours - excepting all the usual mortgage offer, survey and conveyancing woes

Great news. What was the final offer accepted? Has it also been taken off the market? Maybe they just needed time to think it over. 

Best of luck with it! 

Yes we agreed on the asking price, and it was immediately taken off the market