Do estate agents make up gazumping offers to get you to increase prices after accepted offer

Ybe

As in the title, do EAs ever get buyers to increase offer after the vendor has accepted by inventing gazumping offers?

If you say you’re sticking to your offer and they decide to proceed with you anyway, is that a bad sign? Would you consider pulling out?  

NameUnavailable

Why would they do that? They just want to get every property on the books sold, so if a vendor accepts and offer why would they waste time inventing new offers?

If someone else has offered they are obilged to inform the vendor and it's down to them if they decide to risk dropping an existing buyer. I expect in your case the vendors just thought better of it and stuck with the first offer or maybe the people they thought were in the best position.

eddddy

The estate agent would be breaking the law if they 'invented' other offers. (But maybe some estate agents would consider breaking the law.)

BUT... why would an estate agent want to do what you describe?

• Typically, selling a £300k property might get them £3k in commission

• 'Tricking' you into paying an extra £5k would get them an extra £50

Why would they waste their time; risk prosecution; and risk you getting angry and walking away and losing £3k commission - for the sake of £50?


In general, estate agents don't like gazumping. It causes them extra work and it delays the sale (so delays them getting their fee).

Ybe

eddddy said:

The estate agent would be breaking the law if they 'invented' other offers. (But maybe some estate agents would consider breaking the law.)

BUT... why would an estate agent want to do what you describe?

• Typically, selling a £300k property might get them £3k in commission

• 'Tricking' you into paying an extra £5k would get them an extra £50

Why would they waste their time; risk prosecution; and risk you getting angry and walking away and losing £3k commission - for the sake of £50?


In general, estate agents don't like gazumping. It causes them extra work and it delays the sale (so delays them getting their fee).

True. So in these sorts of situations it’s more likely the vendor messing everyone around? If they decide to entertain the higher offer and/or ask the buyer to increase their offer? And also delay taking the property off the market/issuing memorandum of sale

DE_612183

It's not really worth their while - if they have a say 1.5% fee, then a extra £5000 is about £75

silvercar

Some EAs would do this. The old adage was, "how do you know an estate agent is lying? Their lips move."

AskAsk

it is unlikely that the EA would bother with pricing after an offer has been accepted.  i wouldn't worry too much that the seller is still going ahead with you as the other offer may be less attractive in terms of their situation so you are still the better offer overall but they had to ask when they got the other offer.

Ybe

I’m now being told the vendor hasn’t made a final decision yet and will make one today 

DullGreyGuy

silvercar said:

Some EAs would do this. The old adage was, "how do you know an estate agent is lying? Their lips move."

The joke was typically applied to anyone who has "agent" in their job title. 

Was surprised several years ago watching some silly daytime tv programme about auctions and it talked about the auctioneer "taking a bid off the wall", ie they claimed there had been a higher bid which hadn't actually been made with the aim of driving up the price just in this case the auctioneer had got unstuck as no one outbid the wall. 

The above is allegedly legal practice so a little surprised that estate agents are strictly forbidden from playing similar tricks. Obviously nothing to stop the vendor for lining up a friend to pose as an alternative buyer and submitting a gazumping offer

Agree with others however that for the majority of the time the agent just wants a quick clean sale and that is more important to them than adding a couple of grand which equates to well under £100 extra for their firm and even less for them personally. 

RHemmings

DullGreyGuy said:

silvercar said:

Some EAs would do this. The old adage was, "how do you know an estate agent is lying? Their lips move."

The joke was typically applied to anyone who has "agent" in their job title. 

Was surprised several years ago watching some silly daytime tv programme about auctions and it talked about the auctioneer "taking a bid off the wall", ie they claimed there had been a higher bid which hadn't actually been made with the aim of driving up the price just in this case the auctioneer had got unstuck as no one outbid the wall. 

The above is allegedly legal practice so a little surprised that estate agents are strictly forbidden from playing similar tricks. Obviously nothing to stop the vendor for lining up a friend to pose as an alternative buyer and submitting a gazumping offer

I believe that in some cases 'taking a bid off the wall' is used when there is a reserve price. So, the bid is from the reserve price, not a person. This then should stop once the reserve is achieved. 

ReadySteadyPop

Ybe said:

As in the title, do EAs ever get buyers to increase offer after the vendor has accepted by inventing gazumping offers?

If you say you’re sticking to your offer and they decide to proceed with you anyway, is that a bad sign? Would you consider pulling out?  

"Gazumping" is a historical curiosity now, that was from a different property market, it is similar to "flipping" in that it doesn`t happen across the general market anymore. Most EA`s will be doing well now to get one or two people even interested in a property in some cases.