I hate bidding wars

Mustlovedogs

I know I have to accept that it's always going to be about money, but I have to vent.
Just sold our house after back and fore as initially offered us too low. We end up accepting slightly less as we find a house we fall in love with. We are first to put an offer in. Two offers come in after ours. The seller 'doesn't want to get into a bidding war' but all buyers are in the sort of chain. Someone else offers a lot higher than I did (i offered ten grand more) and so we lose. I'm kicking myself in one way for getting involved in the first place. Entitled to your opinion and there doesn't seem to be any ethics where money is concerned but I wish there were. We were the first to offer full asking price 🥺. It's annoying I can't find out the winning bid so I can feel a bit better if it's a figure I wouldn't have offered anyway. It's probably a bit nasty to say I hope it falls through....🫣

Slinky

We were outbid on a property up for £395, we bid £411.6K. Three weeks later the overbidder pulled out and we were offered the property for our bid. That same day a neighbouring property came up, we ended up bidding on that one instead securing it for £425 against an advertised price of £395. Our property is bigger than the original one we bid on. The same people who were looking at the first property were looking at ours, including someone flying in from Europe to look at both (same story, different agent). The original property went for £395 in the end.

It was a bunfight. Your bid may yet come good.

Mustlovedogs

Slinky said:

We were outbid on a property up for £395, we bid £411.6K. Three weeks later the overbidder pulled out and we were offered the property for our bid. That same day a neighbouring property came up, we ended up bidding on that one instead securing it for £425 against an advertised price of £395. Our property is bigger than the original one we bid on. The same people who were looking at the first property were looking at ours, including someone flying in from Europe to look at both (same story, different agent). The original property went for £395 in the end.

It was a bunfight. Your bid may yet come good.

Ah I'm glad it worked out for you in the end I love a good news story 😀
I know lots will say 'you'd do the same' I don't know if I would. I feel like i always stay moral and ethical and I always get pooped on 🤣 . My opinion (others can disagree but it's mine and I'm allowed it) is, I gave the first offer for full asking price. The property should be mine. I know that's not how it works, but if people had morals it should. I hope another comes up for me that I like as much but I've lost all faith tonight lol. Serves my right for going against my own ethics and not walking away at the first mention of bidding war. 

Hoenir

Deep down if you really liked a property enough you'd push the boat out to acquire it. When the right one comes along you'll know it. 

Mustlovedogs

Hoenir said:

Deep down if you really liked a property enough you'd push the boat out to acquire it. When the right one comes along you'll know it. 

I get what you're saying, but I think there is more to it than that. Have to be careful not to offer higher than a mortgage co would actually value it at, and also don't want to do your own legs. There's no way of finding out what the other buyers offered, if there was, I can know whether to offer more, which I would have, (to a point, as above). It's literally going in blind. It was my first ever experience of this and i didnt realise that they wouldnt come back asking if i could go any higher. I should have gone higher than i did, but you love, you learn. I still stand by the fact it's unethical, and I understand people have to look after number 1, but sometimes I feel like I'm one of a few people with a moral compass. That does make me a hypocrite for getting involved ib the first place. And yes I know it's more brutal than that but hey. Hopefully at some point I'll be rewarded by being fair....Just doesn't seem like that will ever happen 🤣

Hoenir

Mustlovedogs said:

Hoenir said:

Deep down if you really liked a property enough you'd push the boat out to acquire it. When the right one comes along you'll know it. 

I get what you're saying, but I think there is more to it than that. Have to be careful not to offer higher than a mortgage co would actually value it at, and also don't want to do your own legs.

Some people are happy to pay over the odds to get the location they desire. Some houses don't change hands again for decdes. 

housebuyer143

Same happened to me but a week later the other buyers pulled out and guess who they came back to..  I offered £5k less than my earlier offer and they accepted it. It might fall through 🙏 

It's easy others saying that you should have offered more, but how are you to know how much. You offered asking, you are not randomly going to go £20k over just in case someone else offered more. 

Unfortunately some agents do bidding wars with best and final, some take the first asking price offer and others do what this one did. From a sellers perspective though I think what they did is the best option to secure a good price and not have to go back and forth with people increasing their offers. That's the way I would play it if I had a desirable house with a lot of interest.

On-the-coast

I don’t have an issue with sellers taking higher offers than asking price - except where they’ve already accepted one.  

IMO that’s the point to say stop - it’s done.  

As a seller I once did exactly this - I’d shaken hands “literally” with a builder who was buying my property (at full asking price) and ignored a competing offer that came a few days later. 

Legally I could have changed my mind at no cost, but I’m happy with my decision of years ago. 

Mustlovedogs

housebuyer143 said:

Same happened to me but a week later the other buyers pulled out and guess who they came back to..  I offered £5k less than my earlier offer and they accepted it. It might fall through 🙏 

It's easy others saying that you should have offered more, but how are you to know how much. You offered asking, you are not randomly going to go £20k over just in case someone else offered more. 

Unfortunately some agents do bidding wars with best and final, some take the first asking price offer and others do what this one did. From a sellers perspective though I think what they did is the best option to secure a good price and not have to go back and forth with people increasing their offers. That's the way I would play it if I had a desirable house with a lot of interest.

I do understand they've got to do the best for them. I'm just so annoyed with myself that I didn't go higher, but it is a blind auction and impossible to know what everyone is offering. The estate agent said she left it to the seller as she doesn't advocate bidding wars and that's how they decided to do it. Personally I don't agree with them and although I wish I hadn't even entered I think due to lack of available properties round here there will probably be no choice but to go into one. We offered first and therefore I think as the seller claimed they didn't want a bidding war it should have been ours 😥. Selfishly hope it falls through for them though, just feel I never win at anything and will always kick myself over this one 

Mustlovedogs

On-the-coast said:

I don’t have an issue with sellers taking higher offers than asking price - except where they’ve already accepted one.  

IMO that’s the point to say stop - it’s done.  

As a seller I once did exactly this - I’d shaken hands “literally” with a builder who was buying my property (at full asking price) and ignored a competing offer that came a few days later. 

Legally I could have changed my mind at no cost, but I’m happy with my decision of years ago. 

This 🙂
I was first but there were more viewings after me so I accept i didn't have a leg to stand on.
But i remember trying to buy before and offered straight after the viewing and the estate agent didn't want to know as someone had literally just called and offered. See what I mean? I'm always losing 😅

moneysaver

I was in the same boat yesterday. The house I was after went to a closing date yesterday 25th April(Scotland). You only get 1 chance to offer on property. I offered 20K over a value of 225K and lost it.

 I also bid 21k over a value of 160k for another property last month which I also did not win.

I am sitting here depressed asking myself what I have to do to win a property. I will just need to keep trying I suppose.

I thought money was tight in the current climate, seems not.

I hope you get what you want.

Moneysaver