Sealed Bids - Real Stories?

PasturesNew

Just watching TV, only half watching it mind... and Kirsty/Phil lead a couple round some properties to see which one they wanted.

The one they chose went to sealed bids. They put in their bid and won.

2 weeks after, they received a letter from the EA, listing every sealed bid that had been received. It had been put in the wrong envelope; it was supposed to go to the seller, not the buyer. [cue commercial break which is why I am typing]

The next/nearest bid to theirs was £140,000 LESS than they had put in.

Does anybody here have real life experiences of sealed bids and how the bids were spread? Actual numbers?

I wonder if this is quite common. One person bidding way over the top.

Kez100

I'd imagine low bids arecommonplace - made by chancers hoping to bag a bargain but not expecting too. I assume sealed bids still have some sort of reserve in place. The high bids come from people who have 'fallen in love with the place' and don;t want it to get away. If there are any, that is.

I am, coincidentally, watching a set of flats up for sealed bids at the moment. People are saying 'they are all sold' but surely that must be a rumour, as until the deadline passes (which it hasn't yet), surely no one should know? Yes, they may have the tender pack handed in and surveys done, or whatever, but they won't know until the day what the offers are, will they?

annie123

most bids are within 10% of each other, there is always someone who puts in a stupid low offer and, in most, but not all cases, someone who wants it more than anyone else who will pay a lot more.

chappers

Also a vendor is under no obligation to take any of the bids, final sealed bids are usually used to stop toing and froing of offers, when a few people are interested in a property but still not offering the necessary.
I have been involved in buying a property through sealed bids, I know we weren't the highest bid but had the most attractive package.Some vendors just use sealed bids as away of getting closure on a sale when things are tight, it can be a way of squeeezing a little bit more out of a property, when you have several interested parties.

obsessed_saver

PasturesNew wrote: »

2 weeks after, they received a letter from the EA, listing every sealed bid that had been received. It had been put in the wrong envelope; it was supposed to go to the seller, not the buyer. [cue commercial break which is why I am typing]

I'm sure the EA did it just to show them how stupid they were.

PasturesNew

obsessed_saver wrote: »

I'm sure the EA did it just to show them how stupid they were.

Ambiguous, but works both ways

IveSeenTheLight

This is the process used in Scotland and I like it.
In this instance it seems the winning bidder either vastly over estimated the market or the Really, Really wanted the property.

Sealed bid figures should never be disclosed, so I doubt you will get a vast response to your query.
Normally you only get advised where your bid placed i.e. 4th out of 5

I have discussed a few times with my long standing solicitor and the only info he would give me was once when he advised I one by only 2 hundred pounds. I said I was very lucky (or judged the market very well ) and he told me that once he had a customer who won by only 1 pound.
Of course the seller is not obligated to take the highest offer, there are many other things to consider i.e. exchange date

chappers

IveSeenTheLight wrote: »

I one by only 2 hundred pounds. I said I was very lucky (or judged the market very well ) and he told me that once he had a customer who won by only 1 pound.

Thtas why when in a sealed bid situation it is agood idea to go in with a strange amount .
For example if you think the property is worth £100,000 go in with a bid of £100,127 or something just in case there are several bids of £100,000

Davesnave

I bought my first house by sealed bid. The whole process took 48 hours (to close an estate where the beneficiary didn't have all her marbles.) I bid £9251. The agent told me it was 'very close.' I often wonder if the extra £1 did it!

IveSeenTheLight

chappers wrote: »

Thtas why when in a sealed bid situation it is agood idea to go in with a strange amount .
For example if you think the property is worth £100,000 go in with a bid of £100,127 or something just in case there are several bids of £100,000

True,

My grandfather once bid £66,666.66.
Do you think the 66 pence might have done the trick ;o)

For my latest house I bid £XXX,624 due to me living in a flat number 624 at the time.
This was the property I won by a couple of hundred pounds.
Previously I lived at 254 so if I had used that number, presumably I would have lost by 200 pounds

Vincenzo

PasturesNew wrote: »

Just watching TV, only half watching it mind... and Kirsty/Phil lead a couple round some properties to see which one they wanted.

The one they chose went to sealed bids. They put in their bid and won.

2 weeks after, they received a letter from the EA, listing every sealed bid that had been received. It had been put in the wrong envelope; it was supposed to go to the seller, not the buyer. [cue commercial break which is why I am typing]

The next/nearest bid to theirs was £140,000 LESS than they had put in.

Does anybody here have real life experiences of sealed bids and how the bids were spread? Actual numbers?

I wonder if this is quite common. One person bidding way over the top.

Interesting - what happened next? I know what my move would have been, had I been the unfortunate soul who bid £140k above! Perhaps reduce my offer by £120k......