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Sealed bids.

My son viewed a property last week (in the evening), he is a FTB with a 50%+ deposit.
The next day the estate agent rang him and asked whether he was making an offer, so he offered the full asking price(a little premature I thought).
He has been informed that he now needs to make a full and final offer by Wednesday next, with proof of deposit and proof of mortgage.
I dont trust estate agents (same agency screwed me over 30 years ago:rotfl: ), is this sealed bids mullarky common practice?
Any advice is welcome.
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Comments

  • eddddy
    eddddy Posts: 16,292
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    I wouldn't say going to sealed bids is common practice, but it happens.

    As always, you just offer what you're happy to pay. There aren't usually any formal rules. The seller won't be bound to accept the highest offer, or any offer etc.

    (Some people make a sealed bid, and if they're unsuccessful they try going back and offering more. Sometimes that works, sometimes it doesn't.)
  • POPPYOSCAR
    POPPYOSCAR Posts: 14,897
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    We do not trust estate agents either.

    We viewed a property recently that was sealed bids only.

    To put in a bid there was a form to fill in.

    You had to state if you were a cash buyer getting a mortgage, selling a house etc.

    They also wanted bank statements etc. to prove it all given in with the bid.

    There were several builders also viewing at the same time ,who obviously knew the etstate agent well.

    We could not see the point in the end in giving our private information to an estate agent when in all likeliehood we had a fair idea of what would happen.
  • eddddy
    eddddy Posts: 16,292
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    POPPYOSCAR wrote: »
    There were several builders also viewing at the same time ,who obviously knew the etstate agent well.

    We could not see the point in the end in giving our private information to an estate agent when in all likeliehood we had a fair idea of what would happen.

    I guess you mean that a dodgy EA might favour the builders - perhaps by telling them what others had offered etc.

    But that's exactly the same whether the EA takes 'verbal offers' or 'sealed bids'.

    In some ways, if you distrust the EA, 'sealed bids' are better than 'verbal offers', because...
    POPPYOSCAR wrote: »
    To put in a bid there was a form to fill in.

    ... there is a paper trail showing what everyone has offered etc, so there is less scope for the EA to mislead the seller.
  • POPPYOSCAR
    POPPYOSCAR Posts: 14,897
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    eddddy wrote: »
    I guess you mean that a dodgy EA might favour the builders - perhaps by telling them what others had offered etc.

    But that's exactly the same whether the EA takes 'verbal offers' or 'sealed bids'.

    In some ways, if you distrust the EA, 'sealed bids' are better than 'verbal offers', because...



    ... there is a paper trail showing what everyone has offered etc, so there is less scope for the EA to mislead the seller.

    No not really.

    Once the bids are in you cannot make a higher offer.

    You can with a verbal offer.
  • Surrey_EA
    Surrey_EA Posts: 2,042
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    POPPYOSCAR wrote: »

    Once the bids are in you cannot make a higher offer.

    Yes you can, it makes no difference.

    Until contracts are exchanged you are free to make whatever offer you wish, and the offer must be put forward to the vendor, unless the vendor has informed the EA not to put forward offers below a certain level.
  • Surrey_EA
    Surrey_EA Posts: 2,042
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    From what I've seen, it's just a dramatic term to create excitement in the sale.
    A marketing ploy to get you to bid a little higher than you might have done otherwise, and right now, because you think it's your last chance.

    But in practice it's often the same as regular bidding.
    The agent is still likely to ring the other bidders and ask if they want to beat the 'sealed' winning bid.

    Sometimes it's just a way of simplifying the bidding process when several buyers are interested in the same property. Rather than to'ing and fro'ing it gets everyone to put a bid in and hopefully that settles the matter.

    However, as I said in an earlier post there is absolutely nothing to stop one of the unsuccessful bidders putting forward an increased offer.

    In my experience it is unlikely whether the agent will instigate the other bidders coming back to beat the winning sealed bid.
  • eddddy
    eddddy Posts: 16,292
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    From what I've seen, it's just a dramatic term to create excitement in the sale.
    A marketing ploy to get you to bid a little higher than you might have done otherwise, and right now, because you think it's your last chance.

    Yep. And when I sell, that's the sort of thing I pay the EA their 1% for.

    (But obviously, when I buy, I like to think I'm not taken in by that kind of nonsense! Hmmmm...)
  • Davesnave
    Davesnave Posts: 34,741
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    Surrey_EA wrote: »
    Sometimes it's just a way of simplifying the bidding process when several buyers are interested in the same property. Rather than to'ing and fro'ing it gets everyone to put a bid in and hopefully that settles the matter.
    Indeed. It's how I bought my first house.

    The person benefiting from the sale was away with the fairies and her relative with POA was 82 and wanted it all done and dusted in a fortnight from first advert.

    EA obliged by listing at an attractive price and 3 of us bid above that.

    I added an extra £1 to the round figure offered.

    Who knows? ;)
  • googler
    googler Posts: 16,103
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    Surrey_EA wrote: »
    Until contracts are exchanged you are free to make whatever offer you wish, and the offer must be put forward to the vendor, unless the vendor has informed the EA not to put forward offers below a certain level.

    In E&W.

    In Scotland, if a seller has accepted an offer, then later instructs their solicitor to take a subsequent offer, the solicitor is obliged to disinstruct the seller and tell them to go find another solicitor.

    "Where a solicitor for a seller has intimated verbally or in writing to the solicitors for a prospective purchaser that their client’s offer is acceptable – whether after a closing date or otherwise – the seller’s solicitor should not accept subsequent instructions from the seller to accept an offer from another party unless and until negotiations with the original offeror have fallen through for bona fide reasons unconnected with the possible offer from another party. The solicitor should advise the seller to instruct another solicitor if he wishes to accept the later offer. ..."
  • Surrey_EA
    Surrey_EA Posts: 2,042
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    googler wrote: »
    In E&W.

    [/I]

    Sorry, should have clarified that! :beer:
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