Will! Posted March 18, 2011 Author Share Posted March 18, 2011 Thanks for the advice, will give it a try. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swansea Estate Agent Posted March 18, 2011 Share Posted March 18, 2011 Do some agents really do that? It would not surprise me if they did. Stands to reason in times like these that some people that earn money via commission will do what they can to make people believe something. It would certainly give the impression to people that they are doing business fast which could attract more business. If some potential buyers had previously viewed, but had not offered, then advertising it under offer followed by a phone call to say that the offer is a little low, but the vendor is open to offers may help gain offers higher. EA's are paid by the vendor to sell property for the highest price possible and when there are few able buyers around, then that is when all the tricks come out. That's probably why so many people on here will tell you to just walk away and let them play their games. It all boils down to the buyer. If they really want a certain property and can afford it, then they will buy it and often buy it for more than it is worth. Purchasing a property is a big decision. Probably the biggest single purchase the vast majority of people will ever complete in their lifetime and trying to buy a house without the emotions is difficult. Most people will only buy a house at the right price if they focus on it being more like a business transaction. It's far from easy I agree, but its the best way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southeast Posted March 19, 2011 Share Posted March 19, 2011 So far out of three peoperties we were interested in all three have said, oh we have had much higher offfers......one of them then did go under offer, but we had decided against this one anyway. The other two we offered on, one of them has been reduced loads, almost down to our offer, the other is still on the market, so 'much higher' offers sounds a bit fancifull to me....... Its sooo frustrating...................btw I cant see a 'crash' happening any time soon........ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tim123 Posted March 20, 2011 Share Posted March 20, 2011 So far out of three peoperties we were interested in all three have said, oh we have had much higher offfers If you are offering 20% under asking on principle I'm not the slightest bit suprised. The properties that I am looking at the feedback from the EA is that any offer more than about 3% under asking will be treated as a time waster. Whilst there may be some distressed areas (or a very few individual properties) where 20% under is going to get the deal, in most places it will not. Give than you are looking at flats for 300K I think that it is very unlikely you are in one of these areas. People who don't have to sell (and even some that do) just won't accept such reductions in their expcations. tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southeast Posted March 20, 2011 Share Posted March 20, 2011 If you are offering 20% under asking on principle I'm not the slightest bit suprised. The properties that I am looking at the feedback from the EA is that any offer more than about 3% under asking will be treated as a time waster. Whilst there may be some distressed areas (or a very few individual properties) where 20% under is going to get the deal, in most places it will not. Give than you are looking at flats for 300K I think that it is very unlikely you are in one of these areas. People who don't have to sell (and even some that do) just won't accept such reductions in their expcations. tim Try reading my posts before replying! The one that I didnt make an offer on was reduced 30% btw (whoever got it probably got at least another 10% off). Of two that I did make an offer on one has SINCE been reduced by 15%, so only a little way to go. If a property that I liked was priced correctly then I would pay the asking price if applicable. The agents round this way think nothing of adding 100/200/300k to an asking price to see if they get a bite, sometimes they reduce them quickly, sometimes they do not....... Do not tar me with the same HPC 30% off crowd brush! (I have been offering at least 2007 price, and only on two properties to date, desirable properties in expensive areas).. You would be surprised how much gets knocked off silly priced houses around here, BUT to be clear not many have actually got a real discount, just silly asking prices to start with.....granted not every agent does it, but most unique properties start high round here, just on the off chance.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Habeas Domus Posted March 20, 2011 Share Posted March 20, 2011 Maybe the EA's just altered the advertising to 'Under Offer' when you made the offers and plan to leave it like that for a little while in a bid to show that they are getting offers to gain more instructions or to tempt other buyers to look at making higher offers. Do some agents really do that? Because you have made an offer they can legitimately say thats it is "under offer", whether the offer is accepted or rejected. Given the lack of activity in the market they would be mad not to try this on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will! Posted May 21, 2011 Author Share Posted May 21, 2011 Here's the latest installment of this sorry tale. The first flat I made an offer of £245k for (on for £299k since August 2010. Went 'under offer' for a month in October.) was re-listed with a new kitchen at £320k, reduced shortly afterward to £310k. I increased my offer to £250k. EA doesn't reply to my phone messages or e-mail. Flat is empty and vendor lives abroad so no way to contact them directly. The third flat I made an offer of £245k for (on for £299k since September 2010) has now been reduced to £295k and re-listed with FOUR estate agents. I repeat my offer of £245k through the above EA, who I had made the initial offer through, as I reason none of the other EAs will have a reason to suggest their client accept an offer from me when they won't collect commission from the sale. Still no response to phone messages or e-mail. This EA hasn't listed any new flats that I'd be interested in yet, but something tells me that if he does he won't be falling over himself to show me round. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Van Posted May 23, 2011 Share Posted May 23, 2011 Most sellers aren't going to take £250k on a £300k asking price. Generally anyone with sense puts their property on a price and hopes to get 90-95% of the asking price. I viewed a nice flat at £300k in Clapham back in January; had been on the market for 4 months at the back end of 2010 and he had a buyer buy that fell through. The flat was very nice, and certainly better than many other properties we saw. Ultimately we didn't buy it.. and neither did anyone else, because it has just been relisted with a different agent (begins with "F") for £345k in the last couple of weeks. Quite how this seller thinks that by changing agent they are going to find a buyer who is prepared to pay more in a market that has generally fallen since the flat first went on the market, but it goes to illustrate the delusional mindset of most vendors. Meanwhile the flat is just sitting there empty and losing money on potential rental income, and will have done so for over a year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qwerty_qwerty Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 Depending on when it was sold, a friendly EA (or someone with a login, like me) could check rightmoveplus and see what it was marketed at if you supplied address, postcode and sold date. I know it's really cheeky, but if there would be any chance of you checking the asking price of a sold property for me (or even grabbing a pdf of the original listing) from RightMovePlus for me I'd be eternally grateful! I'm having a nightmare working out how much to offer on the house next door, as their asking price just seems ludicrous! Thanks, and sorry to be a pain! Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swansea Estate Agent Posted May 26, 2011 Share Posted May 26, 2011 Here's the latest installment of this sorry tale. The first flat I made an offer of £245k for (on for £299k since August 2010. Went 'under offer' for a month in October.) was re-listed with a new kitchen at £320k, reduced shortly afterward to £310k. I increased my offer to £250k. EA doesn't reply to my phone messages or e-mail. Flat is empty and vendor lives abroad so no way to contact them directly. The third flat I made an offer of £245k for (on for £299k since September 2010) has now been reduced to £295k and re-listed with FOUR estate agents. I repeat my offer of £245k through the above EA, who I had made the initial offer through, as I reason none of the other EAs will have a reason to suggest their client accept an offer from me when they won't collect commission from the sale. Still no response to phone messages or e-mail. This EA hasn't listed any new flats that I'd be interested in yet, but something tells me that if he does he won't be falling over himself to show me round. Speak with another EA and tell them the story. Maybe the original EA did not put your offer forward. If that is the case, then the new EA may still be able to claim the commission because the original EA has not done their job correctly and not introduced you to the vendor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Van Posted May 26, 2011 Share Posted May 26, 2011 (edited) . Edited May 26, 2011 by Van Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southeast Posted June 6, 2011 Share Posted June 6, 2011 Bit of an anecdote for you House in local village sold 2007 about 500k.....fast forward to 2010 and no doubt a bit on money spent doing it up.......on the market for 550k......few months later reduced to 500k. So I think the vendor is going to get a bit less than they paid for it then...................Zoopla is finally updated the other day...............well to my shock 440K....... so thats a loss of at least 60k, plus renovation costs, plus fees.... It was not of interest to me, but was a nice looking house in a good spot, and am pretty surprised they got that much off.....20% off initial asking Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conrad Posted June 20, 2011 Share Posted June 20, 2011 BUMP this thread is great for any prospective buyers, I am intending on using some of these techniques in my house purchase! I'll offer 10% below asking price and leave the offer open for two weeks. I might actually be tempted to offer more though as it is a lovely place and the Mrs Conrad has fallen in love with it! we are not in a chain and have a 60k deposit. The first offer has just been rejected! not sure how to progress now? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will! Posted August 26, 2011 Author Share Posted August 26, 2011 The second flat that I made an offer on (3 bed initially on for £305k in June 2010; reduced to £295k in Jan 2011) has now shown up on the Land Registry with a sold price of £285k in April, which is the lowest price a flat of that size has sold for since the bubble burst. Gives me some hope that prices are moving into my zone! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fatmanfilms Posted August 27, 2011 Share Posted August 27, 2011 Zopla does not take into account any renovation costs, it assumes the house is in the same condition as when last sold. Bit of an anecdote for you House in local village sold 2007 about 500k.....fast forward to 2010 and no doubt a bit on money spent doing it up.......on the market for 550k......few months later reduced to 500k. So I think the vendor is going to get a bit less than they paid for it then...................Zoopla is finally updated the other day...............well to my shock 440K....... so thats a loss of at least 60k, plus renovation costs, plus fees.... It was not of interest to me, but was a nice looking house in a good spot, and am pretty surprised they got that much off.....20% off initial asking Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Banner Posted August 28, 2011 Share Posted August 28, 2011 The second flat that I made an offer on (3 bed initially on for £305k in June 2010; reduced to £295k in Jan 2011) has now shown up on the Land Registry with a sold price of £285k in April, which is the lowest price a flat of that size has sold for since the bubble burst. Gives me some hope that prices are moving into my zone! The bubble hasn't burst yet . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shouldawouldacoulda Posted November 7, 2011 Share Posted November 7, 2011 The bubble hasn't burst yet . I think it has Bruce. Just that it's more of a slow puncture than a blow-out and will require a few more years to deflate properly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will! Posted November 24, 2011 Author Share Posted November 24, 2011 It certainly feels like a slow puncture. Another three bedroom flat, the same size as the second, third and fourth flats I made offers on but on the ground floor, has sold for £277,500. I clearly haven't been blackballed by all the local EAs; one from a firm I haven't made any offers through yet was quite forthcoming regarding the upcoming replacement of the centralised heating and hot water system and removal of asbestos lagging. He even sent me an engineers' report putting the cost of the work at around £18k per flat (although I think that might have been by accident). I wonder if the other buyers factored that £18k into their purchase prices - I suspect not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southeast Posted November 27, 2011 Share Posted November 27, 2011 I think its also time for a little update from me too. House that we liked finally came onto the sold prices stuff at just under the 20% off mark, so we were close (no real discount just seller/agent deluded). The other one we were keeping an eye on has dopped out several times as its so overpriced. My datamining now shows a range of +3% to -33% off asking prices, with a number of actual losses from what people had paid for them. There are a number of houses advertised for less then they paid too (one such example paid 450 in 2003 now advertised at 350, this is an extreme example though, they must have overpaid!) Also a cracker of a 'discount', aksing price in 2009/10 just over 700k, now around 450 in 2011, which is what was paid in 2004. They must be mega deluded! Even now they can't be getting any interest.... Just to stress that these are nice houses in nice areas, although I do log detials for some outside of my search area, so there is a little bit of variability. Am getting very fed up now with the whole situation, we're not exactly holding out for a crash just want soemthing nice where it doesnt take the seller a year to relaise they are deluded, then someone else beats you to it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Currently looking at a couple of houses that would be ok for the right price, have let the agents know if the people are willing to accept offers of x & y etc would be interested otherwise will just keep looking! Adios Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulyfq Posted February 18, 2012 Share Posted February 18, 2012 Hi all I'm a first time cash buyer. I've been looking at flats in Camberwell, SE London, for the last 6 months. There are a number of flats available for around £300k and all are with the same EA. For obvious reasons I'd prefer not to pay more than £250k so I'm thinking about making serial "cheeky offers" to the vendors of the flats and seeing if anyone bites. My only concern is that as I'm offering quite a bit below asking price the EA may decide I'm a time waster and may not be keen to let me view any new flats that come on the market with them. Does anyone (especially EAs) have any views on how I should play this? Cheers Will The EA has a legal obligation to put any offer (NO matter how Cheeky) to the seller, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimmyhill Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 I have a freind who has been testing the water in the south west on houses and 5 times he has had offers of 30% less accepted one after the other , i really think he was either lieing or the housing market asking price is way off the selling value. If the Ea are saying -12% roughly my guess is that means at least -20% as most agents are compulsive liars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
montesquieu Posted April 6, 2012 Share Posted April 6, 2012 After renting since 2007 the wife wants to put down some roots and I cant contain her much longer. We found a place in West Berkshire, on market for 18mo with no price reduction (was sold apparently in first weeks at asking, but the 'buyers' hadn't sold and it all fell apart in a few months. - EA says sellers ready now to contemplate an offer). It has the size location and character we are looking for. Last sale was 2000 and asking is about 2.5 times what it went for then. sellers are boomers downsizing/relocating to dorset. Dunno yet if greedy or just idiots. Or greedy idiots. Anyway I'm looking to pitch a take it or leave it of -20% of asking which is a touch under x2 the 2000 price. Am hoping their bad experience with the previous 'buyers' will work in our favour as we are renting with all funds and as loan offer letter. Few useful tips in this post about how to play things ... Will report in! Worth as flyer anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thegrouman Posted October 19, 2012 Share Posted October 19, 2012 Why not try lots of cheeky offers. You are going to upset a few people but you may just find yourself a bargain. Best to charm a few agents and find out if they have any vendors that are keen to sell. Most agents are not really interested in what discount so long as they agree a sale. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southeast Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 Been a while since I posted in this section. Made a lowish offer on a house a while ago, consistent with condition though, surprisingly accepted, but weeks on vendor changes mind...............back to square one then......... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeaPea Posted January 6, 2013 Share Posted January 6, 2013 Hello, nice thread, I'm currently looking to move up to my second home, sick of waiting for them to come down, not so convinced it's going to happen now. Anyway, sold my house, so looking to start placing offers, most the houses I want are advertised around 250k but I can only really spend 220k so going to try and go in with some offers around that number and see what happens Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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