Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Jan 25, 2010 8:32 am Hi everyone, After some time we have found a fantastic block upon which we hope to build our new house. The block is for private sale through an agent with an advertised price (not a range). We offered the asking price last week only to be told by the agent that there are other people who also want to buy the land. As a result, the agent will be asking for all interested parties to make 'their best offer' later this week and the highest bidder wins. So all of a sudden a private sale has magically transformed into a silent auction. I have no issue with the vendor seeking the best deal however I am not convinced that there are other interested parties and that perhaps this is just a strategy by the agent to drive the sale price up. My question is this - is an agent legally/ethically able to try this on, and how can I confirm if there are actually other people interested? Can I request detail regarding the other offers? Pretty frustrated at the moment I must say. Re: Estate Agent Help 2Jan 25, 2010 8:36 am this is interesting and i am sure this happens a lot. However I was under the impression once there is one offer on the tables the agent can not accept another offer until the first offer is rejected. Also once there is an offer on the table that agent can not disclose that offer until it has been rejected by the vendor. When you offered the price did you do it offically or verbal?? Re: Estate Agent Help 3Jan 25, 2010 8:47 am Hi happydog I wouldnt be impressed either...I wouldnt be playing those sort of games as it may cost you money that you should not have paid. You could be paying well over what others may be offering. I would be half inclined to ring the agent and tell him to forget it, you are not getting this secret bidding war but still leave your offer of the asking price...even a little bit more on the table and open for negotiations but will not be putting in a silent bid. Let them chew on that for a while How much do you want this block? Is it in an establish area where blocks are hard to come by? We attended one of those silent auctions a few years ago in the estate agents office and they are deadly....often they do it when very interested parties want a house in a prime location and they play you off against each other. Its not for the faint hearted as you are sitting right next to your opponents and have to face each other Mrs B Re: Estate Agent Help 4Jan 25, 2010 8:53 am If the land has been on the market a while, the agent is ******. If it's just gone on the market it may be true. Either way, I would do what Mrs B said, and say you don't do auctions, but to ring you if they don't get the advertised figure, and you will consider making an offer. Ed "ECOECO" At 'EcoEco', we design windows, we design the best windows, we do it for you, so that when you’re happy we are happy. Tel. 1800 326 326 Re: Estate Agent Help 5Jan 25, 2010 9:07 am My gut tells me he is ****** - but I could be wrong. The block has been on the market for about 2 months I would say and it is in an established area. I am sure that there could be 'interested' parties but I would doubt that there are any other formal offers on the table at this stage. I made the offer officially in writing and cc'd a copy to the vendor as well. The offer contained the clause "subject to finance approval" and the agent had the front to tell me that I shouldn't have put that in the offer as it could work against me - WTF? Not many people I know walk around with hundreds of thousands of dollars in their pockets just waiting to drop it on a property!! Further evidence I think to suggest he is ****** so we run off and get pre-approval and while we are at it, prepare to spend another 10 or 20 grand or however much. That is interesting about the agent needing to reject an offer before asking for another - will look into that. I think what we will do is what Mrs B suggested - offer an additional 5 grand and that is the final offer. Not getting into a bidding war so if you want to talk you have my number. And yes I was so tempted to withdraw my offer altogether - now that would really determine whether there were other interested parties Re: Estate Agent Help 6Jan 25, 2010 9:41 am I fear if you offer another 5 grand he will think there is more, and maybe he will wait until it's too late and another buyer appears... I would stick to your original offer if you think there is no other buyer... and ask the agent for other land in the area, at the same time have a wad of other agents' brochures under your arm. Ed "ECOECO" At 'EcoEco', we design windows, we design the best windows, we do it for you, so that when you’re happy we are happy. Tel. 1800 326 326 Re: Estate Agent Help 7Jan 25, 2010 9:49 am I agree. I'd stick with your original offer, but tell them you are willing to negotiate when you know what others have offered. If there are no other real interested parties, then the agent would have to make the 'other offer' up. This could then be seen as a 'dummy bid', which i'm pretty sure are now illegal at auctions, so I wonder if they are also illegal in this situation? I could be completely wrong, but just a thought!!! Will be interested to see what happens, Happydog! Re: Estate Agent Help 8Jan 25, 2010 9:55 am The approach looks quite Scottish to me. I wouldn't play such games, however, if you do not own the rules of the game all you can do is either play or not, unfortunately. ... built a Promenade with Clarendon. viewtopic.php?f=31&t=25104 20-10-09 - excavation and piering completed ... 12-04-10 - Basins fixed. Connecting to the electrical grid 23-04-10 - PCI 07-05-10 - HANDOVER! Re: Estate Agent Help 9Jan 25, 2010 6:41 pm I would be suspicious, but also consider this. An agent is paid on commission and an extra $5k on the asking price is only going to increase their commission fractionally. If you are the only offer, the agent is taking a big gamble to lose a cerain buyer and a fat pay check. From a Vendor point of view, I was told once an offer is recieved which is at asking price you have to pay the estate agents commission even if you choose not to accept it and take the property off the market (or change agents) as technically the agent has done their job at this time. So they would be taking a gamble also?! One of the agents when we were selling sugested this tactic of a silent aution where bidders put their one and only offer in and on a certain date the highest offer wins. I didnt like it and didnt sell our place that way, but in a competative market it would be the best way to get the highest selling price. Cant give you advice on what to do but I hope what ever happens it works out in your favour. Re: Estate Agent Help 10Jan 25, 2010 6:49 pm ebyelyakov The approach looks quite Scottish to me. I wouldn't play such games, however, if you do not own the rules of the game all you can do is either play or not, unfortunately. Agents play games, it's their job to get the highest price possible, and I in return play them at their game. Scottish I think you insulted some Scots ... Actually there is a very good book You Can Negotiate Anything by Herb Cohen (American ) Ed "ECOECO" At 'EcoEco', we design windows, we design the best windows, we do it for you, so that when you’re happy we are happy. Tel. 1800 326 326 Re: Estate Agent Help 11Jan 25, 2010 7:24 pm I think the agent is stringing you along too!! A couple of months ago I was in a similar situation and was fairly certain the agent was having a lend of me and while I really liked the block of land, decided that life would go on if I missed it so I took the gamble and told the agent my offer was final and not one cent more! Later I discovered I was the only interested party at the time and that the agent continually told the vendor the block was worth heaps more than my offer....of course, my offer took into consideration that it was going to cost $30k to remove the trees that the owner has allowed to grow during the 10 years he had owned the land. Like most people, I don't have an endless supply of cash, and decided that this was a time where I had to be ruled by my head and not my heart. Unfortunately a couple of weeks later someone (naively) bought the block without doing all the checks/quotes so they are in for one nasty surprise but my best wishes go out to them. Something good came out of it though, as I've now changed my plans completely...sometimes you don't see the forest for the trees (no pun intended!!) LOL Good luck and don't allow any agent to force you into something you don't want, they are only out to feather their own nest......not yours!! Re: Estate Agent Help 13Jan 25, 2010 8:49 pm Lunchtime I would walk away on principle. Or drop the offer by $10k and see what happens I know that would feel good, but I think that would alienate the person selling and the agent, so you lose. It's just a game... so play. Ed "ECOECO" At 'EcoEco', we design windows, we design the best windows, we do it for you, so that when you’re happy we are happy. Tel. 1800 326 326 Re: Estate Agent Help 14Jan 25, 2010 9:30 pm ed @ EcoClassic [quote="ebyelyakov"The approach looks quite Scottish to me. I wouldn't play such games, however, if you do not own the rules of the game all you can do is either play or not, unfortunately. Agents play games, it's their job to get the highest price possible, and I in return play them at their game. Scottish I think you insulted some Scots ... Actually there is a very good book You Can Negotiate Anything by Herb Cohen (American ) Ed[/quote] Not all Agents play games, and not all Sales Representatives are Agents. As the partner of an Agent (a Licensed Agent, not a Rep), and being a RE Sales Administrator/Co-ordinator myself(not registered or licensed and work at a different Agency to him), there are legalities and ethics, obviously. There are bad sales reps/agents the same as there are ******* car sales men, shop keepers, accountants, builders, etc etc etc. That is life, unfortunately. What state are you in? Depending on your answer (laws vary from state to state), I will ask my other half and PM some advice/suggestions to you, if you'd like. (edited cos i can't say d.o.d.g.y) Oceanic with Nautilus upgrades. Handover 8 September 2010 Re: Estate Agent Help 15Jan 25, 2010 10:01 pm Unfortunately for you, happydog, this is a time where you need to decide if you are going to make an offer or not. Don't play your own games - if the agent and vendor have decided to sell by private submission then you will have to make your offer that way. If there really are other interested people they won't give two hoots if you drop off the radar or make a grand statement like lunchtime suggested (drop your offer by $10k). All you can do is make your best offer and see what happens. You say that you think the block has been on the market for a few months - has it just had a price reduction prior to you making your offer at the asking price? Quite often after a property has a price reduction there can be a few people who suddenly decide to make offers. We quite often have properties that sit on the market for a while at, say, $350,000 with no interest, then the price is reduced to, say, $310,000 and all of a sudden you have a whole new group of people who are looking to buy a property at that price so there is instant competition that just did not exist before. I suppose what I am trying to say is you can choose to think that the agent is making up these extra interested parties and walk away on principle, but just be prepared that the property may sell to somebody else who decided to play by the rules. Re: Estate Agent Help 16Jan 26, 2010 12:51 am ed @ EcoClassic ebyelyakov The approach looks quite Scottish to me. I wouldn't play such games, however, if you do not own the rules of the game all you can do is either play or not, unfortunately. Agents play games, it's their job to get the highest price possible, and I in return play them at their game. Scottish I think you insulted some Scots ... Actually there is a very good book You Can Negotiate Anything by Herb Cohen (American ) Ed It wasn't an insult to Scots. It's the way property sales are handled in Scotland. There is a deadline and each bid is submitted in a sealed envelope. Highest bidder wins. So no-one is being insulting. Judie Re: Estate Agent Help 17Jan 26, 2010 12:05 pm Thanks everyone for your advice. Looks like there are two camps - either make a best offer or stick to my guns. At this stage I think we are willing to stick to the original offer but open to a conversation if the vendor would liek to talk. Whilst we do love the land, I would be happy to lose it on principle to another buyer if that is the way it went. There will be something else down the track I am sure. Oceanus - I am in Victoria and happy to take any advice re legalities etc. Thank you. The block has not been reduced but to tell the truth, at the asking price it is considerably cheaper than other blocks in the area due to the fact that it has quite a slope to it. So on paper it looks like a steal, but I would imagine that many people would be put off instantly due to the steep aspect. We had to do quite a bit of research ourselves and factor the price of excavation and site prep into the financials. Apparently the agent is calling me tomorrow to ask for my best offer. I will let you know how I go. Fingers crossed. Re: Estate Agent Help 18Jan 26, 2010 12:47 pm Judie ed @ EcoClassic ebyelyakov The approach looks quite Scottish to me. I wouldn't play such games, however, if you do not own the rules of the game all you can do is either play or not, unfortunately. Agents play games, it's their job to get the highest price possible, and I in return play them at their game. Scottish I think you insulted some Scots ... Actually there is a very good book You Can Negotiate Anything by Herb Cohen (American ) Ed It wasn't an insult to Scots. It's the way property sales are handled in Scotland. There is a deadline and each bid is submitted in a sealed envelope. Highest bidder wins. So no-one is being insulting. Judie Sorry Judie, I thought you meant Scottish, as in tight fisted... I used to live 100 kms from Scotland and the properties then were advertised same as here. The sealed bid thing is global as far as I know... My friend advertised his house in Victoria recently in a blind bid scenario..... nobody bid, not even the ones who came time after time... he sold it about 8 weeks later to a lesser offer than advertised. Ed "ECOECO" At 'EcoEco', we design windows, we design the best windows, we do it for you, so that when you’re happy we are happy. Tel. 1800 326 326 Re: Estate Agent Help 19Jan 26, 2010 2:42 pm The agent we bought our land from tried the same thing - "Oh there's lots of interest and I'm showing other people through tomorrow (it was an old run-down rental) and I expect at least 3 other offers". We could tell she was trying to force a larger offer and implying that she would play our offer off the others. Our offer was low in the range but within budget and enough to be of interest to the vendor, and it was accepted after 2 days. AFAIK there were no other offers. Did the agent tell you about shopping the offers before or after you made your written offer? If it was after then I would be ringing up the REIV or Consumer Affairs and seeing what they think of those tactics. I would be surprised if that was 'allowed' let alone legal. If I was you I would just stick to the offer you have made. Tell the real estate agent tomorrow that you have made your best offer and that you want a response from the vendor by the end of the week as you have another block you are interested in. Show them that you won't play their games. It was a good move cc'ing the vendor as now the agent has to deal with your offer. Oceanus2 As the partner of an Agent...I will ask my other half and PM some advice/suggestions to you, if you'd like Can I ask that if possible you post the info here so-as to enlighten us all? Built with Sw1tch H0mes >Build thread< House status 15/12: Gates and A/C finally installed! Sep 09 Bought block, Dec 09 Engaged builder, Jul '11 Moved in Before you rip it up, if you can in the grout lines, drill some holes and pour/inject techgrip by sika. I have used it to bond mdf to timber, but in the process it dripped… 1 4289 Not much in this responce. My suggestion is, what are you looking to build and why. This will all be impacted by the local councils planning scheme. Familiarise yourself… 6 5860 |