To wonder if our dream home really has been sold to another couple?

[ethelfleda]

Or am I just hoping for the best??
Viewed a wonderful property a few weeks ago. Estate agent tells us the owner ‘wants to get rid’ and it has been sat on the market a while.
We offered 5% under the asking price and were told that the vendor was ‘interested’ but wouldn’t settle on a figure until we had an offer on ours. Ours wasn’t on the market yet and DH and I were a bit naive about being ‘proceedable’
We quickly got ours on the market and sold it within a week. Went back to EA who said they’d come back to us. They called our EA to check the chain and then came back to say another couple had offered full asking price. After a day or so of deliberation, we went back and offered a small amount over the asking price. We were told we were too late and they were proceeding with the other couple.
However, over a week later and the property is still on the market?
I spoke to the EA last week and they told us we would be the first to know if the sale didn’t happen but I just feel like there is something fishy about it... or maybe I’m just being hopeful. Surely it would be off the market by now?

Apologies
I’m slightly stressed at the moment!
I shall calm down now.

Eventually it transpired that the alleged buyer was a relative of the EA

We had a similar experience when selling MIL's house, we felt it was undervalued but it sold very quickly. We suspected later it had been sold to a speculator connected with the EA but like many people it was a distressing time and there was a distance involved.

I feel like we’ve made complete fools of ourselves over the whole thing now.
If it does appear to the vendor that we tried to gazump the other couple - what must he think of us??

No worries, ' it's understandable and I was doing two things at once, with the added joy of the sticking typing you get on here.

If it does appear to the vendor that we tried to gazump the other couple - what must he think of us??

Honestly it's fine. Don't worry,

Basically what will have happened is they got a full asking price offer. Tried to see if you'd offer more, when you didnt, ie by close of play or the next morning, then the agent would have said you'd not come back so the seller agreed to go with the asking price offer.

You then came in with a higher one, clearly not knowing they had accepted the offer, and the agent has rightly told you it was offer accepted and if it falls through you'd be the first to know.

You are getting far too emotionally wound up about this.

If you think there is any chance that the EA didn't pass on the message, drop the seller a note saying you were disappointed to miss out but would still be interested if the current sale doesn't work out.

Otherwise, just chalk it up to experience. No harm done, and another house will come along.

If the EA asked you to come back with a better offer, that wasn't gazumping. (It wasn't clear from you OP, but seems clear from your subsequent posts).

We did something similar OP. Found a house and saw it on the day it came on Rightmove. Made an offer an hour after seeing it. We had a buyer for ours and did not need a mortgage for the new one.

The agent came back to us and said the owner had gone with another buyer. We offered another 20K and were turned down.

We didn't trust the agent and put a nice letter into the house saying that if that seller didn't work out, please come back to us (via the estate agent) as we were very keen.

No response and I called the agents 8 times (!) over the next few months to check it was all going through. Sadly it did go through and we didn't get it.

We are still looking.....

OP
It’s business
Don’t sweat it at all. You haven’t made a fool of yourselves one bit not behaved immorally.

Drop a note thru then move on and start viewing other stuff.

I’ve lost my dream home several
Times and untilamtely been glad as ended up with one I loved much more.

Don’t worry what the EAs think of you.
They duck and dive plenty and you have to hold your nerve and not be patronised or led by them.

Happy hunting!

I'm a bit confused by people saying that EAs undervalued properties. Isn't it normal practice to get 3 or 4 valuations and quotes from EAs before selling? That should flag up any strange valuations (in either direction).

EA fees are astronomical (I paid £4,200 when I sold my house recently), why wouldn't you get multiple quotes for a service that expensive?

If the other couple really wanted the house, they could have started the legals straight away

When we sold out last house, we had a few offers on the table at the same time.
When we accepted one, our buyers got their solicitor to start work straight away - they got the searches and survey booked, the solicitor contacted the agent and our solicitor to start discussing draft contracts etc.
A lot can be achieved in a few days..!

It meant that if someone had come along with an extra few grand, it wouldn't have been worth taking - especially knowing the buyers had already spent money they wouldn't get back