To ask estate agent what a house sold for

[BelleAmie]

I viewed a house back in May which was on the market for offers over £125,000 - there were a few other viewers and we ended up at best and final offers. I offered £126,000 and I lost out.

The house is now listed on rightmove sold having sold for £120,000 in September 2019, so this is definitely the most recent sale. AIBU to phone to estate agent to ask why my offer was unsuccessful if the house sold for less than my best and final offer?

I appreciate that there are potentially other issues to consider, perhaps there were problems with the survey and the buyers negotiated a lower price, or it was a cash buyer.

I know this won’t change anything now, I’m just sick to the back teeth of losing out on houses 😩

[TrixieFranklin]

Maybe they paid X for the house on paper and another '£10k for an item of furniture' from the vendors in an envelope on moving day to avoid tax.. used to happen a lot under the old stamp duty rules.

[namechangetheworld]

You can ask, but they won't tell you.

What's your buying position?

[BelleAmie]

Thanks for your replies - I’m a first time buyer.

[Dazedandconfused10]

@trixieFranklin you can't do that any more due to stamp duty solicitors etc. It was a stamp duty avoidance scheme. Unless it was under the table.

The quick sale at a loss means an issue with property or location. Most banks won't lend when a property has been owned for such a short time.

[abw94]

You can buy doubtful they'll tell you honestly.

[DdraigGoch]

Maybe the surveyor found out that the house had an issue (damp or whatever) and has been discounted by £10k to cover the cost of remedial work. When I bought my house there was a damp problem and a discount to cover works was suggested but in the end the mortgage company decided that it was minor enough not to withhold funds.

[Sforsh49]

This site will tell you previous sales back to the 90's. You can find out in seconds. If it's not on there then it fell through.


landregistry.data.gov.uk/app/ppd/

[StillCoughingandLaughing]

The most likely explanation is that they accepted a higher offer than yours that then fell through. They may have taken a lower offer or sold to a finance company or similar to avoid their purchase falling through.

[cabbageking]

I suggest the buyer had a survey which highlighted problems and therefore they negotiated a lower price to reflect the issues.

This would be usual practice.

You offer a price based on everything being OK. Doesn't mean this will be the final price. The seller can either do the work needed or reduce the house or start from scratch but be in the same situation 6 months down the line. Once an issue has been identified the estate agent will share this information with other buyers.

[Pipandmum]

If there was an issue with the survey and the estate agent knows about they are obliged to tell you. And definitely ask as its surprising how much info an agent will tell you - most people do tell the truth. Keep looking it's a good time to buy.

[JoJoSM2]

So yes, could have been something the survey turned up. Or they might have accepted a lower offer from a cash buyer or just someone they felt like selling to over others.

[SometimesItRains]

Estate agent is only obliged to tell you if it is an active property - they aren’t obliged to tell you anything about a property that they sold to someone else months ago. Most likely scenario is as others have suggested - survey revealed issues and the price was negotiated down.

[Noodledoodledoo]

Cash buyer? Chain free? all sorts. annoying I agree but who knows. Sometimes some people go for the person they liked the most!

[Marmablade]

Yes of course you can phone them. You can ask them politely and say it's because you're losing out on houses and if you had a bit more information about why then you can make changes to put you in a better position.