Am I being paranoid that the estate agents are not acting fairly?

[CarysWilliam]

Four weeks ago we went to see a gorgeous semi-detached house, fell in love with it and put an offer in straight away. The next day someone but a slightly higher bid and we went straight to the asking price. We were then told that the owners were a charity so we would have to wait until the property had been on at least a week before it would be taken off the market.

We waited and in the meantime sent our offer in formally, including all our financial details etc to prove we were valid buyers. We were told there were two other buyers but that we were the highest bid and that one of them hadn't sold their house yet and told to wait. We even asked if we should bid over the asking bid but were advised b the estate agent not to.

After nearly four weeks of waiting, I called the estate agent and was told that it was down to us and the buyers who hadn't sold. We were also told that their bid was higher than ours but reassured we were ok as they still hasn't sold. I was surprised that we had not been informed of this as they are supposed to but assumed it was just because we still held the cards. However, just in case, we raised our offer again as we were aware that in the current market it wouldn't be long before the other buyers sold.

The next day I received a message stating that we had an hour to get ready for closed bids. I asked why the sudden change (it was nearly three weeks since we first made an offer) and was told that the charity made this decision simply because there were two bids on the house. So we put our bid together and sent it. We went fifteen thousand higher and felt fairly confident as we were in a better decision. I then looked online and noticed that the estate agents we were dealing with had sold several properties that day so I called them and asked if the position of the other buyers had changed, they had sold that day.

We were shocked as although our final bid was over the asking price, no one had told us (they're allowed to give us this information) that the situation of the other buyers had changed. We would have gone in even higher if we had known. We just didn't want to unnecessarily as we didn't want to get a bigger mortgage for no reason.

It feels as though the estate agents has purposely delayed us so that they could help the other buyers sell first. Am I being paranoid? Is this acceptable? Should I just except defeat or should I complain that we were not given all the information? Am I just being a bitter loser?

I suspect there are additional reasons why they preferred the other buyer which the agent is unable to share with you.
You mention a charity is selling the property, this sounds a bit unusual. Were they left the property in a will? Maybe the other buyers are family of the deceased and the charity wished to give them first refusal, but needed to make sure their property sale would go through before proceeding.
Whatever the reason is, obviously the agent is under no obligation to give you all the information behind the vendor’s decision, although I can understand your frustration and disappointment.

Yes the charity was left the house in a will. Maybe they are selling to a family member. I don’t know. However the estate agents constantly told us not to go higher. They also told us they would tell us (as they would everyone) if there was a higher bid than ours. It just so seems so corrupt somehow. They do have to tell you about the other bidders in a a closed bid scenario (not personal details but whether they’ve sold etc). I really feel lied to...

If it went to closed bids I don't know why you didn't put in your best offer?

We had two potential buyers and it went to final closed bids, we went with the higher bid. The couple who lost out knocked on my door saying they could go another £15k, desperately wanting the house, but as I'd already accepted the other offer I turned them down.

I told my estate agent, who said it's quite common, and when bidding on a property you have you decide what you can live with losing it for.

We put it fifteen grand higher but we were told they hadn’t sold yet (the morning before they called for closed bids) and when I checked they didn’t say the situation had changed. Would you pay £20,000 more for a house if you had been told you were the only real contender? We were constantly told the other perks weren’t a threat...

None of this nonsense happens in Scotland. Fixed price or sealed bids, unless it has changed very recently.

YANBU to be upset. Estate agents should be regulated.

If I found a house I absolutely adored and was perfect for me I would bid as much as I could afford, that way I'd have no regrets/what ifs.

It's such a stressful process, I hope it all works out for you. There will be another house you love!

I think legally the charity has to accept the highest bid. So they offered more than you did.

I'm not sure you can be annoyed with the estate agent that they'd sold their house. Do you know for a fact that it's the same estate agent acting for the vendor and the other bidder or is that just a suspicion?

I offered £15k more than asking price for my house (sealed bids) but I really wanted it but compared to properties in the area it was purposely advertised at a lower price to get interest/competition between interested buyers.

Sympathies
It's horrible when that happens but I don't think the EA has done anything wrong

Sorry you lost out, not sure what EA has done wrong?

It’s not that they told us the other people weren’t a threat as they’ve only just sold and weren’t even on the market when we first started bidding. Made us wait for four weeks until they sold and then when we asked didn’t tell us the other sellers have sold. They also (The morning before they told us about the closed bids) told us the others had stop but sold and then gave us just an hour to make the decision. If we’d had closed bids at the beginning, the other buyers wouldn’t have been considered. I feel lied too. I wish it was the Scottish system as we would have just done this at the beginning and but wasted a month. We’re got surveys on our house next week, the other people only sold yesterday so we thought we were misled into thinking we were safe. I guess our fault though 🥲

Sorry if I’ve missed this, have they actually sold to the other buyers?

It’s not that they told us the other people weren’t a threat as they’ve only just sold and weren’t even on the market when we first started bidding.

Can you clarify what this means? Surely if they have sold their property than they’re in a good position to buy, and therefore are a threat?

A friend of the family recently sold their property to a first time buyer. They had two similar offers, one a cash buyer, one the first time buyer with mortgage agreed in principle. The cash buyer offered slightly more (£500), but friend decided to go with the other offer. The cash buyer currently lived abroad friend felt it could potentially cause more problems during the conveyancing process and liked the first time buyer.
Sometimes such decisions may feel unfair, but there is likely to be some logical reasons why this happened. Is there a chain behind your purchaser? Maybe the other buyer has their mortgage agreed in principle, maybe they have more capital beyond the sale of the house, so if the mortgage valuation comes back low they can still proceed.
I still think they may be family of the deceased, it would certainly explain the agent’s strange behaviour behind the offer process.

You're taking this personally and it isn't personal. Charities can't just accept the first offer they're given - there are all sort of rules governing the way they manage legacies and deal with assets.

When it went to sealed bids, there were two proceedable offers and you offered less than the other bidder. There's nothing shady or underhand about it. You should have gone in with a higher figure if you'd really wanted it. We all know you can negotiate down after a survey.

Also keep in mind that the estate agent is not impartial. They are paid by the seller to act in their best interests, not to be "fair" to you, something that the agents via whom I bought my first property pointed out to me and has stuck with me ever since.

Sorry was drowning our sorrows last night.

I agree I think I’ve taken it too personally.

It’s just that (and to explain the point someone asked for clarity on) we were told (even up to the morning before they asked for closed bids) that we were the only serious contender and the other buyers were not a serious threat. Surveys on our house start next week (so won’t be long until we complete) and the other buyers hadn’t sold theirs yet (they were not even on the market when they made their first offer).

So we were lulled into feeling confident about our position and when they decided to give us (two hours after I’d called) an hour to arrange closing bids. We were confused and when I asked why this had happened, they said it’s just because there are two of you and that’s what the charity has decided now. I pressed (because they are allowed to tell you the position of the other buyers) but they left out the information.

Therefore when we sent in our bid, we were confident. Fifteen grand may not seem a lot to you guys but the house was accurately on the market for here so it’sa lot over the asking price of a house that’s £280. £ 300 seemed so much more when the other buyers didn’t feel like a threat and there’sa lot of work we need to do on the property.

I know now we should have paid it but I had believed the estate agents and thought we were the only serious buyers.

It was also hard as we lost out in another house we liked (but loved) waiting to hear back on this one (which we was told was just a waiting game) and now have to think whether we rent or lose our buyers and I just feel so bad for our buyers too as they’re first time timers and seem like really lovely people. And well, I’ve let them down because we didn’t bid higher because I was gullible.

We know the other buyers property because it came on the market last Thursday and we went to see it (they’re downsizing, we’re upsizing and wondered what we could get if Eevee stretched ourselves) and the estate agent accidentally gave us hints that us buying this ‘would be best for everyone’, I could be wrong though. I have been watching RM constantly and when we made the bid its position hadn’t changed and then it did two hours after closed bids (along with other properties by this estate agent). Tbh, at that point I thought we had lost but the news yesterday afternoon was still hard.

Oh well, time to stop feeling sorry for myself, it rid of the hangover and move on.

There will be another house. You’ve fallen in love with two houses already, you’ll find another that’ll be perfect for you.

Learn the lesson. Make your offers based on what you know- your financial position and how much you are willing to pay. Rather than making offers based on an unknown third party when it’s unlikely you have the full picture of their position. If you still aren’t the highest or just not chosen then you have no regrets. You did all you could and it just wasn’t meant to be.

Just remember the house isn't sold sold, it's all subject to contracts being exchanged
The EA didn't accidentally give you hints, they know exactly what they are doing. They just want to sell, get their money and move on
The right house for you will turn up

It does sound like an odd situation and I think most people would feel annoyed in your shoes. I didn't think an agent would regard an offer from someone who hadn't sold their house as serious, as they're presumably not proceedable? Having just an hour to prepare for sealed bids too seems unfair. In our area, normally when this happens a listing will get updated to say it's going to best and final offers and there's usually a deadline of at least a couple of weeks. That would seem like the best way to get the very best price for the property, especially in a hot market.

Having said all that, if your gut instinct was that your offer was a fair price for the house, I would see this as a lucky escape (whilst keeping half an eye to see whether this sale falls through). I'm sure something better will come along for you before too long.

But have you actually lost out? You don’t know yet?

Thanks all. Found out we officially lost late yesterday so think I was a bit bitter. Think I’m resolved to it now and appreciate your advice. Currently looking for somewhere to rent now. Maybe the market will calm down soon. Thanks all and I’ll consider everything you said for next time x

Update just went on RM and the house next door went on sale this morning for £275. Same house pet much but no conservatory. Booked an appointment for this afternoon and will put an offer in. Can’t believe my luck!

Fingers crossed for you, hopefully this will be the one!