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Original poster

Top tips on sealed bids please!

10 replies

halfbabyhalfbiscuit · 27/06/2011 14:04

We're thinking about putting in an offer for a house that's going to sealed bids later this week.

Does anyone have any good tips please?

OP posts:

lalalonglegs · 27/06/2011 16:17

Pay what you think the house is worth but then add slightly random number which puts you above obvious price point (eg: 302,575 rather than 300k) is one tip that's always bandied about. But, if I were selling, I would be much more interested in how realistic the offer is (do you have to sell, are you in rented, whatever) so big up your buying credentials if you have any and if you are a cash buyer, include a solicitor's letter confirming you have funds. For my own piece of mind, I would insist on being present when offers were opened.

chandellina · 28/06/2011 15:40

yes definitely talk up your credentials/situation in the bid letter and assign a random number around what you are prepared to pay. also try to find out as much as you can about who you are up against and what they might be prepared to pay. was the house ever under offer before, etc.
we lost out on a sealed bid earlier this year and were devastated but have since found in the Land Registry records that the buyer offered £25k more than us! (far more than we were prepared to pay.) you can only control your price, not the other crazies out there.
good luck.

Original poster

halfbabyhalfbiscuit · 28/06/2011 16:39

Thanks both!

It's a probate job, not long been on the market and had a couple of low offers, from developer and non-proceedable buyer (and us!), from what I can gather.

We've tried to agree a figure that we're happy with, rather than go out, as there's a lot of work needs doing.

Right, will put a letter together and hopefully will be put out of my misery by the end of the week...

OP posts:

lalalonglegs · 28/06/2011 17:34

Let us know how it goes - fingers crossed .

Mandy21 · 28/06/2011 23:31

Would agree with everything the other posters have said - we were in a similar position 18 months ago. We went in at £XXX,560 as we thought the other bidders might bid £500 extra, and then we wanted to be more than that. Ours was also a probate job, we found out that the old lady who had died had lived in the house for 40 odd years and raised her family there. We put in the letter that a) we were in rented accommodation so we could move quickly b) my DH was a solicitor and his firm would do the conveyancing and he could oversee it so it progressed quickly c) that we had the finances in place (mortgage offer etc) and finally d) we were a family who wanted to make it our family home (not a developer, not someone out to modernise it and sell it on). Did the trick anyway!

Original poster

halfbabyhalfbiscuit · 29/06/2011 08:24

Wow - Mandy - your situation (and letter!) sounds EXACTLY the same as ours!!

Even the bit about one of us being a solicitor (that's me though, not DH!) but, we're not in rented yet but plan to be if we haven't found anywhere to buy when we exchange on our sale. We've already lost out on one place to people in rented so that seems to be whats needed to make us an attractive buyer.

Well, the EA said they had SIX bids. Just waiting now but not feeling terribly confident...

OP posts:

Mandy21 · 29/06/2011 14:13

Good luck, hope you get it!

Original poster

halfbabyhalfbiscuit · 29/06/2011 15:35

Didn't get it Back to the drawingboard Rightmove

OP posts:

Lilymaid · 29/06/2011 15:49

Butting in here as a potential vendor.
I'm executor of my father's estate and will soon be putting family house on market. We expect considerable interest but would really rather sell to a family than to a builder. Obviously, a vendor would like to know that the bidder is in a strong position to raise the asking price (no long chains etc) but I wondered whether letters from bidders stating they were families rather than builders were quite usual?

Original poster

halfbabyhalfbiscuit · 29/06/2011 16:11

Right, 3rd time lucky with this message! My last two have disappeared into the ether...

The EA we have just been dealing with said that it's currently easier for them to sell a do-er upper to a non-developer as there just aren't the margins there for developers to make any profits in the short term. He said his experience is that developers are offering low (and taking into account their costs, stamp duty etc) to make a profit and so are being out bid by people not in it for short-term gain.

The properties we have tended to like seem to need a lot of work doing to them (although we are not do-er uppers by inclination!) and I get the impression that our main competition seems to be family buyers in a better position than us (eg those in rented or who have more money to offer) rather than developers.

The only time we've stressed this in a letter has been for the sealed bid but we've been quite clear about it when meeting EA's at viewings etc

Good luck!

OP posts:

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