Do you think estate agents make up offers on properties.

[chubbymomie2012]

We are trying to buy a property. We are cash buyers with no chain.
We went to see a vacant house recently and at the viewing we were told there was little interest in the house and no offers. Lo and behold when we rang 2 days later to make an offer there suddenly was an offer on the property!
We asked the agent about the other bidders and he knew nothing.
It all seems very convenient. Do u think this could be a fictitious bid???

I don't know but all I can say is that I have never seen this in 3-4 years sum total of working in three different Estate Agents.

If there is another interested party then it would be quite wrong of the EA to give you lots of information about them.

Ok. So I we asked what their position was are they not allowed to tell us? Also we learn today the Agent still hasn't taken the offer to the vendor. He is letting us bid against each other instead. Should he not take the offers to the vendor?

Yes he should put both of your offers to the vendor.

But why should you be party to what the other people's position is? That is not for you to know. You either want the house at the price you have offered or you don't.

I'm not so sure. Found our perfect house and while chatting to the estate agent asked if there had been any people interested. They told me lots of viewings and the vendors had received a couple of offers one they were considering. When we viewed the property vendors said hardly any viewings and one very low offer which they had rejected.

You see we really feel like he is playing a game here. The house is on the SPED scheme so we are buying it of the NIhE. It's very frustrating. Mintyy is it illegal for them to make up bids? Can we ask him to put bids to vendor?

I don't know what any of the abbreviations in your last post mean but yes of course you can certainly ask him to prove to you that he has put your offer to the vendor. In all the firms I worked for we had to put all offers (even the joke ones) to the vendor in writing within 24 hours.

A similar thing happened to us a few years ago when we made an offer on our current home. After our offer was accepted, the EA said a higher offer had been made, even though no mention had ever been made of another interested party. We then upped our offer, after which this other 'mystery' buyer pulled out.

Sorry. The house was evacuated for security reasons in December so the Northern Ireland office give it to the Northern Ireland housing executive to sell. Just wondered does this make the process different

I'm afraid I don't know as I am not from Northern Ireland.

Thanks for ur help. :-)

Agents in NI are generally much more transparent regarding other offers and the buyers position than they are in England. In my experience it's more unusual for them not to tell you. Legally they have to make the buyer aware of all offers on a house.

Yes they do all the time.

Theres a code of practice for estate agents which applies in northern ireland. From memory it's the same as England and Wales. I'll have a google in a minute.

Oh right. I am gonna google that. I hate feeling like I am getting ripped off

I don't know for sure,but I had that impression a couple of times when we were looking at houses.

It's very frustrating. I'm going to phone and call his bluff this morning. Fingers crossed.