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Original poster

Have just put an offer in on a house - does this seem standard to you?

33 replies

Beaverfeaver2 · 22/04/2014 12:04

When we have bought houses before, we put an offer in, the agent goes to the vendor with the offer and they either accept or counter offer.

However, this time we viewed the house on its open day, along with about 4 other couples.

I call the agent. I put offer in. Agent says that someone else has put an offer in but that ours is higher. (Doesn't say by how much)
Agent says that they are not going to call the vendor straight away and instead contact all viewers of the property on the open day to gather all potential offers and then go to the vendor with the offers for them to decide between them.

Is this standard in this type of situation with an open day?

The agent said that she would call me if anyone else offers higher than us, but surly that means that she has gone straight back to the other people who offered this morning to tell them about our offer.

Should I even believe that there is another offer on the table?

She said that she would aim to go back to the vendor with the offers around lunch time.

Im really anxious...

OP posts:
Flossiechops · 22/04/2014 16:10

Sounds standard to me. We sold in Jan after 12 viewings. We had 4 offers the highest was just slightly over asking price to a cash buyer. The other 3 were below so the agent went back to the other 3 advised them that there was a higher offer & did they want to increase. From our point of view our agent was trying to get us the best offer whilst giving everybody the best chance to offer. None of the other 3 went to the asking price & they had to have mortgages so it was a no brainer in the end. Try not to panic Smile

Flossiechops · 22/04/2014 16:12

Ps we only knew about the offers once the agent had gathered them all & given them the opportunity to increase. The house we offered on we were the only people to view so we just negotiated the price via the agent.

Gemma77 · 22/04/2014 16:46

We had something similar when we sold our house a few months ago. We had 12 viewings in one night and the following morning 5 people put offers in. We had viewing for the following morning set up and so the estate agents honoured them - we had another 3 people come to see the house and I overheard the estate agent telling them that they had offers already in and that if they wanted to make an offer too they needed to do so by midday as that was the deadline. That afternoon the EA gathered up all the offers and the circumstances of each potential buyer and telephoned me with the details. They then provided us with a recommendation on which offer we should take (in our case we had 4 offers at full asking price so they recommended the cash buyer who was happy to go with our timeframe).

It's horrible waiting to hear if your offer has been accepted and I remember how nerve wracking it is! Hope it goes your way!!

Original poster
Beaverfeaver2 · 22/04/2014 19:55

We increased our offer at 2:30.
Haven't heard anything since.

I really want the house. So anxious

OP posts:
Mintyy · 22/04/2014 19:59

No, this sounds chaotic and unprofessional on the part of the agent.

If the house is to be sold by any sort of auction/best and final offers/sealed bids arrangement, then all interested parties should be kept informed in writing at every stage.

500smiles · 22/04/2014 20:00

The EA is obliged to act in the best interests of the Vendor, so has to get the best offer that they can.

I do feel for you, my advice as a newish EA is to present yourself in the best possible light to the EA - so if you have an agreement in principle; no chain; ready to exchange quickly; cash buyer etc etc then make those things known, as a high price is well and good, but if another buyer will take 6 months to complete then a lower price with assurances of going through quicker may be a better bet.

500smiles · 22/04/2014 20:01

Oh and good luck, I hope you get it.

BuzzardBird · 22/04/2014 20:05

They are using the fear selling technique to get you to offer more than you would...which has worked. It is one of the dirtiest selling techniques taught at seminars but EA aren't in it to go to heaven.
I hope you get it though.

HaveToWearHeels · 22/04/2014 20:25

This is pretty standard around here (South East). We have been in this situation 3 times in the last 6 months. All open days around here go to best and final bids by a certain date, then they approach the vendor with all offers and potential purchasers situations and they make the decision. Don't loose heart, the first two properties we lost out on (we are investors and it seems vendors prefer to sell to occupiers) fell through at the 11th hour and we were called to step in and save the chain but we had already found another property which was a bargain. The highest bid is not always the best, I would also look at who is proceedable and has biggest deposit.

Original poster
Beaverfeaver2 · 22/04/2014 22:25

Yup, south east.

It's annoyed me quite a bit.

There is another house we are interested in as second choice and it just makes me feel like retracting my offer and going for that one instead.

We desperately need this to go through quickly, and I don't want to be dealing with slow dilly dallers

OP posts:
HaveToWearHeels · 23/04/2014 08:41

It shouldn't take that long if they implement it correctly, there should be a deadline like 12 noon tomorrow and you will hear later that the day. The last house we lost out on was on a Saturday, all bids in by 9am Monday, then they went back with best and final by 5pm Monday, we found out mid morning on the Tuesday that we had missed out to someone who bid the same but was a FTB (we were investors with finance in place and 25% deposit). 10 weeks later we got a call to ask if we were still interested as FTB pulled out 2 days before exchange !

papalazaru · 23/04/2014 10:20

Yes I think this is quite common now that people are going to Open Days to market their houses. Offers are sought and presented to the vendor then the vendor asks for 'best and final bids' by a specific time. At which point the vendor weighs up both the price offered and the financial position of the buyer. Just because you're not the highest offer isn't necessarily a bad thing - you may be in a better position than the others.
Oh and make sure as part of your offer you insist the house is taken off the market.

rabbitrisen · 23/04/2014 13:44

hmm. This has made me think.

By law then, the estate agent does not have to show Person A the higher bid made by Person B. So it could be fake? [not saying it is in your case op].
I know someone who made a higher offer and got it. But who is to say that Person B's offer even existed. [and presumably then the ea gets more commision if he is working from a percentage of what the house is sold for? [I feel I may be a bit think here, and everyone else already knows this but me].

ExcuseTypos · 23/04/2014 13:47

I was under the impression Agents had to tell a vendor about an offer- by law. Maybe I'm wrong?

Original poster
Beaverfeaver2 · 23/04/2014 13:47

Well it's nearly 2pm the next day and nothing!

We are considering retracting our offer now.

DH called he estate agent who told him that they haven't heard back from the vendor and are waiting for that.

DH said the estate agent told him they put forward two offers. So something doesn't add up.

OP posts:
ExcuseTypos · 23/04/2014 13:50

Have just googled and found this-

"Is an Estate Agent Obliged to Pass-On My Offer to the Seller?

Yes the Estate Agent is required by law to pass-on your offer to the seller, immediately and in writing. However, if the seller has told the Estate Agent not to pass on certain offers, such as those under the asking price, then the Estate Agent is not legally obliged to do so, but they have to let you know why your offer has not been passed on."

ExcuseTypos · 23/04/2014 13:50

I think the agents are up to something not quite legal.

titchy · 23/04/2014 14:01

But they have put forward your offer - not sure why you wold think there was anything dodgy going on. The vendor has two offers on the table and is thinking about which to accept that's all. It's only been a day - I've taken two or three days to decide whether to accept a particular offer or not.

Original poster
Beaverfeaver2 · 24/04/2014 13:13

3 days now and no word.
Estate Agent says the vendor isn't responding

OP posts:
LadyRabbit · 24/04/2014 16:23

That's just plain weird. Vendor not responded within three days?! Do they not want to sell this house?
Hope you get some news soon OP, the waiting would be killing me.

SantasLittleMonkeyButler · 24/04/2014 16:34

Maybe the vendor has changed their mind & no longer wants to sell? Seems a little odd considering they had an Open Day, but who knows?

Maybe they are seeing what price they can buy their next house for, before deciding which offer to go with on the sale - IYSWIM. When we sold our first flat many years ago now, we had two offers - one was a cash buyer but £2k lower than another couple who were in a chain & needing a mortgage. We had already found the house we wanted to buy so agreed (between DH & I), that if we could get the house we wanted for £2k less than we had originally planned to offer we would go with the chain free buyer. If not, we would need to go for the higher offer because the £2k was quite a lot of money back then & made a large difference with LTV, % rates & repayments on the new mortgage. Maybe your vendors are making similar decisions (if they genuinely do have 2 offers on the table).

SantasLittleMonkeyButler · 24/04/2014 16:36

Although, I must add, we didn't just ignore the EA whilst we made our decision! We did at least make it clear that both offers were still being carefully considered!

Original poster
Beaverfeaver2 · 24/04/2014 18:45

Had a call from the agent to say that someone else has come in with an offer way over asking price, so that's us back to the drawing board

OP posts:
rabbitrisen · 24/04/2014 18:54

Oh dear. Shame Sad

rabbitrisen · 24/04/2014 18:54

A rising market is a pain.

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