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Original poster

How to know seller is truthful?

16 replies

Pemba · 12/09/2018 13:49

Not bought a property for years, so unused to this game. I am helping my mum make a cash purchase, to live in herself.

The seller is using PurpleBricks. From what I understand on here, they pretty much leave you to get on with it yourself. Seller is a landlord and says they have already had an offer £5000 above the asking price. Says they want to go ahead quickly. Well so do we. How do we know it's true about the offer though? We thought as she is a cash purchaser that would put her in a good position, but for all we know, the other buyer is too!

I don't know how to play this really.

OP posts:
user1484247439 · 12/09/2018 13:54

I'm not sure there's any way you can find out. You just have to offer what you are happy to pay and see it's accepted.

MrsPatmore · 12/09/2018 13:54

You don't! Put a best and final offer on the table and be prepared to walk away if it's not enough.

MissLingoss · 12/09/2018 13:58

Forget about what other prospective buyers might be doing. Offer what the property is worth to you/your mum. If you don't think it's worth another £5000, don't offer it. If you do up your offer, very likely the seller will come back and say the other people have now offered £10,000 over the asking price. What will you do then?

Even if the seller was using a high street agent, they'd be working for him, not you, so you'd still be pretty much on your own with these decisions.

Original poster
Pemba · 12/09/2018 14:04

Thanks. I have never had this before. There are no rules then, about offers having to be declared officially or anything like that? Like in a Code of Conduct for estate agents or something?

Really, anyone could make up anything they liked then. Seems a bit dodgy!

OP posts:
johnd2 · 12/09/2018 14:11

We had an offer reported as at asking price on a house we were interested, then after we offered the same suddenly the seller agent said they would accept ours as we were in a better situation.
After that when the survey came back it said it was worth 10k less actually, slightly more than our original offer, so we ended up getting it for closer to what we wanted anyway.
When you hear there's another offer you assume it's competing with yours equally in every way, but it could be an offer from someone with no money, or the estate agents dog for all you know.
Ask for more details, are they proceedable, what is the minimum the vendors need to move, how quickly do they need the money.
Remember the agents just want to broker a deal, they don't care the price, they just want a reliable buyer. Play that to your advantage.

HomeOfMyOwn · 12/09/2018 19:03

If they have made an offer after you first viewed a property then purple bricks send an email letting you know there has been an offer (but not how much). Did you/your mum get one of these?

I wouldn't trust anyone saying they'd got an offer of X. I'd offer what I thought it was worth and just walk away if they didn't accept.

Thecatisboss · 12/09/2018 19:14

At the estate agents i used to work at alternative offers could not be made up but neither could we tell you what the other offer was for. Remember estate agent represents the seller and wants the best price/purchaser for them.

Battytwatty · 12/09/2018 20:30

johnd2
Estate agents are not obliged to give you information re buying position etc of other applicants. And would certainly not tell you the minimum the vendors need to move.

Jonathan1972 · 12/09/2018 20:58

It sounds like the seller is telling you what he wants to get in order to sell to you. You need to decide if you want the property at that price- you either do or you don't.
If you want to pay less I should put that offer in and say that you will leave it on the table while you look for an alternative house and if things don't go anywhere with the other buyer then you have stated how much you are prepared to pay for this property.

PigletJohn · 13/09/2018 11:38

You don't.

Don't depend on what you are told, only on what you have verified yourself.

Many people will lie or deceive if it means thousands of pounds in their pocket.

Mildura · 13/09/2018 11:42

It would be a breach of the Estate Agency Act of 1979 for an estate agent to invent an offer where none existed.

However, I'm not sure there are any specific rules that cover claims made by the seller.

Original poster
Pemba · 13/09/2018 12:44

Thanks everyone. Yes, Mildura that's what I suspected. I rang PurpleBricks to put in our offer, and asked about the other offer, and the call centre worker may have given the game away as she started to say she couldn't see any other offers. Then she put me on hold and came back to me and said she wasn't allowed to tell me, what the seller told me was up to them. She was apologetic. So I put in an offer £2k above the asking price and emphasised the cash buyer bit. (alleged other offer was supposed to be £5K above.) That was yesterday, and unfortunately I missed a call soon after from their head office which i the call centre tells me was to 'qualify my offer' or something. I asked what that entails, call centre couldn't tell me! I have rung back three times, still waiting to have that conversation. On purplebricks website it says the seller is considering our offer. No automated emails about other offers have been received . I think Purplebricks do that as a pp said, because I received one telling me another house we viewed had had another viewing. So they are supposed to update you about everything.

Is someone playing games, or is this just Purplebricks standard of service? I do have the seller's number, but as they are quite pushy I don't really want to negotiate directly. Aaargh!

OP posts:
daddy2kids · 13/09/2018 13:44

they will want proof that you are a cash buyer, but fact they are asking this suggests that they haven't got a better cash offer or why ask you. Realistically I don't know where you live but not many houses are selling for over asking price unless its suction style
Good luck

daddy2kids · 13/09/2018 13:45

auction style sorry :-0

FreerOfIcefyre · 13/09/2018 14:00

This is where you would supply a copy of your mortgage in principle to prove you can afford the house or in your Mum's case proof she actually has the money to buy the property.

Having never been in a cash buyer situation I don't know what proof you would need.

It is standard for house buying otherwise I could rock up to view a property worth £4 million but I could never actually afford to buy it.

I would only deal with Purple Bricks who are after all working on behalf of the seller.

daddy2kids · 13/09/2018 17:52

agents will want to see a bank statement that's it really, possibly proo where its come from at a later stage for fraud reasons

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