Missed out on the dream house - is there some way of getting hold of it?

[emilyurse1]

Hi!
This is a bit of a weird one, but I thought it was worth asking.
We found the perfect house to buy, exactly in the location we need.
But the vendors accepted an asking price offer before we could make one.
We tried to offer a bit higher, but they said they wanted to stick with the offer that they accepted (the agent says he's realised that the vendors seem to know the buyers which is why they feel they should honour the sale.)
Fair enough. I know, move on, something better will come, etc etc.
Except we don't think we'll be able to find anything in the area now as nothing is ever for sale.
Has anyone managed to work out a way of persuading vendors to accept your offer instead? I'm aware this seems unethical, but we're really quite desperate to get hold of it, its not something we're taking lightly.
Is there anything at all we can do?
Out-there suggestions welcome! Thankyou :-)

No. No. No.

You do NOT do this. It’s bad juju and makes you an awful person.

You make your offer in writing to the agent and ask nicely if they could remember you should the original offer fall through.

House buying is hard enough without deliberately shafting people over.

If you try and do it, you’ll find subsidence a decade down the line and deserve it. Be warned.

Let it go. It’s really unethical to try to poach it from the buyer who’s had their offer accepted. How would you feel in that situation? Bad karma all round.

The only thing you can do is let the agent know that if the sale falls through for any reason, you’d love to put an offer in. And in the meantime put notes through the doors of all the similar houses in the immediate area explaining you want to buy.

The people who have already agreed to buy it probably wouldn't be able to find anything else either though, don't be mean!

No. Move on.

I would leave it.
They want to sell to these other people, so they are.

‘The only thing you can do is let the agent know that if the sale falls through for any reason, you’d love to put an offer in.‘

This.
And this only.

I don't believe in karma but they've already accepted an offer even though you offered higher. Unless you want to keep offering more, the only think you can really do is ask the agent to notify you if the sale falls through.

No. It's clearly someone else's dream house too. Why do you think you deserve it more?

And let's face it - the type of vendor who would screw over their buyers to now accept your higher offer are the type of vendor that lets you get to almost completing and then changes their mind and pulls out of the sale - or takes an even higher offer from someone else because they've realised house prices have gone up.

You need to be accepting that you lost out on this one.

That would be such a mean thing to do. That house isn’t for you, move on.

The sale may fail - I had 4 failed sales before I finally moved. Make sure the agent knows that you are still interested and s/he can state your case should the sale fall through or the current buyers start messing around.

No you just need to let the agent know you'd pay asking price should the current sale go through and then leave it.

We had this when selling our house. A lady viewed and said it was her dream house and she wanted it, however she wasn't in a position to proceed and we were only considering offers from those that were. This was due to high interest in the house and our need to move on quickly for our onward purchase.

Anyway we accepted an asking price offer from someone else. She went under offer a couple of weeks later and offered us more. We declined. Our sale went through. But if it had failed I wouldn't have sold to her because I would have been waiting for her to jump to new buyers who offered her more, or under cut and reduce price during the process and so on.

Playing games is off putting and unfair. Just don't.

If you could find the people who had their offer accepted, perhaps you could kill them? Only kidding.

I think you have got sucked into believing that your desire for this house means your needs trump anyone else's.

Other houses will come up, you may need to wait awhile but fgs, take a deep breath and get your perspective back.

You're desperate so you lose your ethics?

If you could find the people who had their offer accepted, perhaps you could kill them? Only kidding
Haaaaaa I thought you were going to suggest buying them off. “Drop the offer and we’ll pay your stamp duty on any other purchase” type thing.

Don’t be that guy OP

There's a special place reserved in hell for would-be gazumpers. They all sit in a special corner and someone /thing brings them food (wee guy, horns, red, you know the type).

The smell, oh the smell! It's ambrosial (but not in the custard sense). Everything you've ever wanted (in my case baked nectarines with soft amaretti and slightly melted mascarpone). Your dream food, all warm and perfect. A beacon of hope in a barren hot hellscape. You're salivating in anticipation of your dream meal.

And then they fuck off and leave you hungry.

Repeat ad infinitum.

You've been warned.

If you hadn't offered asking price first time round and then tried to gazump my buyer id say no on the principle that you were flaky and unreliable and a sale in the hand is worth two in the bush. I'd assume you would be unethical twats who would mess me about and try to gazunder me at the last minute or something.

I’m selling at the moment and I would have huge reservations about someone who did this. If you did the “still really interested, please contact us first if anything falls through” I would. If you tried to persuade me to go against the decision I’d already made to do right by the first buyers, I’d worry that you might also treat me quite badly in the sale and if I had a third interested party I’d prioritise them. This might not be typical but it’s very much how I feel.

As others have said, tell the agent you’d be interested if it falls through and don’t do anything else. Another house will pop up

I'm aware this seems unethical, but we're really quite desperate to get hold of it, its not something we're taking lightly

I'm sure the buyers are overjoyed at purchasing the same property. Ergh I hate the property buying and selling business! I think you need to move on

It’s so hard when you lose out on what you think could be your ‘dream house’ but, like PP’s have said, you just have to let it go, and hope that the right house for you will happen eventually.

It's unethical and mean but it's not illegal.

You could post a letter through their door with a great offer for them to consider then at least you know your tried if you truly love it.

If it's not many thousands over asking price and you aren't in an excellent position to move yourselves (cash buyer etc) I wouldn't bother.

The vendors KNOW the buyers - what’re they going to tell them when they see them?! Oh sorry, we’re shafting you

Move On, then leaflet other suitable houses.