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! This would make you a massive twat. Why do you think you’re more entitled to the house than the buyers? You’re not. Let it go and don’t be that person.

Don't be that person. What’s For You Won’t Pass You
The buyer also feels this is their dream home I bet. As others have said, let the Estate Agent know you are really disappointed and if it all goes pear shaped, you would love to be his first call.

@hotmeatymilk

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 neighbour notes thing does work.

I did it. The vendor gave me their mobile number after viewing. As soon as my property was under offer I got in contact asking if theirs was still available. They said they had accepted offer and I asked how much as I'd be prepared to up it. I did and I got the property. Most people will disagree however this is our forever home and I don't regret it for a second!

f you could find the people who had their offer accepted, perhaps you could kill them?

Seriously though, everything @hotmeatymilk said

If you wanted it that badly you would have made an offer within hours of viewing it,the fact you left it and waited would suggest there must have been some doubts.

The vendors have made an offer and told you no more offers being accepted.

You need to respect the vendors wishes.

Lesson learned, if you want a hour, offer quickly

This happened to us. We offered asking price on a house and it was accepted, then someone offered the same, but the sellers knew them, so they changed their minds and went with them.

I think you are awful to be planning to shatter someones else's dreams, entitled and selfish.

I don't see that you have any leverage- you've offered more already and they've turned you down.

Leave an offer with the agents and leaflet other suitable properties.

Don’t
It’s rubbish that you’ve missed out but we were gazumped on the day of exchange around 15 years ago and it was horrible and devastating
You’ve offered higher and it’s been rejected
I wouldn’t do anything other than speak to the agent and say if it falls through you’d like to be next in line

Don’t do this. It’s an unbelievably shitty thing to do to another family. Karma says next time it’ll be you.

Pop a note through the door stating your position and how keen you are IF it falls through. The buyers may not be able to get a mortgage or something. Then, you could be next in line.

Your desires and needs aren’t more important than someone elses. Imagine if it had been you first in line and someone else gazumped your perfect home. Wouldn’t seem so innocent then 🤷‍♀️

The fact they’ve accepted a lower offer than yours either means they care more about the buyers position or they genuinely know and like these people and want to sell to them. It’s gone OP.

"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."

Well you can offer a higher price, it's unethical, but you can. I wouldn't but people do.

This happened to us - lost out on a house. It came up again after we'd offered on another house, that is better for us, better position.

There are other houses.

I can't tell if this thread is serious or not. What exactly do you expect to be able to do?

The vendors are selling to someone that they know, and are happy with the offer they've accepted. You've already tried offering more money and the vendors said no. Tough luck - it's entirely their choice who they sell to and for how much.

Well you can offer a higher price, it's unethical, but you can. I wouldn't but people do.

The OP already tried this. The vendors said no.

Also, hassling the vendors after they've turned down your higher offer is really NOT a way to get them on your side.

The two levers you have as a property buyer are the price you offer and your suitability as a buyer (mortgage approved, no chain, cash buyer etc). Since your price was not high enough and they think another buyer is more suitable, there isn't much more you can do except wait in the wings in the event the sale falls through.

The way the market has been recently you’ll be lucky to get your third, fourth or fifth choice house anyway OP so you’re going to need to toughen up as well.

‘The one’ is more or less a thing of the past apart from for a very lucky few.

We lost out on a best and final for our 'perfect' house and our criteria is incredibly specific and not many houses match it (especially in our budget). I was devastated but they were cash buyers. I asked to be first call if it fell through and left our offer on the table.

I'd like to say that we were called but we weren't. However, we are now in the process of buying a different house that I love just as much. So another will come along although I know that seems unlikely in the current market but it will.

We lost out on best and final offers- we weren’t even in the top two!

When the accepted offer fell through, the sellers chose us as they wanted a family to grow up in the house which had been their childhood home (probate sale).

If it’s yours, it’ll come to you.

We thought we found our dream house in March. Put an offer in which was accepted. Then a week later the agent called to say some other buyers had put in a much higher offer and the vendor was going to accept it. We said we would pay asking price but they went with the higher offer.
I was disappointed with the ethics of both the vendor and the gazumper and decided we would not go back to it if that sale didn't go through.

As it happened I found our house just around the corner the next day! We moved in June and the people in the original house have only just moved in ! I feel a sense of satisfaction that they wouldn't have made the SD savings!
I also walk past the original dream house everyday on the way to work and always notice things that make me glad we didn't get it.

So, your situation is that you want something that has already been bought. So you are looking for tips about how to ruin someone else's new home just so that you can get it?

I completely understand how you must feel but there is no good way of going about it that doesn't shaft other people dreadfully and indefensibly.

The best thing you could do is sign up with good agents who know the area and can rustle up more houses for you through their contacts and expertise. Good agents are very good at persuading people to put their houses on the market.

Good luck OP - I hope you manage to find something perfect for you.

One thing I have noticed around here is that after a house sells, several neighbouring properties hit the market - generally as owners realise how much their property is worth. So definitely leaflet the neighbours.

Ouch! Fair enough, I thought it was worth asking, thanks all