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Original poster

Is the Estate Agent trying to get more money??

77 replies

Hayz2020 · 23/04/2023 17:08

I need some advice/stories from more experienced people who are buying/have bought houses.

Currently trying to buy a house with my husband and son, we are renting right now so coming chain free (giving us an advantage, especially in this falling market!) and mortgage and deposit all ready to go.

We’ve found a house we really like, and made an offer last week. The offer is our maximum comfortable offer (anybody else watching the Moving Home With Charlie videos for the BEST advice on the market right now?!).

our offer was around 4% lower than the asking price, which as I mentioned, in a falling market, with things only getting worse for sellers, is a fantastic offer. The EA seemed really happy with the offer but after chatting to the vendors, he came back and gave us a very gentle “no” but it felt like he was pushing us to just put in more cash.

it’s like he’s bluffing us, he’s saying it’s a no, but he’s also trying to keep our offer on the table - he said he’d speak to the vendor and reinforce that our offer was our maximum we could and would pay - he told US the vendor tried everything they could that day to negotiate money off of their new build they’re buying in order to meet our offer but “couldn’t” so need us to increase our offer.

basically - do estate agents try the “chicken” game, when they tell you it’s a no in the hopes you’ll ring back desperately upping your bid.
its his job to get as much money yes, but in this kind of market, surely securing a decent sale is worth more than loosing sales?

any stories where an EA/vendor tried bluffing you to get more money, and ended up taking your original offer?

OP posts:
CantFindTheBeat · 23/04/2023 17:55

The agent works for the vendor.

They have a very delicate balance to achieve, in that they need to get the best price for their client, but need you to feel happy, too.

If the agent feels you might up your offer, they will certainly advise their client of this, in which case the vendor will decline.
It would be wise of them to state a price they WOULD accept though, to avoid a guessing game.

lemonyellows · 23/04/2023 17:59

If they can't afford the house they want if they accept your offer, then it's not enough. They may decide not to sell if they can't get the upgrade of house they want

henrilechat · 23/04/2023 18:02

It makes such a small difference to the agent's commission if you offer slightly under asking that it's far more likely that the vendor is only willing to accept the asking price. If it's been on the market for 3 months without a reduction then the vendor seems to be making a foolish decision in rejecting your offer, but people are entitled to make bad decisions!
I don't understand why you went in at your maximum though, it gives you no room for negotiation. If you'd offered a little less than you could, you would have been able to increase it and the vendor gets to save face and feel like they've done a deal.

YaWeeFurryBastard · 23/04/2023 18:13

You seem to be trying to convince yourself the estate agent is bluffing you because you’ve got it in your head that your offer is fair. The agent has very little incentive to bluff you when achieving a slight increase will make very little difference to their commission as others have said.

I think it’s odd you offered your best and final as a first offer, why did you do that? It’s normal in the UK to do a bit of negotiation and most sellers decline a first offer and will be expecting some wriggle room.

If the sellers have a floor price they need to achieve then that’s what they’ll accept, you can’t force them to go below that regardless of how long it’s been on the market.

Can you actually afford to go higher or are you just not prepared to because you don’t deem it “worth it”? For what it’s worth we ended up going 10k over our “best and final” after the sellers declined, it simply wasn’t worth it to lose our dream home over what’s a relatively small sum of money (less than 1.5%) particularly given we plan to be here for 20 years plus. It’s the best decision we’ve made and I’d do it again in a heartbeat.

ThinkAboutItTomorrow · 23/04/2023 18:31

We've always put in an offer with upwards wriggle room and met the seller half way on 2nd/ 3rd round.

If they are saying a flat no and you can't increase your offer then it's not going to work out.

We ended up renting our house out for a few years while the market recovers. Rentals are sky high so it worked out well (as long as prices do start going back up in a few years, which I'm confident they willl)

kidcrazy · 23/04/2023 19:10

Hummmmaybe · 23/04/2023 17:22

Statistically house prices aren’t falling….
several recent independent reports have reported the same recently. (Feel free to google)

Do enlighten us.

Sundaefraise · 23/04/2023 19:16

My take on this is that the estate agent probably really would like the offer accepted, but the vendor wants more and the agent realising it’s a fairly realistic offer is trying not to scare you off. The commission difference isn’t worth the agent playing games over.

Nextbigthing · 23/04/2023 19:19

CharlotteSometimes1 · 23/04/2023 17:48

Whoever this bloke is who’s advising you put in your max comfortable offer forward isn’t advising well imo. I’ve been an EA and unless the offer is at or above asking price most Vendors will turn down an initial offer. Equally most buyers know this and will offer below their max initially. I’d never start off with my maximum amount.

Whilst the EA may offer an opinion on the offer, it’s the Vendor’s call.

in answer to your question, I have had Vendors turn down an initial offer and a couple of weeks later ask if we can get in touch to see if the offer is still valid. Now you’ve gone with your maximum your only choice is to reiterate your interest and walk away hoping they’ll come back to you. It might happen.

The idea to offer the maximum amount a buyer is comfortable with for a given house is to prevent regrets in situations where a buyer lowball versus what they think the house is worth, and end up missing out because someone else came up with a little more. It also helps not falling into a haggling scenario where buyer end up overpaying.

Ultimately, if the seller has a floor price a.k.a a minimum acceptable price that is higher that the maximum amount the buyer wants to pay, there is no space for a deal. Period.

Most people don’t have experience negotiating, why in earth would one want to play this game with those it is the job to do so. Unless you have a buying agent of course.

OP, tell the agent your offer on the table for two weeks and keep looking, especially If you sense that price are directionally down.

OldTinHat · 23/04/2023 19:33

Estate agents aren't allowed to lie but their job is to get as much money as possible for their vendor.

Felixss · 23/04/2023 19:57

It depends if its the house of your dreams if it's meh just say the offers on the table for 24 hours .

HildasLostSock · 23/04/2023 20:22

Admittedly it was a few years ago, but we put an offer in on a house & the EA said to us that the vendor had received higher offers and do we want to raise it? We weren't in love with the house so said no its OK we'll keep looking thanks. Cue a flustered oh! Oh oh well I think there's still a deal to be had! from the EA. Vendor accepted our original offer within the day. So yes, I think it happens. It could also be the vendors of course but ultimately its either a price you want to pay or its not, although personally I wouldn't "stretch" beyond what I was comfortable with

Mildura · 24/04/2023 09:10

Hayz2020 · 23/04/2023 17:29

They are - the headlines are very convincing, but the data is factual.
regardless, an asking price, isn’t what a house is actually worth, it’s what a vendor wants for it.

Show quote history

There are some houses where the price is going up.

There are some houses where the price is staying the same.

There are other houses where the price is falling.

Sometimes all three are in the same town, let alone an entire region of the country.

Different houses will perform in very different ways. There are a variety of factors that determine how desirable a property is.

blobby10 · 24/04/2023 09:16

Whenever I bought my current house it was offers over £340000 - I offered £340000 but EA came back and said owner was looking for more that's why they said offers over! I was in an excellent position as a buyer and as I was incredibly wound up and stressed, may have ranted a little until common sense returned and I asked the EA how much more the seller wanted. He said £341,000 so we settled on £340,500! I would say if it's your maximum then stick with it but if you really really want the house and can afford and extra couple of hundred pounds it might be enough to sway the vendor!

FiveShelties · 24/04/2023 09:19

Has he actually put your offer to the vendors?

Mildura · 24/04/2023 09:25

FiveShelties · 24/04/2023 09:19

Has he actually put your offer to the vendors?

Seems like they have and the vendor has declined it.

Why wouldn't an offer be put forward to the vendors?

FiveShelties · 24/04/2023 09:31

Mildura · 24/04/2023 09:25

Seems like they have and the vendor has declined it.

Why wouldn't an offer be put forward to the vendors?

Show quote history

Because he is trying to get them to raise their offer maybe

Mildura · 24/04/2023 10:01

I'm not convinced that not putting offers forward is a helpful tactic to get buyers to increase. The opposite in fact.

Many sellers are conditioned to not accept the first offer, in the belief that any buyer is unlikely to come straight in with their best offer.

Therefore by not putting forward an opening offer, they are not effectively managing the seller's expectations.

loveheartdress · 24/04/2023 11:22

I wouldn't bid against myself. Leave your offer on the table and keep looking in the meantime.

Strangelisa · 24/04/2023 11:34

It's not the estate agent. The seller wants more money. It's also not a falling market.

LondonJax · 24/04/2023 12:07

We've bought and sold a number of times. We've put in (and had) full asking price offers, % off offers. We've had a couple of occasions when we've made an offer, had it rejected then, a few weeks later, the EA has rung to ask if it's still on the table. Once it was and we completed very happily, once we'd found something else in the meantime and didn't want the hassle.

Basically it's down to the seller to accept an offer. If they need the extra cash and can afford to hold out that's the gamble they take.

As a seller, to get a figure in your head and start hunting for property within that figure range. It's then very hard to accept you're not getting the offers you need. Not very easy to get a valuation and look at property that's 10% lower than that just to give yourself wiggle room. And, if they're buying new, the developers probably won't give much discount if any. They're more likely to throw in some 'freebies' like choose your kitchen or carpets than drop the price.

Original poster
Hayz2020 · 24/04/2023 13:41

Strangelisa · 24/04/2023 11:34

It's not the estate agent. The seller wants more money. It's also not a falling market.

It is a falling market - there are obviously people that are going to be in denial about it, but the facts and figures are there, the market is dropping and won’t recover for a few years.

as with any asset/investment, they go up and down, and currently it’s going down.

OP posts:
Original poster
Hayz2020 · 24/04/2023 13:43

LondonJax · 24/04/2023 12:07

We've bought and sold a number of times. We've put in (and had) full asking price offers, % off offers. We've had a couple of occasions when we've made an offer, had it rejected then, a few weeks later, the EA has rung to ask if it's still on the table. Once it was and we completed very happily, once we'd found something else in the meantime and didn't want the hassle.

Basically it's down to the seller to accept an offer. If they need the extra cash and can afford to hold out that's the gamble they take.

As a seller, to get a figure in your head and start hunting for property within that figure range. It's then very hard to accept you're not getting the offers you need. Not very easy to get a valuation and look at property that's 10% lower than that just to give yourself wiggle room. And, if they're buying new, the developers probably won't give much discount if any. They're more likely to throw in some 'freebies' like choose your kitchen or carpets than drop the price.

That’s very true! I do get from their perspective, perhaps they have a figure in their mind they’ve already “spent”.. it’ll definitely take time to accept that the figure might not be what they’ll get (in 3 months of no other viewings, I do think by now most people should realise their property might be overpriced).

OP posts:
Original poster
Hayz2020 · 24/04/2023 13:44

loveheartdress · 24/04/2023 11:22

I wouldn't bid against myself. Leave your offer on the table and keep looking in the meantime.

I think this is the best thing we can do.

OP posts:
Original poster
Hayz2020 · 24/04/2023 13:46

Mildura · 24/04/2023 10:01

I'm not convinced that not putting offers forward is a helpful tactic to get buyers to increase. The opposite in fact.

Many sellers are conditioned to not accept the first offer, in the belief that any buyer is unlikely to come straight in with their best offer.

Therefore by not putting forward an opening offer, they are not effectively managing the seller's expectations.

Agreed.

I definitely believe our offer was put forward.

just to clear anything up, I don’t believe this EA is untrustworthy, in fact he’s been great to work with so far (viewed a few properties with him) - I just have this gut feeling that after speaking with the vendors, they’ve applied a little
pressure to him to try and get us to go a little higher.

OP posts:
Original poster
Hayz2020 · 24/04/2023 13:48

FiveShelties · 24/04/2023 09:19

Has he actually put your offer to the vendors?

I know some EA can be really crafty with these things but I do genuinely believe he put our offer forward and I genuinely believe he tried to convince the vendors to accept - I do just think they’ve applied a bit of pressure for him to see if there’s anything more we can give.

OP posts:
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