Repossessed House Q! - Are Estate Agents allowed to do this?
Discussion
Are any of you Estate Agents or in the know of the Property Act?
I'm in a bit of a dilemma as follows:
There is a house local to me that has been repossessed by the bank and is currently on the market at lets say for arguments sake £42,000.
A third party has put an offer onto the table at £40,000 which as since gone to Public notice (in the local newspaper) stating "anyone who is interested in the property must put in a higher offer within 7 days of this notice (which commenced 18/5/11)."
All fine so far.
I phoned the Estate Agent up today to confirm my offer of £40,250, which at first they said they wouldn't consider, but would consider £40,500. Fine I thought, sake of £250, it's fine.
So I spoke to the other half, we agreed that £40,500 would be fine, and consequently phoned the Estate Agent up with the offer of £40,500 (within half an hour of the first phone call).
However, the Estate Agent stopped me in my tracks and said that I must offer the asking price of £42,000 for me to even be considered, because the people that made the original offer has gone quite far down the line in terms of their mortgage, even though I'm in a better position than them, being a cash buyer!
I stopped in my tracks, quite gobsmacked to be honest. They made it sound like it was my problem that the first people are having a mortgage, thus meaning I need to make an offer £2k more?
Where do I stand? Is it legal what they are doing? In my opinion, the original offer sounds to me that it is someone the Estate Agent knows, so they are trying to get rid of any other interest! They wouldn't even consider putting it towards the vendors solicitor!
Any help would be much appreciated
Hope it makes sense!
I'm in a bit of a dilemma as follows:
There is a house local to me that has been repossessed by the bank and is currently on the market at lets say for arguments sake £42,000.
A third party has put an offer onto the table at £40,000 which as since gone to Public notice (in the local newspaper) stating "anyone who is interested in the property must put in a higher offer within 7 days of this notice (which commenced 18/5/11)."
All fine so far.
I phoned the Estate Agent up today to confirm my offer of £40,250, which at first they said they wouldn't consider, but would consider £40,500. Fine I thought, sake of £250, it's fine.
So I spoke to the other half, we agreed that £40,500 would be fine, and consequently phoned the Estate Agent up with the offer of £40,500 (within half an hour of the first phone call).
However, the Estate Agent stopped me in my tracks and said that I must offer the asking price of £42,000 for me to even be considered, because the people that made the original offer has gone quite far down the line in terms of their mortgage, even though I'm in a better position than them, being a cash buyer!
I stopped in my tracks, quite gobsmacked to be honest. They made it sound like it was my problem that the first people are having a mortgage, thus meaning I need to make an offer £2k more?
Where do I stand? Is it legal what they are doing? In my opinion, the original offer sounds to me that it is someone the Estate Agent knows, so they are trying to get rid of any other interest! They wouldn't even consider putting it towards the vendors solicitor!
Any help would be much appreciated
Hope it makes sense!
You would presume the bank gave the estate agent the job of getting the highest possible price for the property, irrespective of what costs potenential purchasers have made.
Whether you make the offer of £42K just to make sure your interest is shown in the property, I don't think it's any more legally binding than an offer on any other property. Hopefully someone will post some legal stuff here for you.
Whether you make the offer of £42K just to make sure your interest is shown in the property, I don't think it's any more legally binding than an offer on any other property. Hopefully someone will post some legal stuff here for you.
Where in the Uk can you buy a "house" for £40K that is £160K cheaper than anything near me! and I am trying to get a deposit together on my own! :-(
Goodluck with it, as other have said the bank need to try and get the best price for it, can you imagine how tiresome it would become if you just up'd the bid by £1.00 a time!
Goodluck with it, as other have said the bank need to try and get the best price for it, can you imagine how tiresome it would become if you just up'd the bid by £1.00 a time!
Oop North fella - old pit houses as such
Thanks everyone for the replies. Much appreciated.
What would you suggest my next step should be? Physically go into the Estate Agents with the offer in my hand (letter form) and get them to phone the bank/vendor up while I'm in there?
I'm struggling to trust them now, that's all..
Thanks everyone for the replies. Much appreciated.
What would you suggest my next step should be? Physically go into the Estate Agents with the offer in my hand (letter form) and get them to phone the bank/vendor up while I'm in there?
I'm struggling to trust them now, that's all..
Jackleman said:
Where in the Uk can you buy a "house" for £40K that is £160K cheaper than anything near me! and I am trying to get a deposit together on my own! :-(
Goodluck with it, as other have said the bank need to try and get the best price for it, can you imagine how tiresome it would become if you just up'd the bid by £1.00 a time!
Coventry? Recently bought a 2 bed flat for £30k thats now let for £420/m. There are cheap and reasonable properties around.Goodluck with it, as other have said the bank need to try and get the best price for it, can you imagine how tiresome it would become if you just up'd the bid by £1.00 a time!
Jonathan27 said:
The bank that owns the property is obliged to get the best price for it, and thus their appointed agent is under the same obligation.
At least that's how I would see it.
Thats partially true, but if the lower priced offer is quite far down the line, both parties are pretty committed to the sale. You, as an unknown/untested buyer would need to demonstrate to the bank that it is worth them dumping the lower offer and starting again with your (unproven?) higher bid. The bank is obliged to get the highest price possible, but they need to mitigate their risk.At least that's how I would see it.
The estate agent has an obligation to put any offers forward to the lender right up to exchange of contracts.
Put your offer in an email to them with a read reciept, include;
The amount of your offer
Your timescale
You ability to proceed and any chain details if applicable
Your solicitors
That you have an agreement in principle and details of your lender
The amount of deposit you are putting down
Find out who the head of compliance is for the agent, and copy them in, also copy your solicitor in.
And.... Don't take no for an answer, if it makes life inconvenient for them, good!
Put your offer in an email to them with a read reciept, include;
The amount of your offer
Your timescale
You ability to proceed and any chain details if applicable
Your solicitors
That you have an agreement in principle and details of your lender
The amount of deposit you are putting down
Find out who the head of compliance is for the agent, and copy them in, also copy your solicitor in.
And.... Don't take no for an answer, if it makes life inconvenient for them, good!
Gunk said:
The estate agent has an obligation to put any offers forward to the lender right up to exchange of contracts.
Put your offer in an email to them with a read reciept, include;
The amount of your offer
Your timescale
You ability to proceed and any chain details if applicable
Your solicitors
That you have an agreement in principle and details of your lender
The amount of deposit you are putting down
Find out who the head of compliance is for the agent, and copy them in, also copy your solicitor in.
And.... Don't take no for an answer, if it makes life inconvenient for them, good!
or get a mate to offer £45K and then back out in a week or so?Put your offer in an email to them with a read reciept, include;
The amount of your offer
Your timescale
You ability to proceed and any chain details if applicable
Your solicitors
That you have an agreement in principle and details of your lender
The amount of deposit you are putting down
Find out who the head of compliance is for the agent, and copy them in, also copy your solicitor in.
And.... Don't take no for an answer, if it makes life inconvenient for them, good!
TallPaul said:
Woody3 said:
In my opinion, the original offer sounds to me that it is someone the Estate Agent knows, so they are trying to get rid of any other interest!
This is also a very real possibility!eldar said:
Jackleman said:
Where in the Uk can you buy a "house" for £40K that is £160K cheaper than anything near me! and I am trying to get a deposit together on my own! :-(
Goodluck with it, as other have said the bank need to try and get the best price for it, can you imagine how tiresome it would become if you just up'd the bid by £1.00 a time!
Coventry? Recently bought a 2 bed flat for £30k thats now let for £420/m. There are cheap and reasonable properties around.Goodluck with it, as other have said the bank need to try and get the best price for it, can you imagine how tiresome it would become if you just up'd the bid by £1.00 a time!
I was on the other side of the fence in December when I bought a re-possessed farm house. The bank insisted that the property was left on the market up until exchange which caused a few sleepless nights. They are obliged to get the best price for it but not at any cost.
I bought it for £20,000 under what it was on the market for but even then they said they would only accept an offer from someone else if it was at least £12,000 more than mine.
The reason was it takes an average of 3 months to buy a property and they had a dedicated buyer in myself who had paid for surveys, had mortgage agreed and almost good to go whereas if they accepted another offer then they are back to square one which could also fall out of bed etc etc.
They would be mad to lose a committed buyer for the sake of £500 especially as it would cost them more than that on a month by month basis.
I bought it for £20,000 under what it was on the market for but even then they said they would only accept an offer from someone else if it was at least £12,000 more than mine.
The reason was it takes an average of 3 months to buy a property and they had a dedicated buyer in myself who had paid for surveys, had mortgage agreed and almost good to go whereas if they accepted another offer then they are back to square one which could also fall out of bed etc etc.
They would be mad to lose a committed buyer for the sake of £500 especially as it would cost them more than that on a month by month basis.
Trommel said:
Herbs said:
They would be mad to lose a committed buyer for the sake of £500 especially as it would cost them more than that on a month by month basis.
Agreed, both agent and vendor have to be pragmatic about it.More information here
http://www.oft.gov.uk/about-the-oft/legal-powers/l...
Gunk said:
It's nothing to do with the agent, they are an intermediary, it is the client (the vendor) who is the decision maker, the agent has an legal obligation to communicate all offers to the client even if the property is under offer.
More information here
http://www.oft.gov.uk/about-the-oft/legal-powers/l...
I'm fully aware of how it's supposed to work ...More information here
http://www.oft.gov.uk/about-the-oft/legal-powers/l...
Well, the plot thickens..
First of all, thanks for all the advice so far!
After much deliberation, we decided to up the offer to £2k above the Public Notice. The other party supposedly then increased their offer to the same, so we topped it up another £500, to which we are now the highest bidder.
We are now being told by the estate agent, that the other party are first time buyers, have worked really hard to get it and get a mortgage, so you can't have it no matter what you bid for it...
I've never, in my life, experienced anything like this. It's an utter joke...talk about feeling hopeless!
Do I go in all guns blazing, or should I just walk away without a fight and accept that no matter what we do, they are so corrupt, we still won't get it?
I'm really struggling now in terms of what to do next...
First of all, thanks for all the advice so far!
After much deliberation, we decided to up the offer to £2k above the Public Notice. The other party supposedly then increased their offer to the same, so we topped it up another £500, to which we are now the highest bidder.
We are now being told by the estate agent, that the other party are first time buyers, have worked really hard to get it and get a mortgage, so you can't have it no matter what you bid for it...
I've never, in my life, experienced anything like this. It's an utter joke...talk about feeling hopeless!
Do I go in all guns blazing, or should I just walk away without a fight and accept that no matter what we do, they are so corrupt, we still won't get it?
I'm really struggling now in terms of what to do next...
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