"POA" in Property Listings - Why?

penana

In looking through online Home-For-Sale listings, each time I come across "POA" [Price on Application], I can't help but wonder if the Seller/Estate Agent isn't just a flaming eejit.

At a time when few enough people can even dream of buying a home, they must be thick as stumps to think anyone would want to be bothered enquiring about a listing which pretty much screams, "this house/apartment/kip is so bloody expensive we haven't the nerve to tell you how much it costs."

Sorry, but this really browns me off as just a total waste of time!

the_syco

The only reason I can think of is if you search by price, they'll be the first to come up, if you do "cheapest first".

mollzer

It puts me (as a potential buyer) right off!
Dont understand the reasoning behind it either.
I look for a house in my price range and ignore the POA houses.

johndaman66

the_syco wrote: »

The only reason I can think of is if you search by price, they'll be the first to come up, if you do "cheapest first".

And even thats hardly a convincing reason. Buying a house is hardly like buying a football on ebay. People are going to do a pretty thorough search. I just assume the asking price is going to be a relatively silly high price when I see POA. Oddly if you sort by price on myhome.ie POA's are dotted throughout the results.

amacca

johndaman66 wrote: »

And even thats hardly a convincing reason. Buying a house is hardly like buying a football on ebay. People are going to do a pretty thorough search. I just assume the asking price is going to be a relatively silly high price when I see POA. Oddly if you sort by price on myhome.ie POA's are dotted throughout the results.

round my way it seems to be slapped on the ahem "trophy" houses

y'know....victorian period residence on its own grounds with stables and a bidet in every room...would suit those with equestrian interests POA

translation: eff off peasant...........if you're not either a) loaded and/or b) insane (but with a proven history of backing it up with a wallet)...we dont want you wasting our time oohing and aahing and getting your grubby paw prints all over the gaff.....we intend to filter out sightseers as much as much as possible by making them work for it.


If the vendors aren't under pressure and are determined to hold out for fairytale prices for as long as it takes (and it could take quite a while) or its only valuable to them if its offloaded at that price.....I say fine, move along nothing to see here.

If on the other hand they actually want to sell asap and get the best price within a reasonable time frame/get a bit of movement ......then I agree with the OP, then why?

The only reason I can come up with is fear.....vendor(s)probably don't want to show weakness (that they need you or your cash) and lose any bargaining position they might have as the balance of power then shifts to the buyer in the negotiation if he/she is the only one and they could end up getting even less than their worst case scenario.

I wouldn't let it bother you....I could be wrong but in my opinion there will be plenty of opportunities down the road...and all that glistens may not be gold considering the spectre of property tax (possibly based on floor area..who knows) and water rates etc looming large at some stage in the future.


not in the least interested in buying but have been looking at one thats been advertised for at least the last 3 years with POA slapped on it all that time.....they must be holding out for some mad foreigner to make their payday.


on related note, beginning to see properties id previously seen with sale agreed signs on them a year or longer ago(think sold in one case) come back on the market with the same asking prices or higher:eek:

How delusional do you have to be....unless there are other reasons to advertise the property for sale....have to pretend to the bank you are trying to sell it or something?

BostonB

POA for most things means run away.

Senna

I asked a vendor (friend) why their house was POA, he said the EA asked them to drop the price, but they couldn't (negative equity), so they EA said we'll put it on at POA, it might get some attention, as it was getting bugger all before.
Basically the house was getting no interest as the price was too high, it was just going to sit on the EA's books forever, so the EA tried POA.

RATM

POA just signals to me that the vendor/EA is trying to distort market information. Wouldn't even give 'em a click

TwoShedsJackson

Senna wrote: »

Basically the house was getting no interest as the price was too high, it was just going to sit on the EA's books forever, so the EA tried POA.

Did it work?

johndaman66

TwoShedsJackson wrote: »

Did it work?

Without knowing anymore I'd be very very surprised if it did. Shocked in fact.

The_Conductor

Senna wrote: »

I asked a vendor (friend) why their house was POA, he said the EA asked them to drop the price, but they couldn't (negative equity), so they EA said we'll put it on at POA, it might get some attention, as it was getting bugger all before.
Basically the house was getting no interest as the price was too high, it was just going to sit on the EA's books forever, so the EA tried POA.

So- anyone who might potentially be interested in the property now has to go to the trouble of contacting the estate agent before they drop the property from their searches like a hot potato...... All thats happening here is the estate agent is pissing off people who might actually be genuinely interested in a property.

As for the vendor being unable to sell below a certain level because of negative equity- thats a crock. The market will determine what the value of a property is- and everything is worth what its buyer is willing to pay for it. The circumstances of the vendor do not enter the equation. If the market price of the property is below what the vendor is willing to accept- then he or she is not and should not be annoying everyone with their overpriced property.

I don't know who to feel sorriest for here- the potential purchasers who are having their time wasted- or (shudder) the estate agent who quite simply is never going to earn a commission unless the vendor accepts a changed reality and drops their asking price.

oflahero

Yes, it's the huge swathe of denial out there that is causing vendors to try to cut out the estate agent at the very time that the estate agent could actually be of most help to them.

Another example I'm seeing of this is a lot more 'For Sale - Contact Owner' signs around the place with a phone number and a daft shortcode. This inevitably leads to a hilariously high-priced daft ad. You can just imagine them huffing out of the local EA's office, outraged, yes OUTRAGED at the insultingly low valuation put on their lovely gaff by the EA who is trying to impress on them just a a smidge of reality.

There's one outside my (rented) apartment complex at the moment asking 365k for a 2-bed, where the same 2-beds were asking 299k six months ago through local EAs and then mysteriously disappearing after gathering dust without going sale agreed.

Raskolnikov

If you have to ask, you probably can't afford it

mollzer

Raskolnikov wrote: »

If you have to ask, you probably can't afford it

This is probably the reason alright. The POA houses are for people who dont need to search by price.

Senna

TwoShedsJackson wrote: »

Did it work?

Just checked on daft.ie and the i cant see the house, if it had of sold i'm sure i would have heard, much more likely they took it off the market completely.

Duckjob

POA = "I'm deep in denial fooling myself that we're still in 2006, and I want you to play along with my little fiction and pay me 2-3 times what my property is worth."

It's almost annoying as sellers who think they can slap a fancy pretentious name on their bog standard gaff and double the price.

Murt10

Duckjob wrote: »

POA =

It's almost annoying as sellers who think they can slap a fancy pretentious name on their bog standard gaff and double the price.

Don't be so nasty and horrible. I absolutely love to see names on houses in modern estates where a number was good enough for everyone else.

I mean, didn't even Vera Duckworth have a name on her beautiful, exquisite, impressive stone cladded terraced house. It was her pride and joy. Can't remember the name of the house off hand, but it was very impressive.

ToxicPaddy

It could be worse, a site with full planning permission near my parents house was on the market for about 2 years for 450k, no sign of a sale, dropped over a period of time to €350k, then €250k then to €200K, as soon as it did, there was some interest, then it suddenly rockets to €305k.. no idea wtf the EA is doing, as people are now walking away as he's screwing people around..

Back on topic, the POA thing I reckon is to suss out people who ask to view it, once they have you on the phone or in front of them, they can assess if you're the type of person who can really get the money for it.

If so, then the hard sell and the games start like "oh we have an offer greater than that amount from another potential buyer" etc..

Treehouse72

Ste.phen

Denial is a river in Sudan?

Smcgie

penana wrote: »

In looking through online Home-For-Sale listings, each time I come across "POA" [Price on Application], I can't help but wonder if the Seller/Estate Agent isn't just a flaming eejit.

At a time when few enough people can even dream of buying a home, they must be thick as stumps to think anyone would want to be bothered enquiring about a listing which pretty much screams, "this house/apartment/kip is so bloody expensive we haven't the nerve to tell you how much it costs."

Sorry, but this really browns me off as just a total waste of time!

I've single handedly managed to reduce our town to 1 single EA that writes POA on adverts including Daft.

Here's how. If your browsing the add either in the paper or Daft contact the EA via email or telephone, you can copy and paste this.... It really works...

"Hello are you faking stupid? Whyyyyy do you not put the price of the fcuking house on the website or in the add, how the fcuk am I supposed to know what the asking price is. I am NOT going to ring you every farts end to find out what the price is. Now get your act together and remove your stupid POA you clown."

seriously when you see an add with POA send that via the daft contact page... It works"

I hate their stupid Childs play

jmayo

smccarrick wrote: »

...
I don't know who to feel sorriest for here- the potential purchasers who are having their time wasted- or (shudder) the estate agent who quite simply is never going to earn a commission unless the vendor accepts a changed reality and drops their asking price.

Wash your mouth and pray to God you forget those thoughts of feeling sorry for EAs.

oflahero wrote: »

Yes, it's the huge swathe of denial out there that is causing vendors to try to cut out the estate agent at the very time that the estate agent could actually be of most help to them.

Another example I'm seeing of this is a lot more 'For Sale - Contact Owner' signs around the place with a phone number and a daft shortcode. This inevitably leads to a hilariously high-priced daft ad. You can just imagine them huffing out of the local EA's office, outraged, yes OUTRAGED at the insultingly low valuation put on their lovely gaff by the EA who is trying to impress on them just a a smidge of reality.

There's one outside my (rented) apartment complex at the moment asking 365k for a 2-bed, where the same 2-beds were asking 299k six months ago through local EAs and then mysteriously disappearing after gathering dust without going sale agreed.

Know a property in Wicklow that went on sale early 2008 for 1.6 million.
At time I reckoned it should be 1.3 million.
Lo and behold eventually did come advertised at 1.35.
At that stage I reckoned it should be 0.9 million.
Then property was readvertised under a million with another estate agent and a couple of new glossy photos added but still no sale.
Then it was advertised by the owners and on daft.

Last I noticed it was still circa 0.9 million and advertised by yet another EA.

Almost as big a laugh as 1 acre site near Glencree in Wicklow, where it would be impossible to getting planning permission, on sale for 200,000.

FFS do some of these sellers still think there are a bunch of totally naive gobs***es out there nevermind the fact that no one can no longer borrow a penny.

mollzer wrote: »

This is probably the reason alright. The POA houses are for people who dont need to search by price.

And that is a huge chunk of people.

Ste.phen wrote: »

Denial is a river in Sudan?

Longest river in the world, much like we have the longest bubble bursting in the world.
Funny isn't it. :rolleyes:

Smcgie

Smcgie wrote: »

I've single handedly managed to reduce our town to 1 single EA that writes POA on adverts including Daft.

Here's how. If your browsing the add either in the paper or Daft contact the EA via email or telephone, you can copy and paste this.... It really works...

"Hello are you faking stupid? Whyyyyy do you not put the price of the fcuking house on the website or in the add, how the fcuk am I supposed to know what the asking price is. I am NOT going to ring you every farts end to find out what the price is. Now get your act together and remove your stupid POA you clown."

seriously when you see an add with POA send that via the daft contact page... It works"

I hate their stupid Childs play

How do you know it really works ? Do they email you back to apologize for wasting your money and immediately put a price on the property?

Graham

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