Buying a house 2013!

adam88

killers1 wrote: »

Talk to your solicitor, but you're in a stronger position if contracts were exchanged.

Ya he says I can force the sale. But I'm worried that it will be a costly and messy experience

killers1

adam88 wrote: »

Ya he says I can force the sale. But I'm worried that it will be a costly and messy experience

I wouldn't be surprised if the vendor eventually agrees to the sale. I'm sure their solicitor has explained the consequences of signing binding contracts. Maybe they just need a bit of time & space to come to the same conclusion.

quad_red

adam88 wrote: »

Absolutely devastated.

Sale agreed start of feb. contracts signed start of April. Delay was due to issue with maps and vendor being ill. Alas I though I'd have my house Friday two weeks ago.

But then things went pear shaped. The vendor now doesn't want to sell the house due to an emotional attachment. Talk about a saga

Nothing to add but commiserations - very disappointing and hope it works out.

khards

I would be looking for compensation, because if the shoe was on the other foot you would be kissing goodbye to your deposit.

kennyb3

khards wrote: »

I would be looking for compensation, because if the shoe was on the other foot you would be kissing goodbye to your deposit.

+1, minimum of what you paid out (valuation, survey, solicitor costs to date etc etc)

Skipper12

Well just to update....

signed the mortgage deeds today and got the keys just over an hour ago!

We are absolutely delighted with our new HOME and can not recommend Killers enough!!!!

He made the whole process absolutely stress free for us.

Thanks Killian and good luck to all others with their purchases!!

Woodville56

Has any of you Boards folk used, or considered using, a buyers broker to source a property and handle the negotiations/auctions etc
Newbies to the house hunting scene here and feeling a bit daunted by the whole negotiating, legals, surveying minefield as per many of the postings on this topic We know that such advice/ representation comes at a significant cost but is it worth it ?
Views welcome please !

quad_red

Right - so gonna put a bid in on a house we're very interested in tomorrow.

Asking price is 275k - and the EA isn't taking the piss. Selling prices in the area have been between 260k and 290k in the last 12 months.

So there are (according to the EA) two other bidders involved.

Bidding is at 262k currently. We would be happy to pay asking but aren't sure how to proceed.

Mrs thinks go all in and say we'd offer asking if they take it off the market immediately.

I don't think that will work - so I'm thinking we should offer 5k above the current bidding and then go up in 1k increments.

Any opinions/advice? So far we've bid on three houses this year. We were too hard on one, the second got away from us because a cash bidder came in and the vendors took it off the market immediately, the third one cos we caught the EA rotten making phantom bids up.

Hence - I am not looking forward to this either!

khards

No point in over paying, the other bidders will have their budget and so will you - there is no game and you will not scare anyone off.

It is quite simple that the highest offer gets the property. Each party interested in the property makes one or more bids until someone is willing to pay more than the others secures the deal.

Quite simply if you are prepared to pay more than the other bidders you get to live in the property.

Galego

quad_red wrote: »

Right - so gonna put a bid in on a house we're very interested in tomorrow.

Asking price is 275k - and the EA isn't taking the piss. Selling prices in the area have been between 260k and 290k in the last 12 months.

So there are (according to the EA) two other bidders involved.

Bidding is at 262k currently. We would be happy to pay asking but aren't sure how to proceed.

Mrs thinks go all in and say we'd offer asking if they take it off the market immediately.

I don't think that will work - so I'm thinking we should offer 5k above the current bidding and then go up in 1k increments.

Any opinions/advice? So far we've bid on three houses this year. We were too hard on one, the second got away from us because a cash bidder came in and the vendors took it off the market immediately, the third one cos we caught the EA rotten making phantom bids up.

Hence - I am not looking forward to this either!

It is a tough call. I have seen before people offering asking price and EA closing the sale with that without even checking with the other bidders.

Myself, I usually go all or nothing. If it is the right place for you, and you get it within your budget, it will NEVER feel like you overpaid for it.
I hate bidding wars so all or nothing is simple. One bid gets the deal done or I am already out and I move on.

TheDriver

I would think the opposite, play it handy, bid a few pound then go up if bids are against you. Worst case scenario, you get outbid or you pay full amount anyways

khards

TheDriver wrote: »

I would think the opposite, play it handy, bid a few pound then go up if bids are against you. Worst case scenario, you get outbid or you pay full amount anyways

And if two or more bidders are willing and able to pay more than the full price then it will sell for more than asking.

valleyoftheunos

adam88 wrote: »

Ya he says I can force the sale. But I'm worried that it will be a costly and messy experience

killers1 wrote: »

I wouldn't be surprised if the vendor eventually agrees to the sale. I'm sure their solicitor has explained the consequences of signing binding contracts. Maybe they just need a bit of time & space to come to the same conclusion.

I would think a letter from your Solicitor to the Vendor's Solicitor reminding them of the position and your intention to force a sale may bring the Vendor round and allow the sale to progress.

Best of Luck.

davet82

quad_red wrote: »

Right - so gonna put a bid in on a house we're very interested in tomorrow.

Asking price is 275k - and the EA isn't taking the piss. Selling prices in the area have been between 260k and 290k in the last 12 months.

So there are (according to the EA) two other bidders involved.

Bidding is at 262k currently. We would be happy to pay asking but aren't sure how to proceed.

Mrs thinks go all in and say we'd offer asking if they take it off the market immediately.

I don't think that will work - so I'm thinking we should offer 5k above the current bidding and then go up in 1k increments.

Any opinions/advice? So far we've bid on three houses this year. We were too hard on one, the second got away from us because a cash bidder came in and the vendors took it off the market immediately, the third one cos we caught the EA rotten making phantom bids up.

Hence - I am not looking forward to this either!

personally i'd just keep topping up with 1ks til somebody has to bow out just hopefully its not you! whats the point of paying an extra 10k if the others bidders bow out after your next bid, its gonna go for the price its gonna go for one way or the other if you think about it so you might as well save any money you can.

fingers crossed for you, good luck!

makeorbrake

davet82 wrote: »

personally i'd just keep topping up with 1ks til somebody has to bow out just hopefully its not you! whats the point of paying an extra 10k if the others bidders bow out after your next bid, its gonna go for the price its gonna go for one way or the other if you think about it so you might as well save any money you can.

Possibly - but if you go with 1k - bid by bid - then have already thought out what your max is - and make a promise to yourself not to go above this. I'd imagine it's easier to get sucked in to a bidding war this way...

Skittlebrau

makeorbrake wrote: »

Possibly - but if you go with 1k - bid by bid - then have already thought out what your max is - and make a promise to yourself not to go above this. I'd imagine it's easier to get sucked in to a bidding war this way...

We've just gone through it and got so many conflicting bits of 'advice' from people. In the end, it was us and one other party involved. They were going up by 1k each time and we went up 2k (not sure exactly why, we figured it might hurt more for them if they essentially had to fork out 3k each round). We were still below our walk away point.

Eventually they upped it by 7k at once and we got the impression that it was their last throw of the dice so we went 1k more and that was it. Sale agreed. We could have gone another 1k but that was it.

Still waiting to sign the flipping contracts though.

khards

Skittlebrau wrote: »

Eventually they upped it by 7k at once and we got the impression that it was their last throw of the dice so we went 1k more and that was it. Sale agreed.

Thats exactly my thoughts on bidding, if someone makes a huge increment or offers asking from the outset, then it is very likely that is the highest they can go, so another 1k over a large increment or offer of asking price is likely to snatch the deal.
Of course you can never be sure that there is another 'real' bidder.

My advice would be to always set a maxim that you will not go over and to always start low in £1k increments.

Skittlebrau

khards wrote: »

Of course you can never be sure that there is another 'real' bidder.

By far the most frustrating part of the whole process.

I really wish there was a better way.

Galego

Skittlebrau wrote: »

By far the most frustrating part of the whole process.

I really wish there was a better way.

It always feels to me that one is bidding against the EA and once the EA gets an amount which feels comfortable to close the sale with, then takes this to the seller and pretty much deal done!

khards

I have come across cases (Allman Reynolds) for example who will make up bids if your offer is below what the vendor will take. To be honest I wish that the auctioneer/estate agent was honest and told you what the score is.
If I am interested in viewing a property that has been on the market for a while and there is already a bid on it then you know that this is code for the vendor won't take less than X.
I believe that most of the fake bids are to get the bidder to offer a price that the vendor will accept.

valleyoftheunos

khards wrote: »

I have come across cases (Allman Reynolds) for example who will make up bids if your offer is below what the vendor will take. To be honest I wish that the auctioneer/estate agent was honest and told you what the score is.
If I am interested in viewing a property that has been on the market for a while and there is already a bid on it then you know that this is code for the vendor won't take less than X.
I believe that most of the fake bids are to get the bidder to offer a price that the vendor will accept.

I'm not saying that dishonesty is ever ok but if the EA knows your offer won't be accepted then you haven't suffered any detriment.

khards

valleyoftheunos wrote: »

I'm not saying that dishonesty is ever ok but if the EA knows your offer won't be accepted then you haven't suffered any detriment.

True, but some honesty whilst being in the process of the biggest financial transaction that you are likely to make is not to much to ask for.

It is not like you are buying a used car and someone is telling a few porkies.

Shedite27

Suppose we are all looking at it from the one side. We'd love to know exactly who we're bidding against.

The "Selling a house 2013" thread would have a different opinion.

A Primal Nut

Probably been mentioned but the number of rentals is reducing and rent prices are going way up. As long as you buy in a good area in Dublin, you will always be able to rent in case you ever fall into difficulty or prices reduce a lot more. A good rental market will probably stop prices going down much further.

That said if you are thinking of buying in area without a big rental market its possibly a bigger risk.

quad_red

My wife berates me for being totally cynical but I'm afraid after months of this, I think pretty much everything an EA says is a lie! :P

Although, I'm sort of hopeful that this lot seem pretty straight.

The price register has brought much needed transparency to pricing. It would be so awesome if there was some sort of 'e-tender' register where you could see the real bids in writing rather than trying to ascertain whether EAs were talking out of their BMW driving bum holes.

valleyoftheunos

khards wrote: »

True, but some honesty whilst being in the process of the biggest financial transaction that you are likely to make is not to much to ask for.

It is not like you are buying a used car and someone is telling a few porkies.

You're right of course but I don't think a few shenanigans by the EA have done you any actual harm if your initial offer was not going to succeed in the first place.

If the phantom bids continue after that its a different matter entirely.

TheDriver

selling a house is something I did last year and I am horrified to hear the crap out of EAs mouths. You either accept or reject a bid, p**s people about and they will go elsewhere unless you have a magnificant house at a good price with lots of interest.

killers1

quad_red wrote: »

My wife berates me for being totally cynical but I'm afraid after months of this, I think pretty much everything an EA says is a lie! :P

Although, I'm sort of hopeful that this lot seem pretty straight.

The price register has brought much needed transparency to pricing. It would be so awesome if there was some sort of 'e-tender' register where you could see the real bids in writing rather than trying to ascertain whether EAs were talking out of their BMW driving bum holes.

You are perfectly entitled to walk into an EA's office and ask to see the 'Bid Book' on any particular property you are putting an offer on which is a record of the offers received to date etc... Phantom bidders are not a thing of the past unfortunately, but are certainly not widespread and not common practice amongst larger estate agencies.

valleyoftheunos

killers1 wrote: »

You are perfectly entitled to walk into an EA's office and ask to see the 'Bid Book' on any particular property you are putting an offer on which is a record of the offers received to date etc... Phantom bidders are not a thing of the past unfortunately, but are certainly not widespread and not common practice amongst larger estate agencies.

A number of people have told me they thought they were up against Phantom bidders recently only to have to admit afterwards that they in fact lost out to them which would suggest that they are much less common than people believe.

killers1

valleyoftheunos wrote: »

A number of people have told me they thought they were up against Phantom bidders recently only to have to admit afterwards that they in fact lost out to them which would suggest that they are much less common than people believe.

I'd well believe it. EA's won't risk a minute amount of commission nowadays by risking a sale to a willing buyer.