Counter Offer - What To Do?

September2013

I'm currently looking to buy a house. The first thing I should say is a big thanks to this forum because I have learned a lot from reading the postings

Here's the situation

I recently made an offer on a house. I offered almost 40k below the asking price. The EA said that she would relay the offer and get back to me. She called me about a week later saying that there was an offer 10k higher than my bid. I said that I would need to think carefully, and see the house once more before I would even consider making another offer

I have no information as to whether the other bidder is real or fake or whether the EA informed other bidders of my offer. Given the jump in the counter bid, I have to assume either a fake or ignorant bid. Since there are more unknowns than knowns I can't really infer anything for certain.

My dilemma is whether to offer another bid. My offer was low (in fact considerably lower than my solicitor suggested), but at the same time the bid jumped. One option would be to walk away, and see whether the house goes sale agreed. A second option would be to wait it out to see how many other bids come in. A third option would be to offer a very small incremental above the other offer. This offer would still be commensurate with the sale value of recent properties in the area.

I know a lot in the forum will go for A that there are lots of properties etc etc etc but in my opinion this property is marginally more attractive than the other properties in the area i'm looking at.

Thanks
September

Any advice would be appreciated

D3PO

September2013 wrote: »

in my opinion this property is marginally more attractive than the other properties in the area i'm looking at.

You just answered your own question.

You said you offered significantly under what other properties in the area were going for recently. So either make a final offer or walk away.

tigershould

I would ask myself how much do i want to pay? then make a small incremental offer. This could lead to a bidding war at which point keep making small incremental bids until you reach the maximum you're willing to pay (which you'd already decided before you started bidding).

I caveat that I've no expertise in this matter :-)

Trish56

You did start well below asking price by bidding 40k less surely you more or less knew that there would be other bids and it would be normal for another bidder to start at 130k. Have you a plan to work up to what you think you are willing and can afford to pay for the property. If you really want this property well then you should consider upping the current bid by 2k.

Best of luck

TheDriver

and be ready to walk away once you reach that maximum

mari2222

somebody else obviously wants it more than you did when you bid. Let it go. Go after a different house. There are plenty of 'em, and more for sale every day.

Woodville56

September2013 wrote: »

I recently made an offer on a house. I offered almost 40k below the asking price. The EA said that she would relay the offer and get back to me. She called me about a week later saying that there was an offer 10k higher than my bid. I said that I would need to think carefully, and see the house once more before I would even consider making another offer

I have no information as to whether the other bidder is real or fake or whether the EA informed other bidders of my offer. Given the jump in the counter bid, I have to assume either a fake or ignorant bid.

I would agree with earlier posters - set your limit and advance incrementally to that limit if other bidding continues. As regards the veracity of the other bid, how long has the property been on the market ? If it's been there months/years even , it would be a bit coincidental that the 10k bid in excess of your opening offer would happen within a week of your bid ???

Santa Cruz

TheDriver wrote: »

and be ready to walk away once you reach that maximum

Absolutely. If the auctioneer is bluffing he/she will be back to you at which point you can play hard ball and drop your offer by a few thousand

Malena72

I find 10k to be a massive hike, why would any person jump by 10k, surely they like you would want to buy it as cheaply as they can? I'd be looking elsewhere if I were you, even if this is the house you really love.

the_syco

September2013 wrote: »

I recently made an offer on a house. I offered almost 40k below the asking price. The EA said that she would relay the offer and get back to me. She called me about a week later saying that there was an offer 10k higher than my bid. I said that I would need to think carefully, and see the house once more before I would even consider making another offer

How long has the house been on the market?

The_Conductor

Malena72 wrote: »

I find 10k to be a massive hike, why would any person jump by 10k, surely they like you would want to buy it as cheaply as they can? I'd be looking elsewhere if I were you, even if this is the house you really love.

Its not necessarily a massive hike. Its still 30k below asking, and below the cost of comparable properties in the area. The other bidder (if they exist- they may very well be phantom in nature), may have decided- well- if you were only going to pay (what you offered)- by offering 10k more- it'll blow your offer out of the water, and they will be a shoe-in for the property.

How much do you want the property.
Are there properties as desireable in the immediate vicinity.
How long has it been on the market.
How does your offer compare to the last sale prices on the register.
What (general) area is the property in (aka- is it an area of reasonable demand).

You've set the bar low for alternate offers on the property- by going in so low- and in some (limited number of areas) the market has turned- purely because of a lack of desireable property on the market. Sometimes you can be too intelligent for your own good by going in with a lowball offer- when a marginally higher offer might have secured the property straight off.

Location is key to all of this- if we're talking about somewhere in the midlands or west- walk, you'll get better for less down the road- prices are continuing to fall.

If you're talking about Dublin/Cork/Galway (and to a lesser extent Clare, Wexford Town and a few other high demand places)- you have to decide whether you want the property or not- and whether its worth pulling out in the hope of something else coming up- there is a lack of supply in these areas- when something else comes up- it could well be more expensive.

Throwing in a lowball offer- is not always the right thing to do- in this instance- it would appear you've lowered the bar to the extent that this has become a property that other parties may have dismissed on price grounds- but its now within their budgets.

I am guessing their 10k hike- is an attempt to blow you out of the water- if it is in fact genuine- and one way or the other, you have some serious thinking to do.

conandoyle

My heart goes out to all involved in buying a house at the moment. The stress it leads to can do your head in. Any advice for me. I put an offer in on a house last week. I went in below the asking but my offer is the highest still. The EA now says that the vendor want all prospective buyers to have and engineers report down before he accepts any bids. He also told me that the other bidders had this done. I don't see why I should spent 300 plus on a report which may be for nothing and of no use to me if I am outbid. I feel like I have to pay for the privilege of bidding. How am I going to handle the EA.
He seem a nice guy and genuine. By the way I am ready to for the sale, I don't have to wait to sell my place. Any advice or thoughts would be much appreciated.

D3PO

id say the seller doesn't want messing around with bids being reduced after sales agreed due to x and y showing up in the engineers report.

However I find it unreasonable to expect somebody to pay for an engineers report before having an offer accepted. If my theory is right then the seller should pay for an engineers report that can be shared with prospective bidders. No way should somebody be expected to "pay for the privledge of bidding"

conandoyle

Thanks for the reply. It confirmed what was in my own head but you know sometimes you need to hear someone else say it. I'm going to tell the EA that my offer still stands. If my bid is accepted then I will go ahead with the engineers report. What does my head in though is that it is supposed to be a buyers market and looking at the post here does not seem to reflect this which is odd.