Advertisement
If you have a new account but are having problems posting or verifying your account, please email us on hello@boards.ie for help. Thanks :)
Hello all! Please ensure that you are posting a new thread or question in the appropriate forum. The Feedback forum is overwhelmed with questions that are having to be moved elsewhere. If you need help to verify your account contact hello@boards.ie

Is this strange... advice please!

Options
  • 13-08-2015 2:41pm
    #1
    Goldenlady
    Registered Users Posts: 342 ✭✭


    So I am trying to buy a house! I found one I loved, there was a bit in already for asking price of €140k I went above this by 5k. I chased the estate agent for an entire week and he finally called back to say there were two others bidding, and the latest bid was at €150k.. but he said to me that both other couples had their engineers report done at this stage - he said if I want to continue bidding I need to get an engineers report done!


    I advised him I found this very strange, as that is not something I would expect to do until sale agreed. He was very agressive about this. I put in another bid of incremental €5k and told him I would get report done on sale agreed. He rang then to say that the other two bidders are up at €160k and that the house is in negative equity and that the couple are not looking to turn this into a bidding war.. they want it closed out as soon as possible - he said they are not making profit on this (But surely they want the highest price if in negative equity?) plus he said that they need an engineers report for the bank (again banks only look for valuations I thought)


    I am just finding this process strange... is this the norm?


Comments

  • Options
    #2
    Rew
    Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 8,679 Mod ✭✭✭✭Rew


    If he is insisting on the engineers report would suggest there is a problem he thinks might put you off


  • Options
    #3
    Goldenlady
    Registered Users Posts: 342 ✭✭Goldenlady


    thanks for that. he said the other bidders had it done and all is fine, he just needs it if I am to continue bidding! it all sounds a bit strange to me to be honest and i think ill just pull out of bidding!


  • Options
    #4
    Potatoeman
    Registered Users Posts: 4,322 ✭✭✭Potatoeman


    Is he trying to drum up business for surveyors? Its not free. If you pay 500 for it and they out bid you then its a total waste. Its not a waste if it fails though as you know there are problems and you pullout.


  • Options
    #5
    Rackstar
    Registered Users Posts: 1,347 ✭✭✭Rackstar


    Upping bids by 5k is madness. Calm down take your time.


  • Options
    #6
    Mike3549
    Registered Users Posts: 987 ✭✭✭Mike3549


    house is in negative equity and they want to close it ASAP? good luck with that. it could take a year to close, did they get the permission from the bank?


  • Advertisement
  • Options
    #7
    the_syco
    Registered Users Posts: 37,301 ✭✭✭✭the_syco


    Goldenlady wrote: »
    but he said to me that both other couples had their engineers report done at this stage - he said if I want to continue bidding I need to get an engineers report done!
    To me, this means that previous people had quit on getting their engineers report, and to avoid you going sale agreed and then pulling out, he's ensuring you know what's wrong with it now.
    Goldenlady wrote: »
    He rang then to say that the other two bidders are up at €160k and that the house is in negative equity and that the couple are not looking to turn this into a bidding war.. they want it closed out as soon as possible - he said they are not making profit on this
    Fishy. Negative equity means that the bank decides on if they'll allow the seller to sell for whatever price or not.
    Goldenlady wrote: »
    I chased the estate agent for an entire week and he finally called back to say there were two others bidding
    If someone chased me down for a week over a house sale, I'd also invent phantom bidders to push up the price. Getting the engineer's report just means that you're held on hook line and sinker. be careful showing an EA how much you want the house.


  • Options
    #8
    April 73
    Registered Users Posts: 846 ✭✭✭April 73


    Everything about this would tell me to run a mile. Why on earth should every bidder get an expensive survey report to stay in a bidding for a house in negative equity, where the bank may or may not agree to the sale? You can also be assured that it would take a long time to complete this sale because of the bank's involvement.
    Run.


  • Options
    #9
    Jen44
    Registered Users Posts: 455 ✭✭Jen44


    you've already heard the alarm bells yourself i would leave well enough alone. Also for future reference i would advise against increasing your bids by 5k each time its a big jump


  • Options
    #10
    The_Conductor
    Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 32,285 Mod ✭✭✭✭The_Conductor


    This is partly why need to have a similar scheme to in the UK- where the seller furnishes buyers with an buyers pack including an independent engineers report- which highlights any possible issues, and saves on each prospective buyer coming along and organising their own one.........

    With respect of the current situation- I'd 100% definitely not go up in bidding with the other bidders- I'd love to know what the engineers report uncovered though (to see whether or not its worth your while). As the estate agent- its not in his/her interest to have the property sitting around on their books for months on end- which is what is increasingly happening. They'd like to shift it- for whatever they can get- as fast as possible.

    Also- find out what the hell the story is vis-a-vis the negative equity sale. This is far more likely to be the reason a previous purchaser dropped the property like a hot potato.


  • Options
    #11
    spaceHopper
    Registered Users Posts: 3,996 ✭✭✭spaceHopper


    This is really simple, lets say you were the highest bidder, the seller goes to the bank and gets approval to sell, you get an engineer to look at it a find the drains need to be replaced at a cost of 20K so look for 20K off, the sell has to back to the bank and they delay everything and in the end say yes or no. Now multiply that by all the houses in NE and the banks are wasting a fortune looking at things twice. Banks must be telling the seller make the buyer get a report so that their offer is the final offer and won't change.

    You are quibbling about spending 500 Euros but jumped 5000, if you want the house get the report done.


  • Advertisement
  • Options
    #12
    karenalot
    Closed Accounts Posts: 196 ✭✭karenalot


    spaceHopper wrote: »
    This is really simple, lets say you were the highest bidder, the seller goes to the bank and gets approval to sell, you get an engineer to look at it a find the drains need to be replaced at a cost of 20K so look for 20K off, the sell has to back to the bank and they delay everything and in the end say yes or no. Now multiply that by all the houses in NE and the banks are wasting a fortune looking at things twice. Banks must be telling the seller make the buyer get a report so that their offer is the final offer and won't change.

    You are quibbling about spending 500 Euros but jumped 5000, if you want the house get the report done.

    +1

    I was the sole bidder on a bank owned property last year. I had bid a good amount under the asking. While the bank hinted that they would accept my bid they would not do so unless an engineers report was carried out first.

    The reason they gave was that they wanted my offer to be final. They did not want to accept my low offer and allow the report to be carried out after. The likelihood was that I would come back with an even lower offer again if issues were found. It was too messy and time consuming for them.


  • Options
    #13
    Goldenlady
    Registered Users Posts: 342 ✭✭Goldenlady


    thanks for the advice, I have decided to pull out of the bidding as I just have a bad feeling about this. Ill just keep searching. Ill definitely not be so eager the next time and go up in incrementals of €1000 max.


  • Options
    #14
    c montgomery
    Registered Users Posts: 2,122 ✭✭✭c montgomery


    I had this exact thing happen to me over a year ago.
    Viewed a house on Wednesday, had been on market for 10 weeks with no offers
    Estate agent advised he would only accept a bid after I had an engineers report
    Returned that Friday with my dad to view again, bid had been made on the house of 195 the EA said
    I called the following Friday to say I can have engineer look at the house on saturdat ( earliest I could get) .
    Called to confirm on Wednesday and Friday, spoke with secretary on Wednesday and all was ok, on Friday I was transferred to EA who told me he went sale agreed the previous Monday!!! Never got my message on Wednesday apparently!

    To sum up, house on the market for 10 weeks with little interest in it went sale agreed in 3 working days including engineers report while I could not get any engineer in the county for at least 5 working days!

    PPR showed that it sold for 25k less than I was willing to spent.

    EA was/is dodgy as f@$k if you ask me.


  • Options
    #15
    Marcusm
    Registered Users Posts: 10,344 ✭✭✭✭Marcusm


    The_Conductor wrote: »
    This is partly why need to have a similar scheme to in the UK- where the seller furnishes buyers with an buyers pack including an independent engineers report- which highlights any possible issues, and saves on each prospective buyer coming along and organising their own one.........

    With respect of the current situation- I'd 100% definitely not go up in bidding with the other bidders- I'd love to know what the engineers report uncovered though (to see whether or not its worth your while). As the estate agent- its not in his/her interest to have the property sitting around on their books for months on end- which is what is increasingly happening. They'd like to shift it- for whatever they can get- as fast as possible.

    Also- find out what the hell the story is vis-a-vis the negative equity sale. This is far more likely to be the reason a previous purchaser dropped the property like a hot potato.

    That is not the position in the UK; it was a proposal which was never implemented. The only requirement is an EPC which is what a BER report is called in the UK.


Advertisement