Do estate agents have to pass every offer on to vendor?

Ldb_236

Hi there, I wanted to ask if an estate agent should be passing on all offers to the vendor rather than managing a bidding war himself?

Long story short, we bid on a property last Tuesday (offered the asking price) and were promptly informed by the estate agent that the other couple who had also been at the viewing with us were interested as well and that he'd have to go back to them to see if they wanted to make an offer too, which apparently they did. His secretary has been back and forth to us over the past two days managing the bids which have gradually crept up to over 10k over the asking price (still a good deal mind you). My question is, should they be doing this? I know the vendor's circumstances from having friends in the area and know that he absolutely wants a quick sale due to personal reasons. As far as I can tell, he is not even aware that our offer went in last Tuesday or that this bidding war is now going on. How long can the estate agent drag this out for? I know I'm cynical but after being in the house buying process for a while now, I'm not even 100% sure the other couple are even bidding at this point other than what the secretary is relaying to us

Any advice greatly appreciated!

April 73

Make sure the estate agent emails all of the offers & current bids to you. Only give your bid by emails too.

There is less likely to be messing going on if there is a written trail.

Why do you think the seller is unaware? He is waiting for one of you to be beaten in price. A week is not long when bids are coming in.

Ldb_236

April 73 wrote: »

Why do you think the seller is unaware? He is waiting for one of you to be beaten in price.

Thanks April. I guess what I'm wondering is, if he is NOT aware that these bids are coming in from ourselves and the other couple, should he be? Or is it accepted that an estate agent will manage the bids until one person drops out, and only then go to the vendor with the highest one? Just not sure how it works.

Bigcheeze

EA did not come back to me with every offer when selling but gave me a summary of state of play after about 2 days which I was fine with. They're paid to manage the process. Summary was along the lines of: "Mr. X offered, Mr Y came back with 2k higher, Z was interested but dropped out at this stage. I tried to get X to go higher but they're not budging. So that's where we are, what do you want to do?"

Ldb_236

That makes sense, and is more than likely what'll happen here! Thanks a million

April 73

I was a buyer & seller within the last year. As a seller I wanted to know exactly what was happening with bids & the bidder's situation.
Maybe other sellers are different & only want to know when the final price is reached?
Yes, EAs manage the process & advise sellers - not just on the highest bid but also on who is most likely to complete the purchase & follow-through.

Why don't you ask the EA what is being reported to the seller? You are involved in the process - you're entitled to ask questions of the EA. They may or may not give you more info - but ultimately it's in their interest to sell the property.

CaoimheSquee

Yes they are to revert with all bids, but if you have an active situation they may have to summarize it for the vendor who may not be in the position to take so many phone calls or emails. However, ALL of the bids will be recorded.

Bigcheeze

April 73 wrote: »

I was a buyer & seller within the last year. As a seller I wanted to know exactly what was happening with bids & the bidder's situation.
Maybe other sellers are different & only want to know when the final price is reached?

I should add that he also told me stuff like "X is renting and has no house to sell"(which was a critical differentiator a few years ago when little was moving) and "Y is a person buying on behalf of their daughter but I have verified finance is in place"

davo10

EAs work for the seller, not for you therefore they are not there to help you, the EA will only inform you about other bids, that's it, the rest is up to the seller.

Many sellers (including myself) instruct the EA that the property will not sell below a certain price so I don't need to be informed of bids below this price. Also, many sellers instruct EAs that bids should only be considered when they go up in increments of X thousands eg 1/2/5.

It doesn't matter that you think the seller needs a quick sale, it doesn't matter how quick he wants it, he won't sell while there is a active bidding process in motion so what you will have to gauge is, should I keep bidding, should I delay bids, should I bump it up (€10k over asking is not that much, a lot of sellers put properties on the market below what they will accept to generate interest) or should I walk away?

Peregrinus

The estate agents works for the vendor, and whether the estate agent is to manage the bidding process and only go back to the vendor when he has a bid that he recommends be accepted, or is to consult the vendor at every turn, is something to be agreed between the vendor and his or her agent. As a person making an offer, it's absolutely none of your business how the relationship between the vendor and his agent is handled.