Call auctioneer or not?

Snakeweasel

I placed a bid on a house nearly a week ago and haven't heard anything back from the auctioneer.

I would be happy to sit tight based on what people have said on here, but this same auctioneer didn't let me know when I was outbid on a previous property I was bidding on.

The difference this time is that I know I am the only interested party. So as the title states, do I call him or sit tight and wait for him to call?

readytosnap

Call him and tell him you need an answer as you are planning on viewing a different property, he probably just needs a kick up the oul' you know what.

ThisRegard

If I was you I'd ring. Was your bid verbal or in writing? It's not unknown for a bid to go missing or forgotten about.

Snakeweasel

readytosnap wrote: »

Call him and tell him you need an answer as you are planning on viewing a different property, he probably just needs a kick up the oul' you know what.

Wish I was confident enough to pull that off!

Snakeweasel

ThisRegard wrote: »

If I was you I'd ring. Was your bid verbal or in writing? It's not unknown for a bid to go missing or forgotten about.

It was verbal, I'd be worried that he never told the seller as its on the market a couple of months and mine is the first bid, so I would have thought they would be back to me by now.

readytosnap

Snakeweasel wrote: »

Wish I was confident enough to pull that off!

It's only a phone call, you can do it.
Tell him your initial bid is time sensitive as well, put an expiry date on it, it will encourage him to get a response.
It is in his best interest to make a sale.

TeaBagMania

Don t know what it is about the Irish property market but there seem to be more messers than anywhere else.

In the US we hear back within 24-48 hours with an acceptance, denial, or counter offer, never seems to be the case in Ireland.

Call the auctioneer and ask them for an update as you are interested in other properties, simple as that

maximum12

If I was you, I'd phone him and ask does he have any feedback on your bid.

Then just shut up and listen to what he says. No point trying to "out play" these people. It's what they do for a living.

Cheezeweasel

It's not generally a good idea to rely on verbal offers. If I was you I'd send an email quoting your earlier conversation and identifying the bid you made. Additionally I would add in a clause relating to the period that your bid is valid for (10 working days is generally a fair amount of time).

This means that the auctioneer is bound to inform the client and it puts pressure to accept or risk the loss of your bid. At the moment the auctioneer is probably using your offer as a tool to bring up the price i.e. using it as a guide price for everyone else inquiring about the property. Don't allow this.

When I bid on my house I told them my bid was valid for ten working days and close to the end of that period I called up and asked if the offer had been accepted as I had an appointment to have a second viewing of a different property in the coming days (in an area that the auctioneer does not operate in). That same day I went sale agreed.

Best of luck!

key_maker

interesting this auctioneer didnt get back to you before when you were interested in a house , thats the " prefered buyer " phenomenon

where an auctioneer has someone they favour to buy a property , the vendor may often not be aware of this , auctioneers sometimes take bribes from bidders and thus ignore potentially higher bidders , thus working against the interests of the person ( vendor ) they proport to represent first and foremost

c montgomery

Call them. Always be in as much control and as well informed as you can. It's a huge purchase, don't be messed around.

Snakeweasel

Bit of an update, rang him this day last week. He told me the bid was rejected (I was expecting this as it was only an opening offer intended to show that they were way off the mark on the price of the house given prices of similar properties in the area)

I increased my bid and surprise surprise haven't heard anything since. The way he sounded on the phone was like he never even went to the owner about it. I asked him if they gave any indication of what they may move down to and he got very flustered and said no. Now maybe I'm a little naive, but I can't imagine they would have just flat out refused and that would be the end of the conversation, surely part of his job is to cut a deal if that's what it takes to shift a property that has been on the market a number of months?

Maybe there is something to this preferred buyer thing and he is letting the house sit there for a few months and when this other buyer swoops in he will tell the seller that there is nobody else interested so they should take the offer.

I know the neighbours so know that I am still the only person who has viewed the property!

ThisRegard

Some sellers flat out refuse to move from the price a house is advertised as, even if it leaves their house on the market for a long time. It could be that they'd sell if they were offered a certain price, otherwise they're not too pushed on moving out. Might be why the agent seems to be doing nothing, but you'd expect him to encourage you a little in order to get it shifted.

pwurple

How low-ball did you go?

Are you dismissed as a time-waster? See the thing is, if you bid on another property, that agent knows how much you 'have' to spend.

Snakeweasel

I went 20% below asking price and came up to nearly 15% off the asking price. That might sound very low, but the asking price is over 15k more than the selling price of the last property in this estate that sold, which was a slightly larger detached. My offer is actually higher than the selling price was for that house!

Could there connection that I am from the area and properties very rarely come up around here and he would know that so thinks that he doesnt have to worry about me buying a different property?

ThisRegard

He shouldn't care if you live next door, the only thing on his mind should be shifting it and getting the best price for the client.

Snakeweasel

ThisRegard wrote: »

Some sellers flat out refuse to move from the price a house is advertised as, even if it leaves their house on the market for a long time. It could be that they'd sell if they were offered a certain price, otherwise they're not too pushed on moving out. Might be why the agent seems to be doing nothing, but you'd expect him to encourage you a little in order to get it shifted.

He actually indicated from the outset that he felt they would be open to offers!

TENHNY

I too was trying to decide where to contact the agent after placing an offer over a week ago, rang them yesterday to be update that other seller pulled out and that the offer is with the family, got some peace of mind,
have you anyone you could get to ring agent enquiring about the property

davindub

Snakeweasel wrote: »

He actually indicated from the outset that he felt they would be open to offers!

All estate agents are open to offers, they use your offer to show interest from other parties when dealing with enquiries.

My advice patience and look at other properties. Don't try and deal with the estate agent as a reasonable person or as if they are in a hurry to sell at a low price, they will hang on even for a difference of a couple of grand.

4ensic15

In some cases the owner is trying to find another house and wants to know how much their own house will make. They cannot accept an offer until they have bought.

The_Conductor

4ensic15 wrote: »

In some cases the owner is trying to find another house and wants to know how much their own house will make. They cannot accept an offer until they have bought.

This is very true.
'Bridging loans' used to be a common feature of the Irish property market before the bust- where the lenders provided finance to enable a buyer who owned a property go off and buy elsewhere- without needing to have sold their property first...........

The Seller could potentially be playing the market- they want to move- but before they do- they want to know what they might get for their property- before they'll actually seriously consider selling it.

Toss the fact that the auctioneer has defacto indicated he didn't even bother bringing the offer to the vendor- and you've got a complex situation.

OP- I'd be inclined to pop a letter in the letter box- if the seller is living there- indicating that you have made an offer of (whatever the offer was)- however you do not believe it has been brought to their attention.........

Snakeweasel

The_Conductor wrote: »

This is very true.
'Bridging loans' used to be a common feature of the Irish property market before the bust- where the lenders provided finance to enable a buyer who owned a property go off and buy elsewhere- without needing to have sold their property first...........

The Seller could potentially be playing the market- they want to move- but before they do- they want to know what they might get for their property- before they'll actually seriously consider selling it.

Toss the fact that the auctioneer has defacto indicated he didn't even bother bringing the offer to the vendor- and you've got a complex situation.

OP- I'd be inclined to pop a letter in the letter box- if the seller is living there- indicating that you have made an offer of (whatever the offer was)- however you do not believe it has been brought to their attention.........

Seller doesnt actually live in the house, its a holiday home that they bought in the good times and realised that when they visit the area they prefer to stay with family.

I'm starting to wonder if the auctioneer is too busy to bother with this house, the amount of properties he has for sale in the last couple of weeks in his catchment area seems to have doubled and this is probably one of his least expensive ones so maybe he just isnt bothered if he sells it?

Tigger99

Would you go directly to the seller? The EA sounds like he couldn't care less.

Snakeweasel

Tigger99 wrote: »

Would you go directly to the seller? The EA sounds like he couldn't care less.

I'm on the verge of this but didnt know if it was a complete no-no?