Currently buying/selling a house? How is it going? READ MOD NOTE POST #1

givyjoe

Klopp wrote: »

When a agent asks for your proof of Mortgage approval, do you cross out the sum amount? Are they in a position to request this is visible? I am curious as i suspect in one of our bidding on a house the agent used our amount to the sellers advantage?

Shouldn't need to see it for viewing, will need to see it at the point of sale agreed to confirm you actually have the funds. If the EA doesn't want to accept a redacted AIP, ask your broker to email and confirm you have the funds in place. I've only had one agent (at their clients request) check for sums before viewing, politely told where to go with that one. They have no business knowing your budget - they might want to know for future properties to contact you, but I wouldn't be giving that any info away.

C14N

brianc27 wrote: »

I feel that strategy worked for me anyway, the 'bidding war' lasted 3 days and I would never hold out on bids once the estate agent contacted me with the latest offer I immediately countered it by an extra 1000, the other bidders would take hours to come back and often would bid 2, 3 or 5 grand over, in the end the estate agent said they would recommend me to the vendor as winning bidder, I feel this was due to my quick replies once contacted

Fair enough. I'd like to hope that the agent would do a similar thing for us as we've been very quick with our responses, although I won't get my hopes up.

Red Silurian wrote: »

I've never heard of a lower bid being accepted

My parents sold their last house to the second-highest bidder, who under-bid by a pretty substantial amount (although still a little over asking price). Reason being that they and their agent didn't think the top bidder could really deliver. They were in a chain waiting to sell, and my parents thought they were substantially overestimating what they would sell for.

Never really heard of people discriminating against investors or state bodies though. I imagine for most sellers, having a wealthy cash buyer is a benefit. They can close the deal quickly and not wait for any banks or sales to go through. I'm sure some would oppose it on principle, especially these days, but when you're talking this level of money and your own home, I think most people put themselves first.

PropBuyer101 wrote: »

another strategy is to just say let me know when you are getting to final bids as not interested in bidding wars and just keep checking in to see what the latest offer is without putting a bid on.

One EA basically told me he wasnt going to update me and I had to put a bid on - I was like NO.

Not really much help though if the only bidders are you and one other party, or indeed if multiple people do what you propose. How will they know when they're getting to "final" bids if people are just sitting on the sidelines refusing to put in an offer? My partner and I initially thought our bid around 30k over asking would be the "final" bid, but now we're at around 80k over asking and still don't know when it will be done. How is the agent supposed to know?

Klopp wrote: »

When a agent asks for your proof of Mortgage approval, do you cross out the sum amount? Are they in a position to request this is visible? I am curious as i suspect in one of our bidding on a house the agent used our amount to the sellers advantage?

I thought they would demand to see it, but every agent I've spoken to is happy to take AIP with the amount redacted (one even said he would always do it himself if he was buying), so I would recommend doing this.

random_banter

PropBuyer101 wrote: »

they are supposed to tell you when there is a higher bid

Indeed - that's what we thought too. There seemed to be some hijinks with this house, whether caused by the seller or the agent, I do not know. It was sale agreed not once, twice.. but four times.

Dodge

Red Silurian wrote: »

I've never heard of a lower bid being accepted

Happens quite a lot from talking to friends and family in the market at the moment

A cash buyer might get it ahead of a first time buyer. A first time buyer might get it ahead of someone in a chain. We made an offer at an asking price but it wasn’t even considered as we were waiting to sell our house

Money isn’t the only consideration when selling a house. Speed and security come into play, particularly if you’ve previously gone sale agreed and it fell through

Klopp

C14N wrote: »

I thought they would demand to see it, but every agent I've spoken to is happy to take AIP with the amount redacted (one even said he would always do it himself if he was buying), so I would recommend doing this.

givyjoe wrote: »

Shouldn't need to see it for viewing, will need to see it at the point of sale agreed to confirm you actually have the funds. If the EA doesn't want to accept a redacted AIP, ask your broker to email and confirm you have the funds in place. I've only had one agent (at their clients request) check for sums before viewing, politely told where to go with that one. They have no business knowing your budget - they might want to know for future properties to contact you, but I wouldn't be giving that any info away.

I thought once our bid was successful then they would request the proof of funds but not before. I will redacted the sum before showing proof in future.


Thanks guys

PropBuyer101

C14N wrote: »

Fair enough. I'd like to hope that the agent would do a similar thing for us as we've been very quick with our responses, although I won't get my hopes up.



Not really much help though if the only bidders are you and one other party, or indeed if multiple people do what you propose. How will they know when they're getting to "final" bids if people are just sitting on the sidelines refusing to put in an offer? My partner and I initially thought our bid around 30k over asking would be the "final" bid, but now we're at around 80k over asking and still don't know when it will be done. How is the agent supposed to know?

Its up to the agent to coordinate the bids - if 6/7 people are biding on the property and there are still multiple viewings - you have every right to be checking in on latest offer and then putting your bid in last round. saves you some anxiety to be honest. but up to you what you prefer.

Dodge

Dodge wrote: »

Happens quite a lot from talking to friends and family in the market at the moment

A cash buyer might get it ahead of a first time buyer. A first time buyer might get it ahead of someone in a chain. We made an offer at an asking price but it wasn’t even considered as we were waiting to sell our house

Money isn’t the only consideration when selling a house. Speed and security come into play, particularly if you’ve previously gone sale agreed and it fell through

I agree that a seller would most likely take a lower offer from someone without a chain. I used that to my advantage and got my broker, when providing proof of funds to allow me to be able to bid, to include in the letter detail of how quick I could move, that there were no complications with my financing and that he would recommend me as a buyer.

I know from subsequent conversations with the agent that another participant was prepared to go higher, and things that the vendors would have hit €20k more, but they went with me (presumably the others were in a chain). I know that there’d been a previous sale fall through as well, so the vendors probably just wanted certainty over price

PropBuyer101

random_banter wrote: »

Indeed - that's what we thought too. There seemed to be some hijinks with this house, whether caused by the seller or the agent, I do not know. It was sale agreed not once, twice.. but four times.

yeah be careful. make sure you ask plenty of questions like:


- whats the latest offer;
- is the seller in a chain;
- is the seller sale agreed;
- when are they hoping to close;
- how many bidders;
- how many more viewings;
- when does seller want to go sale agreed;


more info you have, you can strategise better, also if you like something just go in at a low ball figure to get in the game and obviously the bids will take off, i dont think incremental bids should be done until viewings are closing out and its the last few bidders at the table (and the EA have to tell you how many bidders and highest bid) Just my opinion. Thanks!!!

cintec

I signed the contracts and sent them to the vendor 2 weeks ago, their solicitor was on annual leave so it was delayed but what is a reasonable time for them to sign and give us a final date?

ELM327

I mean, it makes sense that theres a preferential hierarchy of
cash buyer> mortgage with no chain> mortgage with small chain and all sale agreed > mortgage with "incomplete" chain.

So for example the seller may want to take a lower offer from the first 2 cohorts for a quicker sale

Glaceon

Glaceon wrote: »

Still in the early stages here. We have the contracts but our bank have been taking their time with the letter of offer. We sent them the final details on Saturday morning but they never responded so my wife called them today. They said they only sent the details to the underwriter yesterday and are expecting a response in 5 working days. So it'll be a week before we know for sure.

One of the things I'm a bit confused about is the management of the estate, and have asked my solicitor to clarify this. The developer has claimed in the documentation that the estate will be taken over by the county council but they also have a communal system for TV reception.

I can't see the county council being obliged to maintain that so who will? As I said above, I've asked my solicitor to clarify this but it makes me wonder if there will have to be a management company of some sort?

Gru wrote: »

generally if there are communal tv dishes and services/area's in new estates there are management fee's due every year to a management company who maintains these. Definitely worth checking out as one or two people in houses in our estate thought the management fee's were just for the duplex's and apartments in the estate and were shocked to realise they'd have to pay annual fee's for their houses for as long as the services were provided.

I thought I'd give an update on this.

Contracts have been signed and deposit (excluding HTB) has been paid. The contract has no mention of a management company. Also, the estate agent has confirmed that there's no obligation to use the communal system but if you do, you'd pay a service fee to the provider. I remember reading bad stories about the provider on here in the past so I may not be taking them up on it.

The only concern my solicitor has is the lack of a completion date. The contract allows them to take up to three years to complete but our letter of offer is only valid until the end of December. We got a vague "end of the year" ETA from the estate agent but that's it for now.

Klaudia.

Glaceon wrote: »

The only concern my solicitor has is the lack of a completion date. The contract allows them to take up to three years to complete but our letter of offer is only valid until the end of December. We got a vague "end of the year" ETA from the estate agent but that's it for now.

Hi,

My contract for a new build is the same: no completion date and 3 years max waiting period. My solicitor said it's a standard contract clause and the Developer will try to deliver house/s as fast as possible.
I'm sale agreed from February and they just keep pushing the completion date.
Right now it's January 2022 (I will have to apply for a mortgage again!!) . It will be pushed out, for sure, as the house is still in the foundation stage. And they started building houses from the next phase, instead of just focusing on finishing the ones they sold.
I'm just sticking to this house as I was priced out/outbid when I tried to secure pre-owned house/s. But if I could, I would just buy something I can move-in in the next few months.
It's a huge risk for me - waiting. If you have stable employment and can wait - new build is for you....

Jafin

Went Sale Agreed (second hand apartment) at the very end of May and my solicitor informed me that she has just received the contracts and will go over them tomorrow.

Is there a rough estimate how long it takes to go from signing contracts to closing? If it makes any difference neither myself nor the seller are in a chain.

PropBuyer101

Jafin wrote: »

Went Sale Agreed (second hand apartment) at the very end of May and my solicitor informed me that she has just received the contracts and will go over them tomorrow.

Is there a rough estimate how long it takes to go from signing contracts to closing? If it makes any difference neither myself nor the seller are in a chain.

should be faster if seller has no chain. keep chasing up on everything... its so slowwwwwwww

mushcles

Klaudia. wrote: »

I'm sale agreed from February and they just keep pushing the completion date.
Right now it's January 2022 (I will have to apply for a mortgage again!!) .

I'm in a similar position. I have yet to receive the contracts but developers are pushing for them to be signed within 6 weeks once I do. Is this normal? I don't understand how the bank will give me a loan offer for a house that won't be built for around a year.

Second snag on our new build tomorrow, and hopefully near an end to the process now

awec

PropBuyer101 wrote: »

they are supposed to tell you when there is a higher bid

They are under no obligation whatsoever to tell you anything.

PropBuyer101

awec wrote: »

They are under no obligation whatsoever to tell you anything.

really? well i certainly wouldnt deal with any EA who would be secretive about bids and i doubt many people would either. no one is that desperate.

awec

PropBuyer101 wrote: »

really? well i certainly wouldnt deal with any EA who would be secretive about bids and i doubt many people would either. no one is that desperate.

It's not about being secretive.

But they don't have to come back and tell you that you've been outbid. They don't have to tell you when bidding nears asking.

Like, they probably will if you ring up and ask, but if you're seen as a time waster you're probably going to be at the bottom of their call sheet when they are contacting people for counter bids.

PropBuyer101

awec wrote: »

It's not about being secretive.

But they don't have to come back and tell you that you've been outbid.

if its not being secretive what is it


certainly not business savvy - you are looking for the best deal for your client and also want to have a good reputation for buyers and sellers


if cleint wants to go sale agreed at a certain bid then surely you just tell the other parties its now gone sale agreed rather than have them wondering.

PropBuyer101

awec wrote: »

It's not about being secretive.

But they don't have to come back and tell you that you've been outbid. They don't have to tell you when bidding nears asking.

Like, they probably will if you ring up and ask, but if you're seen as a time waster you're probably going to be at the bottom of their call sheet when they are contacting people for counter bids.

and what are you saying about time wasters. im simply referring to communication which is part of business.

Ace2007

awec wrote: »

They are under no obligation whatsoever to tell you anything.

Surely they have some obligation to tell you - how would you know if your the successful bidder or not if they don't tell you where the bidding is at?

It's the lack of transparency that has people doubting who they are bidding against if anyone

ELM327

ELM327 wrote: »

QQ: Did anyone else receive a series of spam PMs regarding their posting on this thread? I've reported the PMs

I got one this morning, too. Can't seem to report it though. Appears he has been banned, thankfully.


Although I would have loved to have warned him about the potential to accidentally buy a gangster druglord's apartment that's up for 200k cash, and is rented to a single mother on HAP that has been repossessed by the bank, much to the anger of the drug gang, but is being disguised as a private sale...

awec

PropBuyer101 wrote: »

and what are you saying about time wasters. im simply referring to communication which is part of business.

In a world where there is no shortage of buyers for a property, constantly ringing up for info without bidding is just wasting everyone's time.

If you want to buy it, bid. If you don't want to buy it, don't bid. Messing around just causes the process to drag on for everyone for absolutely no gain.

PropBuyer101

awec wrote: »

In a world where there is no shortage of buyers for a property, constantly ringing up for info without bidding is just wasting everyone's time.

If you want to buy it, bid. If you don't want to buy it, don't bid. Messing around just causes the process to drag on for everyone.

but what did i say regarding calling up for info unless you are reading some past posts i made.


how some real estate agents conduct their business aint none of my business but there are some really good estate agents out there who know how to appeal to both buyers and sellers and kudos to them i say!

awec

Ace2007 wrote: »

Surely they have some obligation to tell you - how would you know if your the successful bidder or not if they don't tell you where the bidding is at?

It's the lack of transparency that has people doubting who they are bidding against if anyone

They have no obligation.

If you are the underbidder the vendor may be happy to not bother calling you again for a counter bid if they currently have a bid they are happy with and you are seen as a time waster.

Best thing any bidder can do is either win quickly or lose quickly. Trying to drag it on, play games, act like you know more than you do, it just frustrates the process for all involved.

PropBuyer101

awec wrote: »

They have no obligation.

If you are the underbidder the vendor may be happy to not bother calling you again for a counter bid if they currently have a bid they are happy with and you are seen as a time waster.

Best thing any bidder can do is either win quickly or lose quickly. Trying to drag it on, play games, act like you know more than you do, it just frustrates the process for all involved.

ur over complicating it. all the EA needs to do is communicate with interested parties and bidders. if its too hard to do that then fine dont do it. but some EA are really good at their jobs and know how to do appease interested parties, bidders and the client.

Mic 1972

I've been told when i was being outbid.
How would you go from being the winning bidder to being told that the house has gone sales agreed in the meantime?

Ace2007

awec wrote: »

They have no obligation.

If you are the underbidder the vendor may be happy to not bother calling you again for a counter bid if they currently have a bid they are happy with and you are seen as a time waster.

Best thing any bidder can do is either win quickly or lose quickly. Trying to drag it on, play games, act like you know more than you do, it just frustrates the process for all involved.

But they should have an obligation to advise anyone who calls up to know what the current bid is and if it was rejected or under consideration. This idea that you may be a time waster has just been plucked from the sky from you.

Just step back a minute and think of any other market that's out there, and regardless of whether i want to buy a Range Rover or not - the dealer will tell me the price, he's not going to think oh this lad in a time waster, dare i say quite a lot of "time wasters" drive flashy cars

Likewise buying shares - i can see the price it's going to cost me etc.

It's like the wild wild west out there with some EA's. Yes some are great, but others keep their cards very close to their chest. I wanted to view a property that is not in my county recently, and had to ask the EA 3 times to tell me what the current bid was as i didn't want to travel for 2 hours during the week to find out a property was above what i was willing to pay.

I would say that most people involved in buying a house would like the whole process with EA's and bidding to be overhauled and more transparent.

tobsey

Ace2007 wrote: »

But they should have an obligation to advise anyone who calls up to know what the current bid is and if it was rejected or under consideration. This idea that you may be a time waster has just been plucked from the sky from you.

Just step back a minute and think of any other market that's out there, and regardless of whether i want to buy a Range Rover or not - the dealer will tell me the price, he's not going to think oh this lad in a time waster, dare i say quite a lot of "time wasters" drive flashy cars

Likewise buying shares - i can see the price it's going to cost me etc.

It's like the wild wild west out there with some EA's. Yes some are great, but others keep their cards very close to their chest. I wanted to view a property that is not in my county recently, and had to ask the EA 3 times to tell me what the current bid was as i didn't want to travel for 2 hours during the week to find out a property was above what i was willing to pay.

I would say that most people involved in buying a house would like the whole process with EA's and bidding to be overhauled and more transparent.

The markets you picked as comparisons are not remotely the same. For a purchase of a second hand property, you are almost always buying off a private individual or couple. They have no obligation to say anything to you, or to accept your bid, or to even accept the highest bid. It's their property, they can do what they like with it. The estate agent works for them too, so the vendor is the one being looked after.