Hi ghasheen
Well, we stood behind you at the Auction today
You were there to buy and for a while it seemed you would be the only bidder. The woman who did bid against you was, like you, only interested at a price
After the property was passed in, the Agents gave you the opportunity to meet the Vendor’s reserve, which was disclosed to you as $340,000. So you were told that the Vendor’s instructions and authority to the Agent were to sell the property for not less than $340,000.
You only have to refuse once, and all bets are off.
As soon as you declined to pay $340,000, the Agent was no longer bound by the undertaking they had given prior to the Auction when the Auctioneer said that they would not accept offers after a knock down bid, and that the highest bidder would have the right to negotiate if the property was passed in.
So the property was not knocked down to you, and they did negotiate with you after the Auction.
You refused, so they could then talk to whomsoever they wanted to . Don’t get up on your high horse and waffle on about ‘unprofessional conduct’. The Agents behaved most courteously towards you and their Principal is the Vendor, not the gaggle of sightseers and would-be purchasers out on the nature strip.
You, and all of us there, had the same opportunity to bid while the Auction was underway. Once the Auction has been closed and the under-bidder has refused their one chance at further negotiations there is no hierarchy as to who the agent can or cannot talk to or who they should talk to first.
So: If you want the property, the Vendor’s asking price is very modest. If you think you can do better for $340,000 well, I am not so sure.
But then again, what would I know? I rather like Chelsea, ‘Melbourne’s Best Beach’ and all that jazz. Seen some amazing growth in the past few years. East Link has opened up the bayside suburbs but when it comes down to the neighbourhood, Swan Walk is a great street, the new Safeway is a cracker, and if you haven’t had cakes from Carvosso’s then you haven’t even scratched the surface of what Chelsea has to offer.
After the Auction, Mike and I had coffee and a sandwich at the RSL in Thames Parade and looked in at another auction (saw the other Swan Walk bidder there, too) however that other property had sold last night for a price which had the vendors swooning with delight.
So we amused ourselves by walking along the beach for a while – with a few hundred other sun seekers enjoying the warm day and soaking up some Vitamin D.
Ghasheen, sometimes you win on the swings and lose on the roundabouts
For a property like this, whatever price you may pay today, the Property will forgive you. You pay $340,000 today when you thought you could bend the Vendor to your will and pay only $328,000. So, tough cheese. In ten years time, will you even remember what you paid for it?
Last time I bought in Chelsea, I paid $1,000 more than the under-bidder. Today, a house 3 frontages along sold for $44,000 more than what I paid, and it, too, is a knock down rebuild job.
Being up on your high horse is no place for a successful person. Save yourself a couple of thousand dollars and lose the deal.
Pay the $340,000 (or maybe, now, you will have to pay $341,000), get the unit, and enjoy your success. Or keep looking. The choice is yours
Cheers
Kristine