GRRR - Agent talked buyer out of sale?

mrsdawnrazor

mrsdawnrazor

I am a bit narked. I put an offer in for an IP. Deceased estate 3 daughters selling. The porpoerty is due to go to auction but the agent was very clear - all offers welcome before auction date. Well I hate auctions so I put in a price that was well in the ball park and the agent ummmed and ahhhed and said why dont you wait til the auction. I said no, please submit the offer.
Anyway today he rings back and said.... the vendors have decided to go to auction but why dont you come along and bid because your offer will most likely get it.
If that is the case why didnt they accept the offer. I am almost tempted to go to the auction and see if i can buy it for less than my original offer. I know this may not be the agent but it seems that he is pushing way too hard to go to auction.
In way of comparison there are 2 other properties in the same location going for pretty much what I offered. And yes, I probably will go and offer on one of those
 
They're probably hoping they can get more at auction, and if it doesn't happen they know they can fall back onto your offer (or accept your offer in the auction, which they're hoping you'll join).

Cheers
Steve
 
mrsdawnrazor i feel for you. Sounds like you might have just been played a little bit. Go to the auction though, you never know your luck you may be able to get it for what you offered. Remember though, if you miss out on this property there will always be another that you may be able to buy.
 
Perhaps you should tell the agent that at auction, your maximum bid will be $5000 or $10k less for all the inconvenience :)

I know a place where they got $25k less at auction, vendors VERY unhappy with agent, potential buyer said I don't do auctions, bye bye.
 
Agents do this so they can test the market and condition the buyer if necessary. Vendors like it so they can set an appropriate reserve.

"Deceased estate with 3 daughters selling" - that scenario is tailor made for proceeding to auction rather than accepting an early offer.

Don't get emotional about it like tell the agent you'll be offering $ less on the day. You do yourself no favours acting that way as it will just 1) paint you into a corner in your bidding and 2) make the agent think you are a difficult buyer so guess who they'd prefer not to deal with in future?

Say nothing, thank the agent for presenting the offer, and let your bidding do the talking on the day.

Good luck :)
 
Last edited:
Yep, just go along with a lower top bid.. and wait and see.

Hopefully, it'll get passed in, and they can then negotiate with you, and you can offer less again, and explain why you are doing so..
 
Thanks for all the feedback. I probably will go to the auction though I will bid my self, even though the agent kindly offered to bid for me!! Following Steve's post I have ensured that my written offer has been withdrawn as I didnt want them to come back to me if it passes in and sign the contract.

I am not emotionally attached to the property and if it doesnt come off then there are always plenty more opportunities:cool:
 
Dummy Bidders

mrsdawnrazor said:
Thanks for all the feedback. I probably will go to the auction though I will bid my self, even though the agent kindly offered to bid for me!! Following one post I have ensured that my written offer has been withdrawn as I didnt want them to come back to me if it passes in and sign the contract.

I am not emotionally attached to the property and if it doesnt come off then there are always plenty more opportunities:cool:
Click to expand...

Mrsdawnrazor,

if you are an interested party, it would be worthwhile to find out if there's anyone else interested in the property (Who else has given an offer). If yes, then there are chances that the agent might have dummy bidders to get a higher price.

Just a thought.

Cheers
 
If you wish to gauge how much other interest there may be prior to auction I would suggest you request a number of changes to the contract terms with the auctioning RE agent prior to the auction day.

For example, you may request a lower deposit (eg. 5% on fall of hammer instead of 10%) and a longer settlement time.

If agent refuses it is perhaps because there is a lot of other interest. If agent agrees to your terms, then perhaps they are less confident in the number of interested bidders.

Either way there is nothing to be lost in making these requests beforehand.

Good luck.
 
There are some good ideas here , although I dont want to contact the RE again as I dont want to appear keen. The auction is on the 5th July so I will let you know how I get on:eek:
 
Agents will take things to auction even at the expense of getting a lower offer because it increases the profile of their business!
 
mrsdawnrazor said:
Anyway today he rings back and said.... the vendors have decided to go to auction but why dont you come along and bid because your offer will most likely get it..........................................................................................
.............................................................................................
In way of comparison there are 2 other properties in the same location going for pretty much what I offered. those
Click to expand...

Although the property may most likely get it at your price it may go higher , maybe much higher. Recent sales have shown this to the extreme.
who knows exactly what will happen on the day?
Maybe there is sufficient enthusiasm by the agent from enquiries that he really expects it to go for lot more. His job is to tease you to the Auction , not necessarily to be 100% honest with you
Anyway he is working for the seller and if he was slack he probably would have taken your offer and got his commission quicker.
My 2 cents worth is that it will go for heaps higher. Let us know
 
You might want to have some-one else bid on your behalf. And i don't mean the agent! Otherwise if you bid yourself the autioneer may play every trick in the book to pull you up to your offer during the bidding process.

Its good to keep agents guessing :cool:
 
I may be missing something but I see nothing underhand here. The vendor pays the agent's commission so he has an obligation to act in their best interests.

Apparently he presented your offer, as he should. The vendor is free to accept or reject any offer prior to auction and after reading your offer, decided to continue down the path of the auction. You have been cordially invited to attend and test your valuation.

To automatically assume he will play dirty tricks would be slanderous if he were identified.
 
I agree, Sunfish. But, as a buyer, I HATE auctions, and would much rather negotiate the price and terms. The only reason for me to buy at auction would be if it was a property that I had fallen in love with and absolutely had to have for a ppor. For investment property you can look at the cold hard figures and just walk away - there'll be another "opportunity of a lifetime" come along next week or the week after.
If a property I am interested in is up for auction, I make the agent aware that I am interested but will not bid at auction. I then go to the auction and when it is passed in (as most of them seem to be - and I wonder why people persist in paying the big costs involved in trying to sell by auction) then negotiate afterwards.
 
Dealing with 3 people as vendors is so difficult. Very hard to get them all thinking on the same page so no major surprise they have decided to just go to auction day. Turn up on the day and you never know what might happen.

Kev
www.gogecko.com.au
 
Whatever you do don't let the agent use your offer against you.

If the property should pass into you as the highest bidder at auction and you go inside to negotiate and the price is lower than your offer don't allow them to take the price straight up to your prior offer. If they try to I would just politely but firmly decline.

"That offer was refused and has been withdrawn. My bid today reflects the true market value of this property"

If you are worried about the agent thinking you are too keen for this property why not call him up and have him show you through some comparable properties in the area. Show some enthusiasm for one or two of them :eek:)

Or don't show on auction day and have some-one bid for you (you can be parked nervously 2 minutes down the road posied to sign the contract)
 
GoAnna! said:
"That offer was refused and has been withdrawn. My bid today reflects the true market value of this property"
Click to expand...

Exactly. RE agents will do whatever they have to to get a good price. If they genuinely thought your offer was better than what auction would bring, you now be doing paperwork. Unfortunately there is a good chance that an auction will bring a higher price. Stick to your strategy - I see at least 1 or 2 properties per week advertised that would make good investments, in my home city alone.
 
Update - It sold at auction. Me and one other buyer. Went for 1k over my refused bid so I guess the vendors were right to go to auction!! Interestingly a SEQ auction where only 1 property sold, no bids on all 11 other properties offered
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

C
How is this allowed?
Replies
14
Views
2K
C-mac
C
J
Auction And confused
Replies
5
Views
2K
esh
E
InvestorMan
Issues with leaving agent
Replies
6
Views
2K
belvoir
B
T
Buyer interest in $X meaning?
Replies
10
Views
2K
property_girl
P
I
Should I use a Buyer's Agent?
2
Replies
28
Views
6K
firstford
F
Back
Top