Name and shame.
Seriously.
The internet never forgets and if an agent pulls this ****, there should be consequences; others should know.
'One chance to make an offer' strategy
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Name and shame.
Seriously.
The internet never forgets and if an agent pulls this ****, there should be consequences; others should know.
Nonsense. If you were the vendor, you'd be happy you got some more $$$ for the property.
Get real, folks.
Overreaction much?
Isn't it all about the agreements we make?
If the agent had said to me, "Look, put in a good first offer and we'll submit it and then come back to you and you will have an opportunity to make another final offer." I'd have no problem with that at all.
But that's not what was articulated to me by the agent.
What he said was: "It's Best and Final offer. One chance. Make it your best"
(I have made offers on several properties in the last few months on this basis and in all cases the agents honoured the agreement - there was no changing the rules half way through)
I even heard the agent say exactly the same thing to another group at the last open on Wednesday night.
For me it's not even so much about the money, I could easily have added $5k or $10k to secure the property. It's about the principal. And keeping your word. Maybe I'm old fashioned, but if I make an agreement with someone I honour the agreement, rather than change the rules of the game to suit myself.
Add that to the fact the agent in question was very pushy to the point of using intimidation and bullying tactics – that's why I refused to play the game.
If the agent had said to me, "Look, put in a good first offer and we'll submit it and then come back to you and you will have an opportunity to make another final offer." I'd have no problem with that at all.
But that's not what was articulated to me by the agent.
What he said was: "It's Best and Final offer. One chance. Make it your best"
(I have made offers on several properties in the last few months on this basis and in all cases the agents honoured the agreement - there was no changing the rules half way through)
I even heard the agent say exactly the same thing to another group at the last open on Wednesday night.
For me it's not even so much about the money, I could easily have added $5k or $10k to secure the property. It's about the principal. And keeping your word. Maybe I'm old fashioned, but if I make an agreement with someone I honour the agreement, rather than change the rules of the game to suit myself.
Add that to the fact the agent in question was very pushy to the point of using intimidation and bullying tactics – that's why I refused to play the game.
Yes I have come to realise that a large percentage of agents are dishonest, conniving, manipulating and pushy. Surely it'll come back to bite them one day.
What kind of a way is that to run a business?
Based on my poor customer service experience I wouldn't employ that particular agent or his agency ever.
The funny thing was when I sold my last place 4 months ago I employed another branch of the same agency to sell my property. As a seller I was treated really well. No complaints at all.
As a buyer I was treated like crap.
My shoddy treatment as a buyer by the same agency means I would never use their services again as a seller.
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vaughan, sanj, each to their own.
I abhor lying. It's unethical, immoral and unnecessary.
I abhor lying. It's unethical, immoral and unnecessary.
Buyers lie all the time too
Which agency do you work for, since most of your posts are to do with defending the actions of agents
Worked with an ex-RE agent once. She reckoned their favourite saying was "buyers are liars and sellers are worse" !!
Marg
Where do you work Dave? What relevance does it have?
It does matter if you are in the property industry. It is best if you have a signature so that we can better understand your comments.
On a separate note, I would like to talk to you if you are a commercial real estate agent in Camberwell, Vic
It does matter if you are in the property industry. It is best if you have a signature so that we can better understand your comments.
On a separate note, I would like to talk to you if you are a commercial real estate agent in Camberwell, Vic
Well can you post your job in your sig so I can better understand your comments?
Click on my profile, it has my profession clearly listed.
I don't need to because I don't work in the 'property industry'. I'm simply same as most here.. a property investor.
However, like DaveM said "Click on my profile, it has my profession clearly listed."
Anyway... back to the thread
I hate trying to buy in a "tender" or "sealed bids" scenario. Give me an auction any day where at least you can see what you are bidding against, even if it used to be a tree. Tenders could see you pay considerably over the next lowest purchaser's price, which is great for the vendor, but terrible if you know you paid a lot more than you needed to had it gone to auction.
In your case, whilst the agent called for "best offers" and said there would be no further negotiating, had I any more to give in order to buy a house I really, really wanted, I would have played the agent's game and increased my price.
It might not sit well from a moral viewpoint, but having missed out on a house or two I'd hate to know I missed by "just that much". Who knows, perhaps the agent might have come back several times, in effect creating a Clayton's Auction (the auction you have when you are not having an auction).
I know years back we signed a contract for $56K when the asking price was $55K. I saw the house at 5pm (with three other parties), there were four contracts going in at 6pm I got agent to fax contract to hubby, called him and said "please sign the contract coming through". His response "what am I buying?".
There were four other contracts going in and we went in cash unconditional, so the vendor chose our contract to sign. One other purchaser put in a full price offer (we went $1K over asking price) and tried until 9pm that night to bully the agent into ripping up our contract, got a lawyer involved to see what could be done. Luckily the agent stuck to his guns and upheld our contract.
It was a slightly different scenario to the one in this thread, because the vendor had actually signed our contract. We didn't know that until the whole story unfolded, well after 9pm that night. Had the agent been less honest or more easily bullied, he and the vendor could have ripped up our contract and we would never have known. Both vendor and agent were honest though, and we got it.
When my parents sold their house, it passed in at auction and the following Saturday the agent had a contract. Same day another buyer wanted to go to paper, and she told them she had another contract. Both offers were exactly the same amount, but one signed a contract. She tried to get the other party to put pen to paper, and they were told there was another offer ready to be presented. They didn't believe her, and thought she was trying to get them up higher. But she was not playing games with them, and that night the house was sold.
I hate trying to buy in a "tender" or "sealed bids" scenario. Give me an auction any day where at least you can see what you are bidding against, even if it used to be a tree. Tenders could see you pay considerably over the next lowest purchaser's price, which is great for the vendor, but terrible if you know you paid a lot more than you needed to had it gone to auction.
In your case, whilst the agent called for "best offers" and said there would be no further negotiating, had I any more to give in order to buy a house I really, really wanted, I would have played the agent's game and increased my price.
It might not sit well from a moral viewpoint, but having missed out on a house or two I'd hate to know I missed by "just that much". Who knows, perhaps the agent might have come back several times, in effect creating a Clayton's Auction (the auction you have when you are not having an auction).
I know years back we signed a contract for $56K when the asking price was $55K. I saw the house at 5pm (with three other parties), there were four contracts going in at 6pm I got agent to fax contract to hubby, called him and said "please sign the contract coming through". His response "what am I buying?".
There were four other contracts going in and we went in cash unconditional, so the vendor chose our contract to sign. One other purchaser put in a full price offer (we went $1K over asking price) and tried until 9pm that night to bully the agent into ripping up our contract, got a lawyer involved to see what could be done. Luckily the agent stuck to his guns and upheld our contract.
It was a slightly different scenario to the one in this thread, because the vendor had actually signed our contract. We didn't know that until the whole story unfolded, well after 9pm that night. Had the agent been less honest or more easily bullied, he and the vendor could have ripped up our contract and we would never have known. Both vendor and agent were honest though, and we got it.
When my parents sold their house, it passed in at auction and the following Saturday the agent had a contract. Same day another buyer wanted to go to paper, and she told them she had another contract. Both offers were exactly the same amount, but one signed a contract. She tried to get the other party to put pen to paper, and they were told there was another offer ready to be presented. They didn't believe her, and thought she was trying to get them up higher. But she was not playing games with them, and that night the house was sold.
I have been seeing a lot of this approach from certain agents lately. Agents who have been in the game quite a few years now and regularly moan with their stories about buyers who won't make cash unconditional offers that can settle in 14 days. The moaning extends to scenarios where they have to open a property more than twice (for public viewings) to get it sold.
Jaded with the job perhaps.
Jaded with the job perhaps.
Right now it's a seller's market, so we need to play "seller's market" games.
Spare a though for the recent past when it was a buyers market, and agents were bending over backwards just to get potentials to look at their properties.
Being an agent, I agree that you don't have to paly games, be it a buyer market or a sellers market. At the end of the day, if a buyer has interest, and they are the only buyer, then I don't believe you have to fabricate anything. How does the property compare etc and there is a price a seller will sell for, and one they wont. When we have more than one buyer, then we do tell them, and give them ample opportunity to consider their situation. I must say, I don't think it inappropriate to ring all buyers back, and confirm all offers are now in, and we are on our way to the seller. Have they had second thought's, and would they like to reconsider their position.
