Thanks for all of your good wishes. All we can do is give it our very best shot and hope to be selected to negotiate with the vendor.
One of my friends has been watching the whole pathetic process of us going up against the big companies and funds over the past 8 or 9 months via this nonsense E.O.I. rigmorale, and likened it to a game of blindfolded pinata (sp ??). The best you can ever hope for is to have a swing in the dark and hope for the best. Backroom deals, quiet whispers, cash incentives slipped to the agents....who knows what is going on, we are blissfully ignorant of everything.
Unfortunately, over a certain thresh-hold, none of the usual agents will sell properties via private treaty or auction - they all put it out to Tender, go via an Expression of Interest (the worst), or accept Offers to Purchase. All 3 methods suck big chocky rocks, as it gives 100% of the power to the vendor, and as a potential purchaser you are kept completely in the dark - unable to even be given the chance to negotiate with the Vendor.
If I popped my solicitor's hat on, I've probably already divulged too much, but I thought sharing the journey might open up some exciting possibilities for forumites of where all of this house and IP gathering may end up, if you just keep steadfastly applying the same principles. The "gearing ramp" can suddenly get quite steep, and this opens up some fantastic deals.
This property is worth about 170x what we paid for our first PPoR nine years ago. Co-incidentally, it rents out for 170x what the same property rents out for today......without 170x the headaches of dealing with residential tenants.
I'll let y'all know if they ever deem us worthy to talk to.