Tips please - how to win sale by set date

[Ooz]

I'm looking at buying a property in VIC and it's being sold as 'sale by set date'.

It seems like a dodgy process at face value, as I'm being assured by the REA that my offer will be confidential, but he keeps indicating a higher price range each time we speak. I have no confidence or trust.

So, I'm after any tips/suggestions on how to get the best outcome with this type of sale process.

 

[tobe]

sale by set date is essentially a silent auction.

DO your research, know how much the market value is, and put your best offer in, 5 minutes before it closes. Keep the agent guessing until then.

The thing is, if the vendor doesnt like any of the offers, they dont have to sell, so its really a fishing expedition to see what buyers are willing to outlay.

You might get another chance if this happens, but otherwise its gone.....

 

[oc1]

I went through one recently. I think it can be dodgy. I pulled out at the end and made an offer elsewhere. Find out how the agent conducts the sale. Generally best to make your offer very late on the day an offer is going to be accepted. The agent will tell you when this day is.

At least at an auction you see what is happening.

 

[Ooz]

I've been chatting with the agent today, and he is encouraging me to make an offer today, which is more than a week before the confirmed end date. His comment is that, if the offer is substantial enough, he will seek to secure the sale with the owner ahead of the official close date.

He said that the owner may come back with a price (as a negotiation), but may also either accept my offer or just choose to wait until the end of the process.

The agent has given me a price that he thinks will secure the property. I just wonder if it will, or if it will just bring the floor price higher through to the end of the process. I'm not paying him to take my best price, he is acting on behalf of the vendor to extract the most for the property.

Trust is hard to give in this situation. I read some horror stories about how others have been treated by this REA, in this process, on another forum.

 

[CHAOS]

Yes the fun and games. Do all interested parties have to sign a contract of sale with their best offer and terms? Even that can be manipulated but if they are just asking for written offers, the games haven't even started.

You still have a week to put in an offer you would be prepared to pay to secure the property.

But today
You could put in a much lower offer.
You could tell the agent another property has come up and you are negotiating on that (white lie) so won't be making an offer today.
You could just ignore agent until the deadline.

 

[TMNT]

Yes the fun and games. Do all interested parties have to sign a contract of sale with their best offer and terms? Even that can be manipulated but if they are just asking for written offers, the games haven't even started.

You still have a week to put in an offer you would be prepared to pay to secure the property.

But today
You could put in a much lower offer.
You could tell the agent another property has come up and you are negotiating on that (white lie) so won't be making an offer today.
You could just ignore agent until the deadline.

I love it how about 60% of these times (in my experience) they bark all these conditions such as "you will only get one chance to submit, you must provide your highest offer, no furhter negotaitons will be entered too" blah blah

to only contact you a few days after asking you to raise your offer

 

[Macca]

I would work out my valuation and then wait until closing day, I would then offer less than my value knowing that the REA will try to talk me up.

I would then go to my value, if the REA says still not enough I would look elsewhere, should the REA come back later and say the other deal fell through you can now have it for "your offer" I would probably say No thanks.

Quite likely you will then see it listed somewhere with a price shown and you can make an offer then if you are still interested.

 

[TMNT]

I would work out my valuation and then wait until closing day, I would then offer less than my value knowing that the REA will try to talk me up.

I would then go to my value, if the REA says still not enough I would look elsewhere, should the REA come back later and say the other deal fell through you can now have it for "your offer" I would probably say No thanks.

Quite likely you will then see it listed somewhere with a price shown and you can make an offer then if you are still interested.

the problem is that the agent might be telling the truth (and yes im winning lotto tonight) and if in that one in a trillion chance, they arent lying, then you have shot yourself in the foot and missed out on a property that might go for less then your max price

its a cat and mouse game, and unfrotunately, you'll never know

 

[cu@thetop]

I've been chatting with the agent today, and he is encouraging me to make an offer today, which is more than a week before the confirmed end date. His comment is that, if the offer is substantial enough, he will seek to secure the sale with the owner ahead of the official close date.

He said that the owner may come back with a price (as a negotiation), but may also either accept my offer or just choose to wait until the end of the process.

The agent has given me a price that he thinks will secure the property. I just wonder if it will, or if it will just bring the floor price higher through to the end of the process. I'm not paying him to take my best price, he is acting on behalf of the vendor to extract the most for the property.

Trust is hard to give in this situation. I read some horror stories about how others have been treated by this REA, in this process, on another forum.

My offer if 220k if accepted in writing by 15/11/14.
My offer is $215k if accepted by 17/11/14
My offer is 210k if accepted 19/11/14 (day before last date)

Maybe make a completely different offer on the last day- or indicate no offer will be made at all.

 

[Big Will]

the problem is that the agent might be telling the truth (and yes im winning lotto tonight) and if in that one in a trillion chance, they arent lying, then you have shot yourself in the foot and missed out on a property that might go for less then your max price

its a cat and mouse game, and unfrotunately, you'll never know

I know an agency in Melbourne that does this, if you are the first person to put an offer in all other parties have 24 hours to put forward their best offer or it might be sold to the vendor. If another offer comes in during this time they will contact the buyer of the original offer letting them know another offer has been received and will need your best offer (you don't know if you are beating the other person but require your best offer). They do this so everyone is on the same playground of knowing there is an offer on the table and require the best offer.

If you do or don't increase your offer they will ask to confirm that is your best offer and if confirmed present all offers to the vendor and the best offer (not always price) will be accepted and sold.

They give no indication if you are winning or losing or how much more you need to be to win. It is always 'I need your best offer', there was an example one time where the first person put an offer in at 500k and person with the second offer first came in and verbally gave 490k and through 'I need your best offer' increased to 500, 510, 520, 528,500. All these were verbal until they confirmed yes it was the best offer at 528,500 which was written. The other buyer said it was their best offer at 500k and was sold for 528,500.

If an agent is telling you what the other offer is it is most likely bs or they will need to do it against you to the other bidder (at best you get 1k more than the other person is willing to participate). If an agent says your price lower than another offer same as above and they will go and tell the other person.

This REA does amazing results in the area where they have beaten similar properties in the same complex by about 20% which had same finish, accommodation etc etc.

But yes there are some they will just keep going back and forth it takes more effort from the REA and burn buyers, the whole one shot you get bigger differences as you only get one shot.

 

[Tillie]

My advise is that you just has to do your homework and make an offer that if not accepted you do not need to regret and think that what if I had offer $10k more... This happened to my friends they made an offer and did not listen when REA said that they had to put your highest offer forward and he asks offers only once and do not come back. That was correct the house was sold to someone else with the price that my friends would have also prepared to pay but they did not take REAs words seriously but expected him to come back and ask more...

 

[Hypnotic Cat]

I love it how about 60% of these times (in my experience) they bark all these conditions such as "you will only get one chance to submit, you must provide your highest offer, no furhter negotaitons will be entered too" blah blah

to only contact you a few days after asking you to raise your offer

Agree. The trouble with these 'best offer' scenarios is half the time, they are not.

Early this year I looked at an IP in Henley Beach, SA. I asked the local agent to clearly explain to me the offer conditions and he said, "It's one chance only, so submit your best and final offer in writing by 5pm today."

Only to have the agent call me the next day to say, "Yours and another are the best 2 offers, do you want to increase your offer?" I replied, "Didn't you say it was best and final offer? So on principal, no I won't be increasing my offer."

After I said that, he became most unpleasant and beligerent using bullying tactics to attempt to persuade me into making another offer, but I stuck to my guns and glad I did (even though I missed it by only $1.5k). If my offer was the best I would have had second thoughts about going ahead with it anyway, simply because of the unpleasant manner of the agent. Leaves you with a bad impression and in my opinion bad for their reputation and their brand.

 

[Lil Skater]

I think everyone has forgot to mention the "sale by set date" is just a marketing ploy.

As shown above, it creates a need for an interested purchaser to put in an offer as high as possible - when really if it doesn't sell by this date, it's likely just going to be a private sale anyway. I see them all the time with the "set date" well passed and the property still not sold.

 

[Truly Exotic]

Yours and another are the best 2 offers, do you want to increase your offer?" I replied, "Didn't you say it was best and final offer? So on principal, no I won't be increasing my offer."

After I said that, he became most unpleasant and beligerent using bullying tactics to attempt to persuade me into making another offer, but I stuck to my guns and glad I did (even though I missed it by only $1.5k). If my offer was the best I would have had second thoughts about going ahead with it anyway, simply because of the unpleasant manner of the agent. Leaves you with a bad impression and in my opinion bad for their reputation and their brand.

Yeah I agree, principal is important to me, but when dealing with agents who often have no care for reputation, reliability or trust worthyness, for the sake of missing out on a great deal, I will swallow my pride, however, when I do stand up for principal, I will let them know of what I think of them

 

[Hysteria]

I would wait until the deadline.
If you put in a reasonable offer the agent will most likely leverage off this to achieve a higher offer off someone else. This happened to me recently in QLD.

 

[sanj]

Agree. The trouble with these 'best offer' scenarios is half the time, they are not.

Early this year I looked at an IP in Henley Beach, SA. I asked the local agent to clearly explain to me the offer conditions and he said, "It's one chance only, so submit your best and final offer in writing by 5pm today."

Only to have the agent call me the next day to say, "Yours and another are the best 2 offers, do you want to increase your offer?" I replied, "Didn't you say it was best and final offer? So on principal, no I won't be increasing my offer."

After I said that, he became most unpleasant and beligerent using bullying tactics to attempt to persuade me into making another offer, but I stuck to my guns and glad I did (even though I missed it by only $1.5k). If my offer was the best I would have had second thoughts about going ahead with it anyway, simply because of the unpleasant manner of the agent. Leaves you with a bad impression and in my opinion bad for their reputation and their brand.

Why should an unpleasant agent affect whether or not you want to buy the property? If it is a good deal it's a good deal regardless of whether you're dealing with a good agent or an absolute idiot imo.

 

[Hypnotic Cat]

Why should an unpleasant agent affect whether or not you want to buy the property? If it is a good deal it's a good deal regardless of whether you're dealing with a good agent or an absolute idiot imo.

Like I said I'd already put in my best and final offer. Agent's behaviour only became offensive once I called him on reneging on his verbal agreement and I refused to play his game.

The other thing is, I know full well the 'deal of a lifetime' comes around roughly once a month. Within 2 months I'd bought another much better place anyway.

Good deal or not, for me at least, life's to short to deal with ^&%holes.

 

[Hypnotic Cat]

I would wait until the deadline.

My best and final offer was 2 minutes before the so called deadline.

 

[The Y-man]

I wait until after the set sale date, and they have had to extend it....

The Y-man