Rogue Bidder???

VincentVG

Hello,
Does anybody have any experience of this?
Maybe it has happened to you before or somebody you know?
Did they take it any further and demand and explanation?
That is what I want to do and find out exaclty what was going on - any advice is greatly appreciated.

I went to view a second-hand property a few weeks ago. The property was
advertised in excess of 320k. There was plenty of bidders and for about two weeks bidding was normal enought until it got to 340k. At this stage I was informed there was only 3 bidders, including myself, left in the bidding. I went 345k, one bidder pulled out and the last bidder went 346k. I then went 350k and the other bidder went 351k. I went 355k, the other bidder went 356k, finally I went 360k and the other bidder went 361k.
At this stage the estated agents decided that the highest bid on the table the next day will get the property. Having thought about it I then decided that my original limit was 355 and it had just gone too far for me to proceed any futher. I notified the estate agent that I will not be going any further.
The next day the estate agent phoned me to say that I can have the property for 359k
I found this quite strange having being up against such a strong bidder for the last 20k that they were adament to win the bidding.
The property is now advertised on the market for 340k.
Was this a false bidder to try and push the price up?
Very bad form if it is and Im glad now I got out when I did.
Should I try and find out exaclty what was going on?
Do I have any rights to do so?

Cheers...

Lex Luthor

offer 320k and see how it goes from there

godtabh

Have a look at my post here.

Seems to happen alot but there is sweet fa you can do

VincentVG

Yes, I see something very similar has happened with yourself.
I believe it used to happen quite alot in England before a stop was put to it.
Seems like its starting to kick off over here now, or perhaps has been ongoing for a while now but quite usually will probably only happen to an individual once on there first try. As they are happy to forget about it and put it behind them this is allowing the agent away with it only to try pull it again on some unsuspecting first time buyers.
I very much intend not to forget about it and will find out what was going on so hopefully it will not happen to anybody else!

Sizzler

Why do ppl fuel this by entertaining it to such a degree that you are willing to go 20k over what u initially offered? At the end of the day is there such a shortage of places in Ireland that ppl feel to have to keep trumping other "bidders" and end up paying out 20-30k more than their first bid? Utter bollix imo.Keep the money in your phoca :-)

waldo

This really stinks of fraud. Unfortunately we have no regulation of estate agents in this country. I've heard of this happening lots of times before, and I'm sure the estate agents are on on it. I wonder how much of the property boom is down to this type of carry on.

lomb

i read somewhere cant remember where that its ethical for an auctioneer to bid up to the reserve price on behalf of the vendor. this would probably explain why at a well known car auction place in ashbourne he was pointing at my end of the room at the top of the stairs when there was only me and a friend there, making up bids on a car that was being auctioned when neither of us were bidding. hillarious! how can this be any different in houses?
i would suggest estate agents need to be regulated by the law that bidding on a vendors behalf to the reserve making up phantom bids should be rulled illegal and their license siezed with 2 years imprisonment mandatory. fat chance in this country though:rolleyes:

Cantab.

VincentVG wrote:

Hello,
Does anybody have any experience of this?
Maybe it has happened to you before or somebody you know?
Did they take it any further and demand and explanation?
That is what I want to do and find out exaclty what was going on - any advice is greatly appreciated.

I went to view a second-hand property a few weeks ago. The property was
advertised in excess of 320k. There was plenty of bidders and for about two weeks bidding was normal enought until it got to 340k. At this stage I was informed there was only 3 bidders, including myself, left in the bidding. I went 345k, one bidder pulled out and the last bidder went 346k. I then went 350k and the other bidder went 351k. I went 355k, the other bidder went 356k, finally I went 360k and the other bidder went 361k.
At this stage the estated agents decided that the highest bid on the table the next day will get the property. Having thought about it I then decided that my original limit was 355 and it had just gone too far for me to proceed any futher. I notified the estate agent that I will not be going any further.
The next day the estate agent phoned me to say that I can have the property for 359k
I found this quite strange having being up against such a strong bidder for the last 20k that they were adament to win the bidding.
The property is now advertised on the market for 340k.
Was this a false bidder to try and push the price up?
Very bad form if it is and Im glad now I got out when I did.
Should I try and find out exaclty what was going on?
Do I have any rights to do so?

Cheers...

Ah yes. First of all, you aren't the first person this has happened to nor indeed the last.

Schoolboy error. Never negotiate with estate agents. They are greasy eels. If you want to buy a house, I guess the best way to go about it is to make an offer that is valid for a fixed period of time (i.e. 5 days).

Problem with this method is that people get transfixed on their 'dream property', go around telling all their friends/families what house they're going to buy and for them to back out of the purchase would be a sign of failure on their part. Don't get sucked into this psyche.

Whilst it's still a seller's market out there, the buyer must still be cautious especially when you are making probably one of the biggest financial committments you will ever make coupled with the fact that you are unlikely to have any real experience in negotiating such deals.

If you don't know how to handle estate agents, get on to somebody you can trust who can give you advice.

Otherwise, make a time-limited offer and start going on about reporting them to the IAVI (without being too direct about it) if you think you are being messed around - this usually scares them off.

Anyway, be careful out there: it's dog eat dog despite the glossy brochures and friendly receptionsts.

VincentVG

Cheers Canatb, do you know any other groups other than the IAVI that I could report to or find out more info.?
Any point in contacted the department of Consumer Affairs?
I really want it be known to the right people that this has happened and that it is openly going on.

Lex Luthor

waldo wrote:

This really stinks of fraud. Unfortunately we have no regulation of estate agents in this country. I've heard of this happening lots of times before, and I'm sure the estate agents are on on it. I wonder how much of the property boom is down to this type of carry on.

All of it. The unrealistic price of houses in this country is ALL down to estate agents. Every bit of it. I am sure of it.

House goes up for sale on a street. Asking price say 350k. Sells for 365k due to multiple bidders in the space of 3-4 weeks. Another house in same street or nearby comes on market a week later after going sale agreed on the other one and the asking price of this identical property automitcally becomes 365k cos the estate agent says so.

The_Conductor

Yes, I've been in a not dissimilar situation myself.
Essentially, as long as people are willing to play along with Estate Agents when they play these games, they will continue to play these games. Irrespective of how nice a person an estate agent is, at the end of the day they are trying to get the maximum possible price for the property- and from this the maximum possible commission for themselves. Buyers are a necessary evil in their eyes- who they are seeking to impart large sums of money from.
It is a useful exercise to hold a firm belief that the lovely estate agent would sell his or her granny, if the price was right.

At the moment it really is a sellers market- so these games are par-for-course and considered both acceptable and indeed preferable by those who are selling their properties. When the boot is on the other foot, as it will be in due course, and it becomes a buyers market, perhaps sellers will forced to sing to a different tune.

One well known estate agent has the following saying above his desk: "Everything is worth what its purchaser will pay for it" (Publilius Syrus c. 100BC)

At the end of the day- while the mantra is holding true in todays market, it will hold equally as true in a different market situation. If mortgage interest rates go up 1% on a 300,000 mortgage it will cost me about 260 Euro extra per month in interest payments. 260 p.m. would finance about 50,000 of mortgage in today's terms- so my purchasing power is decreased by that amount. Wonder what this will do for house prices?