Bidding on more than one property at once?

BookBook

With people constantly losing out on properties they have bid on I wonder is it okay to bid on more than one property at the same time in the hope of finally getting one?



And if so how far along the purchase chain can I go before it is no longer legal or nice to back out?

P. Breathnach

Vendors are happy when there are multiple bidders. I think it is quite fair if purchasers are equally willing to bid on multiple properties until they get one at a price that suits them. But I think it fairly usual for purchasers to set their hearts on one property at a time, and bid on it until either they secure it or the competitive bids go too high for them. Investors might become less attached to particular properties, and be more willing to have eggs in several baskets simultaneously.

It's not legal to back out once contracts are exchanged. To my mind, it is not ethical to back out after a sale has been agreed unless material facts emerge that had not been evident when the sale was agreed.

Woodville56

P. Breathnach wrote: »

To my mind, it is not ethical to back out after a sale has been agreed unless material facts emerge that had not been evident when the sale was agreed.

A relative went sale agreed and paid booking deposit on a property almost 3 months ago (liquidators sale) and they are still waiting on Contract from vendor- I'm telling them they should be on the lookout for other suitable property and , if they find something they like , should have no hesitation in pulling out of the sale agreed on the liquidation sale house. Would you view this as unethical also, having regard to the delay in vendor issuing contract ??

TheDriver

I think its fine to pull out after sale agreed if an effort has been made to question the stalling and no reasonable excuse has been forthcoming. If you buy a house, you want to get into it and not wait 12 months for it.

Only issue with multiple bidding is EAs will start copping on that you may be a messer if you are not seriously tackling each property at a time?

P. Breathnach

Woodville56 wrote: »

A relative went sale agreed and paid booking deposit on a property almost 3 months ago (liquidators sale) and they are still waiting on Contract from vendor- I'm telling them they should be on the lookout for other suitable property and , if they find something they like , should have no hesitation in pulling out of the sale agreed on the liquidation sale house. Would you view this as unethical also, having regard to the delay in vendor issuing contract ??

Of course I don't think it unethical to pull out. An unnecessary and significant delay by the vendor fits into my category of material facts that emerge after a sale has been agreed.

I'd already have walked away.

BookBook

Thanks all. I seriously hope I will never have to go sale agreed on more than one property in the next few months but hearing scary stories from other potential buyers.

I would hate to have missed out on a house because I was clinging on to another one where the sale was going no where.

Ray Palmer

BookBook wrote: »

Thanks all. I seriously hope I will never have to go sale agreed on more than one property in the next few months but hearing scary stories from other potential buyers.

I would hate to have missed out on a house because I was clinging on to another one where the sale was going no where.

That is different to what you asked!

You asked can you bid on properties. If you are sale agreed on two properties that is a different situation all together. There are cost involved and your solicitor would not be happy to do twice the work waiting for you to decide.

You may back out of an agreement but I believe if you are thought to have made an agreement with no intent to follow through that is a different situation.

Talk to your solicitor about this. Sale agreed on two houses with the intent to only buy one is certainly not the moral thing to do.

How would you feel if somebody did that to you if you were selling?

marie rosanna

i have been in this position and I waited 5 months and no contracts, Bank involvement and other issues it seems, and the vendors solicitors kept reminding me, ( as I and my solicitor pushed for contracts) that there is nothing legally binding.... I pulled out and retrieved my deposit and the property is still up for sale and awaiting the next poor unsuspecting potential buyer.

Woodville56

marie rosanna wrote: »

i have been in this position and I waited 5 months and no contracts, Bank involvement and other issues it seems, and the vendors solicitors kept reminding me, ( as I and my solicitor pushed for contracts) that there is nothing legally binding.... I pulled out and retrieved my deposit and the property is still up for sale and awaiting the next poor unsuspecting potential buyer.

As a matter of interest, have you ventured into the property market since your experience outlined above ?

marie rosanna

i have just recently withdrawn, am exhausted, but still looking.... just looking

marie rosanna

hi woodville 56, i have been down the road of going sale agreed 4 times now, in the last 9 months, hence the comment re: exhaustion... and I had an emotion on the last sale agreed that fell through and I couldnt put my finger on it...........it was ...dispair....

marie rosanna

4 different properties.....

TheDriver

How many times?

johnnyskeleton

The Irish property market is such a disaster at the moment, that I don't really see the problem with bidding on several properties at once.

Just make sure that every offer is "Subject to contract / contract denied".

If you are concerned about whether it is morally right to bid on several properties at once, well vendors take several bids from purchasers at once so it is not like you are doing something they are not. Plus, you can always say to them at the start that theirs is only one of several properties that you are bidding on at the moment. If they aren't interested in your bids then then leave them be. More often than not, it will remind them that theirs is not the only property for sale!

TheDriver

johnnyskeleton wrote: »

Just make sure that every offer is "Subject to contract / contract denied".

I don't think that is required as you can walk away until contract signing stage [maybe immoral but not illegal...]

marie rosanna

TheDriver wrote: »

How many times?

4 different properties, one after the other, I did not have 4 at the same time, put an offer on one, waited, problems surfaced (no planning permission), stepped away from that one, found another property, bank involved and vendor issues, waited 5 months for contract, had to walk away, 3rd house, had boundery issues that where unlikely to be resolved, i had to walk away from that, and 4th one, had complications in that a relative surfaced at the last minute.... I had put deposit on all of these, and had to retrieve deposit when all of these issues surfaced...... did not have 4 on the go at once, this was all one at a time, over a period of nine months...:(

TheDriver

fair play for walking away. I have had the relative stepping in situation also and its a pain in the arse, people should be penalised for stupid family infighting messing up these sales. No planning is also something I have noticed is fairly common regarding extensions and likewise boundary issues. Frustration aplenty

marie rosanna

no regulation, no structured process, no one accountable, if I had got surveys on all of the properties, It would have cost a fortune and not forgetting that someone else may have had the same property surveyed and had to step away, and then along comes the next person..... the surveyors are making a fortune, as are the estate agents......

padjo5

marie rosanna wrote: »

4 different properties, one after the other, I did not have 4 at the same time, put an offer on one, waited, problems surfaced (no planning permission), stepped away from that one, found another property, bank involved and vendor issues, waited 5 months for contract, had to walk away, 3rd house, had boundery issues that where unlikely to be resolved, i had to walk away from that, and 4th one, had complications in that a relative surfaced at the last minute.... I had put deposit on all of these, and had to retrieve deposit when all of these issues surfaced...... did not have 4 on the go at once, this was all one at a time, over a period of nine months...:(

That's a seriously bad run of fortune!! Hopefully the right one comes along soon!