Auctioneer taking the pi**

seanie r

Where do i start!I'm looking to buy my first home had my eye on one house that needed alot work, no heating needed a small extension re-wire it etc......so went to auctioneer on the 11th one week ago from today.Said he couldn't bring me to view it as he was in office on his own so he let me have to key to view it!was really happy with it alot better then I was expecting and location really suited me.So said what was I waiting for and went to auctioneer the following day to make a offer which was 5k below asking price as I wanted no hassle sale.So gave my opnion on the house to auctioneer with my offer to which I got reply "I appreciate the offer but could you call back next week as everyone in office in hollidays" as he pointed me in direction of door!!! So a week later I called back today said hello im sean was here last week about "" "" "" house.He pretended he didnt remember so I explained I made the offer on the house and im here again as he asked.He said "oh yes, I put the offer to the family but wont hear anything back until middle of week as there is two brothers and a sister involved".Something tells me there is sumthing up here thay maybe he is stalling for his friend or a builer to buy it for a backhander? Just doesnt seem right?

GarIT

An old house in disrepair has most likely been inherited in a will. The healthy don't just abandon houses.

Wills are complicated and it can take time to get the correct paperwork done and get all parties to agree. Also they probably have a solicitor each rather than one so that slows things down more.

davo10

Which part doesn't seem right? Sellers/auctioneers put a guide price on properties but also have a price in mind below which they will not entertain a bud/sale. (eg seller tells auctioneer "put it on the market for €100k to to generate some interest but I won't sell it for anything less then €120k")

If the house was inherited by siblings, all must agree to a sale and that decision won't be made without due consideration. If they are not in a hurry to sell, it can take a while and a number of bids for all parties to be satisfied so either hang in there or forget about it.

seanie r

GarIT wrote: »

An old house in disrepair has most likely been inherited in a will. The healthy don't just abandon houses.

Wills are complicated and it can take time to get the correct paperwork done and get all parties to agree. Also they probably have a solicitor each rather than one so that slows things down more.

Thats fair enogh but ive only made a offer on the house surly the will and paper work hasn't much to do with accepting the offer?

seanie r

davo10 wrote: »

Which part doesn't seem right? Sellers/auctioneers put a guide price on properties but also have a price in mind below which they will not entertain a bud/sale. (eg seller tells auctioneer "put it on the market for €100k to to generate some interest but I won't sell it for anything less then €120k")

If the house was inherited by siblings, all must agree to a sale and that decision won't be made without due consideration. If they are not in a hurry to sell, it can take a while and a number of bids for all parties to be satisfied so either hang in there or forget about it.

Just doesn"t seem like standard procedure to escort a customer out of the building without even taking a name and phone numer after making a respectable offer on a property.the house is not in a very sought after location in rural cork so dont think the price is to generate interest.

MouseTail

seanie r wrote: »

Thats fair enogh but ive only made a offer on the house surly the will and paper work hasn't much to do with accepting the offer?

Probate can take a while, getting siblings to agree on a price to sell at can take longer still. Did the auctioneer not take your contact details?

seanie r

MouseTail wrote: »

Probate can take a while, getting siblings to agree on a price to sell at can take longer still. Did the auctioneer not take your contact details?

Not when I made the offer first he pretty much escorted me out the building.

MouseTail

seanie r wrote: »

Not when I made the offer first he pretty much escorted me out the building.

In fairness, sounds like a rural Auctioneer who all but shuts up shop at the height of Summer, a very slow selling period. He did ask you to call back next week. Do you think now he is taking you seriously?

davo10

seanie r wrote: »

Thats fair enogh but ive only made a offer on the house surly the will and paper work hasn't much to do with accepting the offer?

No, but the amount offered surely does. It is difficult enough to get one person to agree a sale (we irish are so attached to our properties, we always think they are worth more than they are), but more than two people agreeing to a sale is a challenge as at least one (usually the one who needs the money the least) will be in favour of holding out for a better price.

Don't take this so personally, just phone auctioneer and ask to be updated. County Cork is a beautiful place and properties in rural private settings are popular with locals and foreigners so don't assume you are the only bidder. Prepare yourself for the "long game" on this one and don't bother describing all the work that needs to be done ad why you feel it is only worth X, this is not a situation where seller needs to sell this property to buy another, they already know the condition and have an idea of the price they want for it.

crackcrack30

davo10 wrote: »

Which part doesn't seem right? Sellers/auctioneers put a guide price on properties but also have a price in mind below which they will not entertain a bud/sale. (eg seller tells auctioneer "put it on the market for €100k to to generate some interest but I won't sell it for anything less then €120k")

If the house was inherited by siblings, all must agree to a sale and that decision won't be made without due consideration. If they are not in a hurry to sell, it can take a while and a number of bids for all parties to be satisfied so either hang in there or forget about it.

So he put it up at a low asking to generate interest , interest was generated so he threw the op out.....brilliant.

davo10

crackcrack30 wrote: »

So he put it up at a low asking to generate interest , interest was generated so he threw the op out.....brilliant.

Yip, interest was generated, at €5k below asking price.

Eldarion

Don't know why people are making a big deal about him being "escorted" out of the office. The agent made it quite clear he was on his own, he could have had another meeting to get to and needed to close up, or just been completely up the walls and didn't feel that recording a sub asking price offer for what is probably one of their lower units was worth his priority. The verbal offer was fairly meaningless to him as well, be much better for all involved for the OP to put it in an email.

You can perfectly conclude a sale without ever stepping foot in an Estate Agent's office too. I don't think there's much up here beyond the Estate Agent just not keeping on top of things to be honest.

BeatNikDub

seanie r wrote: »

Thats fair enogh but ive only made a offer on the house surly the will and paper work hasn't much to do with accepting the offer?

It doesn't, but the executor/s and siblings do.
Executor sales can be tricky. It has to go through all the siblings and there are emotions to take into account too.
Plus with the time of the year it may very well mean that one or more parties are on holidays and the agent has to wait for feedback.

Put your offer in writing and email to the agent. Ask him for a date as to when he is likely to have a proper answer for you and then follow up.
Not much more you can do than that.

Diane Selwyn

I was under the impression that Auctioneers were legally obliged to keep a register of all bids received for each property but I don't know if/how that information can be accessed.

RainyDay

BeatNikDub wrote: »

Put your offer in writing and email to the agent. Ask him for a date as to when he is likely to have a proper answer for you and then follow up.
Not much more you can do than that.

Better still - give him a date on which your bid expires.

crackcrack30

Its a known fact at this stage that you would have a better chance of receiving respect, attention and customer service when spending 100 euro on a meal or a pair of shoes than you would get spending 100k on an apt or house with most auctioneers .......and without the fear of being ripped off.

Eldarion

crackcrack30 wrote: »

Its a known fact at this stage that you would have a better chance of receiving respect, attention and customer service when spending 100 euro on a meal or a pair of shoes than you would get spending 100k on an apt or house with most auctioneers .......and without the fear of being ripped off.

Interesting line. Just curious but would you expect to see a different level of service between say paying €20 for a meal in a local cafe and paying €150+ for a meal at Michelin star restaurant?

Everything is relative, I guarantee that same estate agent would be fawning over the buyer dropping a 7-figure sum on a large house but might not necessarily offer the same enthusiastic service to someone dropping a sub 6-figure sum on a cottage / apartment.

chopper6

Eldarion wrote: »

Interesting line. Just curious but would you expect to see a different level of service between say paying €20 for a meal in a local cafe and paying €150+ for a meal at Michelin star restaurant?

Everything is relative, I guarantee that same estate agent would be fawning over the buyer dropping a 7-figure sum on a large house but might not necessarily offer the same enthusiastic service to someone dropping a sub 6-figure sum on a cottage / apartment.

Their job is to treat all customers with respect and dignity regardless of the offer they're making.

Estate agents seem to feel imune from the basics of customer service...for the most part they're just money-hungry leeches.

Eldarion

chopper6 wrote: »

Their job is to treat all customers with respect and dignity regardless of the offer they're making.

Estate agents seem to feel imune from the basics of customer service...for the most part they're just money-hungry leeches.

Then take your business elsewhere. We live in a capitalist society, it's the only way they'll learn.

If people actually took actions to back up their views then I imagine they'd change their level of service fairly quickly. But for the most part it seems people would rather just have a moan and continue to put up with shoddy service.

chopper6

Eldarion wrote: »

Then take your business elsewhere. We live in a capitalist society, it's the only way they'll learn.

.

Not always that easy..if you want to buy in a certain area the properties are usually carved up by a cabal of estate agents.

BeatNikDub

Diane Selwyn wrote: »

I was under the impression that Auctioneers were legally obliged to keep a register of all bids received for each property but I don't know if/how that information can be accessed.

Yip they are. That isn't in question though is it? The OP is just waiting on hearing back which is taking longer than hoped because of it being an executor sale?

RainyDay

crackcrack30 wrote: »

Its a known fact at this stage that you would have a better chance of receiving respect, attention and customer service when spending 100 euro on a meal or a pair of shoes than you would get spending 100k on an apt or house with most auctioneers .......and without the fear of being ripped off.

Just to be clear, the house-buyer is not the customer of the estate agent. The house-seller is the customer.

crackcrack30

Thanks for clearing that up....