House Purchase Query

slingerz

Hi all,

Apologies in advance if this is in the wrong location.

I am looking on buying a house with my wife and we made a bid on the house in Mid December. We had bid previously which was rejected by the owner and the estate agent advised us to make a best and final offer after that which we did.

However the estate agent has not gotten back to us on it despite calling him on numerous occasions. When we have gotten through to him he says he will call us that evening but fails to do so.

We have never bought a house before so can anyone here speculate as to what is going on? I appreciate it will all be guesswork but perhaps someone with more experience could give us an insight into what's happening

davo10

Purely speculation, but I suspect your offer is being used as a benchmark by the owner/EA for future bids. If the owner was going to accept it, he/she would have by now.

If you are not going to bid any higher, you could contact the EA and tell him/her that is this was your best and final offer, they either accept it now or you are withdrawing the offer. If you think you may bid more, don't do this, this ultimatum only works once, it loses its effect the second time around.

athtrasna

It could also be a bank sale and they may be in no hurry to commit to a sale below asking price.

slingerz

athtrasna wrote: »

It could also be a bank sale and they may be in no hurry to commit to a sale below asking price.

It met the asking price though that's the only thing. Quite frustrating really the whole process. We have met the auctioneer many times before on other houses in the area that we have tried to buy so it's strange that he'd no respond to us like this as he has always been very prompt in the past

listermint

slingerz wrote: »

It met the asking price though that's the only thing. Quite frustrating really the whole process. We have met the auctioneer many times before on other houses in the area that we have tried to buy so it's strange that he'd no respond to us like this as he has always been very prompt in the past

The only thing you have left on the table is to indicate you will pull your offer in say 1 week from this date. As you have other properties you are going to bid on.

That's what you will have to do if you want to end this without being ripped off on your valuation of the property

Peregrinus

slingerz wrote: »

It met the asking price though that's the only thing. Quite frustrating really the whole process. We have met the auctioneer many times before on other houses in the area that we have tried to buy so it's strange that he'd no respond to us like this as he has always been very prompt in the past

He can't accept or reject the offer without his clients' instructions and it may be they rather than he who is the ultimate source of the delay.

TeaBagMania

id say nothing and keep looking for another house

makeandcreate

slingerz wrote: »

It met the asking price though that's the only thing. Quite frustrating really the whole process. We have met the auctioneer many times before on other houses in the area that we have tried to buy so it's strange that he'd no respond to us like this as he has always been very prompt in the past

This has happened to me at least 4 times now - offer accepted or highest bidder only to find out the vendor has to get bank approval for sale, they have dragged on for 6 or more months and in 2 cases the bank sent the property to Allsops above the EA head. One still waiting to hear, offer went in July. So frustrating.

Askthe EA

makeandcreate wrote: »

This has happened to me at least 4 times now - offer accepted or highest bidder only to find out the vendor has to get bank approval for sale, they have dragged on for 6 or more months and in 2 cases the bank sent the property to Allsops above the EA head. One still waiting to hear, offer went in July. So frustrating.

More frustrating for the EA. He doesn't get paid.

makeandcreate

Askthe EA wrote: »

More frustrating for the EA. He doesn't get paid.[/quote

In 2 cases, had cash ready to go - schools sorted, new job lined up and the EA knew it was going to need bank approval but I wasn't told until a week after offer was accepted. Also had current house sold, so it affected more than just me. Maybe they did not expect the bank to baulk but they led me up the garden path a bit.
The other 2 where much more transparent and I genuinely know they did not expect the problems. The fault is more with banks who seem to be sitting on properties or putting them on the market with no real intention to sell at the current market level.
Obviously the EA wanted the sales but they had more clarity than I did regarding the situation.

slingerz

EA must have been reading here! Got back to me this evening saying the house was ours for an additional 5K. I'm not sure it's worth the additional 5K but herself wants it. We'd have to do approx 15K refurbishment to the place on top of it

makeandcreate

slingerz wrote: »

EA must have been reading here! Got back to me this evening saying the house was ours for an additional 5K. I'm not sure it's worth the additional 5K but herself wants it. We'd have to do approx 15K refurbishment to the place on top of it

Great news. 5k - it depends how long you think it will take to find somewhere else - if you are paying rent it's 3 to 6 months rent .... would take that long to find another house.
If it ticks other boxes go for it.... If an extra 5k puts you off, it's probably not the right house for you.

listermint

makeandcreate wrote: »

Great news. 5k - it depends how long you think it will take to find somewhere else - if you are paying rent it's 3 to 6 months rent .... would take that long to find another house.
If it ticks other boxes go for it.... If an extra 5k puts you off, it's probably not the right house for you.

I don't think thats fair either. 5k is soliciters and stamp duty it's not small change to people.

Tbh op you could be just getting mugged off for 5k.why hand it over? Are you the only bidder? You could have the upper hand here. You could stick to your bid and say there is no more you need it for works or offer half of the 5.

I wouldn't just hand it over at this stage.

mistybluehills

slingerz wrote: »

Hi all,

Apologies in advance if this is in the wrong location.

I am looking on buying a house with my wife and we made a bid on the house in Mid December. We had bid previously which was rejected by the owner and the estate agent advised us to make a best and final offer after that which we did.

However the estate agent has not gotten back to us on it despite calling him on numerous occasions. When we have gotten through to him he says he will call us that evening but fails to do so.

We have never bought a house before so can anyone here speculate as to what is going on? I appreciate it will all be guesswork but perhaps someone with more experience could give us an insight into what's happening

Pull out, tell EA you're off. Don't be nice about it either. Get your solicitor to bid on your behalf with a slightly less amount a few days later, e.g. 20k less, all in trust, EA won't know it's you. See what comes back then. View another house or two onEAs books.
Can bring up the house in conversation at that time. Tell the EA you will pay x ie your original price, but you need an answer in 48 hrs from owner, or no deal. You are sick of the messing etc
EA rings your solicitor about your in trust bid, solicitor says no, not a hope, client won't pay anymore and bid is only valid for next 24 hrs.
House owner will then rush to close the deal,
So u will get the house, or possibly have your in trust bid accepted and save 20k.
All fully legal too btw.

Parchment

makeandcreate wrote: »

Great news. 5k - it depends how long you think it will take to find somewhere else - if you are paying rent it's 3 to 6 months rent .... would take that long to find another house.
If it ticks other boxes go for it.... If an extra 5k puts you off, it's probably not the right house for you.

This is nonsense. 5k is a lot of money to most people.

TeaBagMania

listermint wrote: »

5k is soliciters and stamp duty it's not small change to people.

this.... id put a spin on it, tell them you'll pay the extra 5K if the seller pays solicitors and stamp duty

slingerz

Lots to think about there

I never heard of an in trust bid before? The 5K is stamp duty and various fees alright.

Under pressure to get a house though so that may swing. That and herself now has her heart set on it.