real estate agent playing games

j2ack780

Hi all,

Looking for some advice on a property I have given a booking deposit for since Dec 2023. I was told that current tenants of the property are to move out by March 2024. I have done all due dalliance on my end in terms of getting a mortgage approved, solicitor docs ready etc. The auctioneer hasn't sent contracts to my solicitors yet and it's building some anxiety. I got a call from the auctioneer that other parties were coming and offering more than what he had agreed with me. The issue here is the real estate agent is asking me to go and talk to these people if I want the house which is again agreed with myself. I'm not sure why he is asking me to go and sort this out with the third party and has given me their details. I feel like this is a breach of client and auctioneer data and serious GDPR issues.

However, i did go and talk to the person and mentioned that I have a sale agreement with the auctioneer on the property. I was then told that when this person went to the auctioneer, the auctioneer mentioned there was no sale agreed upon and that he wanted an offer on the property.

Any suggestions on how to deal with this issue? I have everything ready on my end and just as the tenants are leaving the auctioneer seems to disrupt our agreement.

Thanks

pummice

Sounds like dodgy stuff from the auctioneer, however nothing is legally set in concrete until contracts are signed

j2ack780

What would be my best option here- its clear the auctioneer is giving me personal information on the third party who has made the offer and telling me to go sort it out with them. i have been chasing the auctioneer to get the contracts sorted from the seller and have it sent to my solicitor.

con747

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121826239#Comment_121826239

What has your solicitor said? They are the ones that deal with the contract.

RoboRat

Wait what? You went sale agreed with the property owners... let's call them Party A

Another party has come in bidding more on this property. Let's can them party B.

The auctioneer has told you to talk to party B and sort it out?

You went and talked to party B and they said that the auctioneer said the property wasn't sale agreed, when it was?

If this is what happened it's very strange and I would be very wary. What did party B say when you talked to them? Were they looking for go away money? Are they still bidding? I'm not sure what the auctioneer thought would happen by you getting in contact with them... and they definitely shouldn't have shared party B's details with you.

My guess is the auctioneer is probably trying to eek a few more quid out as they're generally on a percentage of sale commission. Whether they're legit bidders or you're essentially bidding against the wall is unclear (ie they're not really bidding but pushing your price up).

I would dismiss party B and ask that party A get their solicitor to get in contact with yours to get this moving. It might mean that you have to doorstep them if they're still living in the property. If you can't communicate with party A, I would give an ultimatum and say you're withdrawing your bid if this doesn't start moving along... you have nothing until you have the contracts anyhow.

If you get in touch with party A, I would also let them know about what's happening and let them decide if they want to do a private sale, and cut the auctioneer out (if they're unaware of what was happening)... they would save a couple of grand on the auctioneer commission and they would have every right for the silly games. You would need to be able to prove an of this though.

If you're mortgage ready and there is no chain involved, plus you're flexible with move in dates, you have a lot of cards in your favour. Getting involved in a mortgage chain is a ton of hassle for many.

That's my view and I hope you get sorted.

j2ack780

Hi,

Many thanks for your informative reply.

So party A (sellers) I haven’t agreed with them. It’s through the auctioneer. I have paid a booking deposit to the auctioneer since Dec 2023. It’s only now that the current tenants are leaving in March that the auctioneer is trying to play games.

I also believe he is just trying to get a few quid up and is telling other parties that the house hasn’t been sale agreed, which is incorrect as he has a sale agreed with me with a booking deposit.

I have also been in contact with my solicitor and let them know of everything the auctioneer is at.

My main concern is why he wanted me to go talk to the other party that had given him an offer. It’s just confusing as he just told me where they live and what they said to him and told me to go sort it out.

Now I’m vary that others might go to him and he might start pushing people to give more offers on the property. Morally it’s not correct as I have already a deal made with him.

Thanks

dickdasr1234

Immoral?

Auctioneers

Car salesmen

Politicians

in that order

oh, and can insert horse traders wherever you think fit.

thereiver

There should be a sale agreed physical sign on the property ,look on the estate agent s website ,is it for sale or sale agreed?

bartkingcole

Is there some rule now about current tenants getting an opportunity/first refusal? The auctioneer did not do that and is now trying to get the two bidders to sort it out?

Mellor

This is all a bit confusing.

You keep saying auctioneer? Did you agree at auction, if so that is binding. But. I assumed you were using it synomously with real estate agent. But you also mentioned an estate agent, is that a separate person?

If you paid a deposit in December, you should have got the contracts soon after. I'd get you solicitor to request contracts immediately, noting the deposit paid.

Peregrinus

This is bizarre.

There is no signed contract as yet. If the vendor gets a higher offer from another bidder and he wants to accept it, he is free to do so. It may be scummy behaviour, but it is legal.

I do not understand why the vendor's agent would suggest that you should go and talk to other bidders. What are you supposed to acheive by this? Scare them away with threats of violence? If they're going to bid more than you, there's hardly anything you can say that will change their minds.

It sounds to me like this is a ham-fisted attempt to get you to increase your offer. The other potential bidders could be a put-up job though, honestly, I think it's more likely that they are real and the vendor's agent is trying to leverage their interest and get you to put in a higher offer.

I'd tell the vendor's agent:

1. You want a contract (at the already-agreed price) within 7 days, or your deposit back. The contract can provide for completion to be deferred until the tenants leave, so that should not be an excuse for not having a contract.
2. In the meantime, if the vendor gets a better offer that they are minded to accept, he should tell you, and you will consider your position and decide what to do. But also tell him that you have no appetite for gettting into a bidding war; if there is a higher offer, there's a sporting chance that your decision will be to ask for the immediate return of your deposit. Also tell him that you will not under any circumstances talk any more to other potential bidders.

j2ack780

Hi, appreciate the reply.

I do think also that the vendors agent is trying to put me on a bidding war.

My concern is do I have any legal leg to stand on here when the agent is giving me other bidders house number and telling me to go sort it out with them. That surly has to be a breach of letting out clientele’s personal information.

Thanks

Peregrinus

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121826651#Comment_121826651

Don't get hung up on this. If anybody's rights are being infringed here, it's the people whose personal data is being given out. They might be entitled to complain about that, but this is not your fight to fight. You should prioritise your own interests.

horse7

Its the seller who is giving instructions to the estate agent, terrible to loose a house but I think you should give an ultimatum to the agent that if the contract is not sent to you within x weeks you want the deposit refunded. Remember it's not the agent who sends the contract, it's the seller solicitor who is under instructions from the seller.

Hooked

Auctioneer seems a right dose! NEVER have I heard of one asking bidder 1 to 'sort it out' with bidder 2. Your solicitor should have put manners on them before now. The fact of the matter is - that the house ain't yours till contracts are signed by both parties. All you have paid is a booking deposit. And - I'm sorry - but it means sweet F-all!!!

If it were me - I'd call the clown of an auctioneers bluff. Tell them you want out - you're going after another property - and ask for your booking deposit back IMMEDIATELY. I lucked out on 2 houses with this behaviour before eventually buying the 3rd. Not an ideal road to go down - but looking back - glad I didn't panic and get into bidding wars.

Odds are that they will shíit the bed, and at the risk of losing a committed buyer and upsetting the actual seller, they'll stop playing these stupid games.

I was near the finish line on a property 2 years ago when the buyers of my 'old' house were anxious to get in but their solicitor (unknown to them) was acting the clown with me/my solicitor in regards to the attic and some laneway behind us... with their CLIENT unaware! My solicitor wasn't exactly fighting my corner - so I lit a fire under them all - and said (by email)- remove the 2 x hold-up clauses ASAP (attic/laneway) or the house was going back on the market. The contracts were issued the next day... and the BS clauses removed. Sometimes these apes just need a toe in the hole.

Hooked

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121826651#Comment_121826651

Yes - a breach of GDPR. But nothing to do with you getting the house that you have gone sale agreed on. They can do what they like until the contracts are signed. Call their bluff - or play their 'bidding war' games. See my reply above...

Havenowt

Is the estate agent asking you to contact the other bidder or the actual owner of the property?

j2ack780

Hi,

Appreciate your feedback on this.

It seems to be the same approach I might go with. My solicitor is onto the auctioneer regarding this issue. In the mean time I’m already looking at other properties. I really don’t want to be mixed up in bidding wars. I may offer a tad bit more just to see how the auctioneer reacts and if he’s still being a clown I’ll just ask for the deposit and look elsewhere

Hooked

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121828106#Comment_121828106

IMO I wouldn't offer more - that's what this clown wants. You agreed a price and paid your booking deposit... If the auctioneer wants to take their chances elsewhere, and start over - let them to it. We were gutted to drop out of our first sale-agreed, but looking back we couldn't be happier where we ended up. Sure, it cost us time and a bit more money - but we got there in the end!

27cyrix

I wouldn't waste any time on it. Withdraw your offer and ask for your deposit.

herbalplants

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121828599#Comment_121828599

This 👆is the correct answer. Pull out of this game. Deposit back with interest. Also let him know you wasted opportunities in buying other property.

The quicker agents learn how to act transparently, the better for us a society.

Dav010

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121834774#Comment_121834774

You are not going to get interest on your deposit, anymore than you would be charged interest on a delay caused by the buyer.

The reality is that if the other bid is genuine, the seller has no contract with the op so may be tempted to go with the other bidder. It’s a terrible situation, particularly after going sale agreed, but on another thread a poster complained that an EA didn’t give him the opportunity to submit a higher bid than what the property went sale agreed for.

I’m unclear if the op is referring to communication with the other bidder, or with the seller when they say the third party (assuming op and EA are one and two). Certainly it is strange if the EA passed on details of the other bidder, but he may first have got consent to do so and it certainly negates any suspicion of the bid being of the phantom variety, which seems to be frequently levelled by underbidders.