The vendor himself – rather than the agent?

Is that something that is good practice? I know my lawyer would be horrified!

Re. the vendor's financial (possible) constraints:

I know that he owns at least two properties, has a senior role in a mutilnational company, owns a very nice car and may possibly own a business.

Can I fairly assume that all claims of 'crying poor' should be ignored? – OR – due to the divorce, there may be certain financial thresholds that he…[Read more]

Great advice guys, thank you – ESP. Tamara. I'll have a think, and speak with the agent at some point to try to ascertain where the vendors head is at.

thank you.

Scott No Mates wrote:
 (and use this as the max that the bank will approve)

I'm  sorry, I don't quite follow exactly what you are getting at – can you please clarify?

Great points everybody. Might just have to lay my cards on the table, hope that the vendor sees logic, and be prepared to walk away if he doesn't.

As for how I found out about the divorce, the agent let it slip while my valuer was doing his inspection.

The agent seems to think that the valuer was from the bank, when in fact he was an independent valuer. Not sure if that misperception has any significance? Either way, the agent has asked me for what the figure the valuer gave us on several…[Read more]

I mean, surely the agent realises the vendor is being wildy unrealistic, right? 

Thanks for the quick responses – really appreciated.

re. Vendors motivation, I know the vendor is divorced, and has previously had the property on the market at a higher price again. 

In any case, the upper limit of our valuers recommendation is well short of the…[Read more]

Thanks for the quick responses – really appreciated.

re. Vendors motivation, I know the vendor is divorced, and has previously had the property on the market at a higher price again. 

In any case, the upper limit of our valuers recommendation is well short of the…[Read more]

Thanks – just writhing email now.

should I include the length of settlement in the offer at this point?

Anyone?!

 Kinda want to get back to the agent today, but don't want to compromise our negotiations.

I've been on the phone a fair bit this morning, and spoke with a Geotechnical Engineer that said what we are probably needing is a 'Slope Stability Test' – rather than a soil test (which is more for contamination than stability)

Also, is there any way to check that the large trees that are on the block are firm, and present no serious threat to the property?

(ie. they are big enough to basically wipe out the house if they were uprooted, and fell on the house)

Good advice JacM, thanks.

So…basically the only way of knowing that they have lied about an offer is if the promptly is still on the market in a few weeks time?

Further to this, is there anything preventing them from taking the liberty of inflating the amount of any offers – real or otherwise?

Can you ask for the actual amount of the other offers – and if so, to what extent is the agent bound to tell the actual truth?

Also, are there any measures that buyers can take to gauge the reality of either claim?

And it was good to get a professional unbiased opinion of the property – which was actually inline with our own estimations of the properties worth. The valuer also pointed out some things which we had not consider, which was valuable advice.

is there any point in using the valuation as a bargaining tool in negotiations with the agent – or will…[Read more]

And if you've already engaged an independent valuer, and they have already visited the property?

Thanks Jamie – the main issue with what you are suggesting is that the property in question is somewhat unique and it is difficult to find some meaningful comparisons in the area.

How do the bankers generate their valuations?