The vendor himself – rather than the agent?

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

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.

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 occasions – which I have not done.

in any case, our maximum range – as informed by our own research, and our valuers assessment are not anywhere close to what I would call 'near' the vendors asking price.

this is a pity, because finding a another truly comparable property in the area  could take a long while.

Thanks for the quick responses – really appreciated. I agree – I think we will walk, and say 'get in touch' if the vendor changes mind.

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 vendors asking price. Is there any merit in simply saying to the agent: 'look, we simply cannot afford to buy a property that will be impossible to sell?'

Thanks – just writhing email now.

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

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)

Good advice JacM, thanks.

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?

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 the fact that we have simply engaged the services of a values lend our offer more weight?

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?