Forum Replies Created
Holdencommodor said “(Yes I am an agent – and you get good and bad in every job, but if an agent isn’t to blame, don’t dish out your anger on them just because you lost fair and sqaure.)â€
I think the point being made here is that people feel they haven’t lost fair and square. From the perspective of the person buying they put in an offer and the next thing they hear back that someone else has bought it. Surely if you put in the offer first you should hear back before another offer is presented. You are left wondering about what has happened in the meantime. You wonder has someone else been contacted and told “If you want the property put in a better offer nowâ€
I hear from agents that Dutch auctions are not allowed but isn’t presenting multiple offers at the same time the same thing as a Dutch auction especially when no secret has been made that an offer has gone in?
I get the impression here in WA that members of certain ethnic groups tend to wait until someone puts in an offer and the agent then facilitate the gazumping of the offer. This all happens behind the scenes so there is no way of knowing what has happened.
I lost 2 sales this way with an agent that claims to specialize in selling to Asians. I think there is something wrong with a sales system that allows others to come in and make offers before you hear back and then facilitates this thing of multiple offers. Perhaps, if somehow, multiple offers are submitted at a single home open the sale could then fall back to an open auction with the people who had submitted offers. Then everyone would have been given an equal opportunity to offer what they are prepared to offer.
I’ve had similar dilemmas with dealing with agents. On 2 separate occasions with the same agent I have submitted offers, on separate houses, and the agent said another offer was submitted at the same time that was accepted. This is really suspect especially when the accepted amount is for what I offered and I had no chance to further negotiate. Perhaps the agent has some associated interest (friend, relative etc) that gets an upper hand.
With my last purchase, I discuss with the agent what would be accepted. They do have an interest in having the sale go through and as such they see their job as making both sides come to an agreement (that’s when they get their money as already pointed out). Talk to the agent about why he believes the market value is and why. This is where your own knowledge of the market is useful in negotiating. You can give the agent some ammunition for negotiating with the seller. When you and the agent agrees the price is fair and is likely to be accepted I ask that the offer is immediately submitted so I don’t come up against this thing with multiple offers being submitted at the same time. I understand the agent can’t, by law, then submit another offer until the negotiation is over. If the owner says I’ll wait and see what other offers come in I then withdraw my offer as a standing offer puts you in a weak negotiating position. This is what happened with the last place I purchased and after a couple of weeks of the house not being sold I put in a lower offer than the original that was eventually accepted.
Quote from above – “I love Banks….they are my greatest ally in building wealth and cashflow streams from my investing endeavours. They are my partners who unequivocally stand by my side and treat me with respect as long as I perform all of the functions explicitly stipulated in the contract that governs our financial relationship.”
My experience with the Commonwealth bank has ceratinly not been like this. I have performed all the functions required plus more and managed to still get stuffed around whenever I deal with them.
I find there is always some last minute hitch, especially when they have you over a barrel like just before signing and they pull out fees that were never mentioned before.
On my lasts loan the approval process dragged out because the loans officer decided he would only approve the loan as a business loan, despite the loan being a personal loan, for personal investment, secured by my own owner occupied house. My accountant said the bank can call the loan whatever they want but it was by law a personal loan. This meant the loan did not come under consumer protection laws and they said “we have had to make the monthly fees $48.00 because of the discount in interest rate we gave you” – this will more than negated the interest discount – to me a complete deception.
Is there anything that stops a bank from deciding at the last minute to classify a loan as a business loan and pull out last minute fees? Why can a bank classify a loan as a business loan when legally it is a personal loan?
They will do this when they know you don’t have time to go somewhere else. It is not fair to say “don’t complain about signing something after you have signed it ” Ok so the bank may make their legal declarations before you sign but is it fair if they do this at the last minute after some internal reviewer has had his say and well after you have come to an understanding (subject to final approval) with your personal banker whith their full knowledge about needing to meet a settlement date?
Yesterday I heard a financial commentator say he recommends people fix the interest rates on 40% to 60% of thier loans. With interest rates at historical lows, with an outlook is for increasing interest rates and with some fixed rates below the variable rates now is the ideal time to fix rates.
I made an enquiry to my bank and the fixed rate for 3 years was 0.02% greater than my discounted variable rate. I advised the bank over the phone that I wanted to fix my rates and they recorded my request for a 3 year fixed interest rate and are sending out the paperwork. The bank promised the present rate will hold, because of my request, even if the rates go up while the paper work is being mailed. I hope that is true but I have had plenty of broken promises and mis representation from my bank – but never in writing. Has anyone else had changes made to their loan conditions after agreeing on them?
I also live in WA and can’t see WA prices dropping because of the 0.25% increase in interest rates (a quarter of a % is 0.25% not 0.025% as in Steves newsletter)
There is a large net migration into WA causing the housing shortage and the increases in housing prices. Perhaps a 0.25% increase in interest rates may reduce what people can borrow but they will still need houses. I think some of these realestate announcements are deliberate attemps by agents to manipulate markets to their advantage. With a shortage of houses for sale and people hanging on to houses to get the capital gains of course real estate agents are going to say “sell your house prices will drop”
John
