On Monday morn I submitted an offer for a vacant property that was stale, around 7% below the asking price. This is the cheapest house for sale in the area. Its on a main road and has a psychodelic color scheme. The market in this area is red hot. The offer was submitted to the owner around 10am.
I still dont have an answer despite the agents constant phonecalls that one is coming. My feeling is that the owner is reluctant to sell at that price, and the agent is working hard to convince them this is the only offer available and they should accept. Perhaps they are hoping for another contract in the meantime.
We have dealt with this agent before and through him submitted an offer on a different property 6 months ago. Our offer at the time was declined, and we walked away before the agent even told us the counter-offer. So the agent would no doubt be telling the owner this, aware that it would be risky to make a counter offer even a few grand higher, better to lock us in with the offer amount. We have made it clear we have other properties to put offers in on, so time is of the essence. We told the agent we require an answer by 4pm Weds.
Legally is the contract valid days or weeks later? Guess thats why you should always have a time-limit clause.
anyone think they know what the owner is thinking?
Was the offer submitted by you to the owner directly, with the agent or did the agent submit it on your behalf?
Is the agent calling you or are you calling the agent?
In your conversations with the agent have you learned anything about the vendor or their circumstances? (this info should always be taken with a grain of salt anyway, but can help to formulate the background nonetheless)
With limited information speculating on what is going on, IMO, is a pointless exercise. As you have said the property is stale my approach would be to wait until near the deadline and contact the agent for an update. If there is no committment I would confirm to the agent that my offer will lapse at the appointed time.
If they want more $ or alterations to any other offer conditions the agent will commence a dialogue or if there are superior offers you may not get another look in as it is possible/likely that your lowball offer is being hawked around to others who have expressed interest in this property.If your deadline was written into the offer, and if the offer was in the form of a contract it can be amended just as any other condition in the contract. Thats in SA anyway.
Hope it falls your way.
M.
The offer is still valid until either:
1. if you wrote an expiry time in the offer and that time lapses
2. If your offer is rejected
3. If the vendors make a counter offer (which is essentially a rejection of your offer and then an offer by the vendors to sell)Was your offer in the form of a signed contract? If so, then the contract is binding from the time the vendor countersigns it. If you bought the property in your own name then you can exercise your right to cooling off. If you want to buy in a company name then there is no cooling off period.
If your offer was just in the form of a written offer to purchase and not a signed contract then a contract will not be binding until both you and the vendor have signed the contract.
If you want to put a deadline on it then simply fax a letter to the agent with the deadline and indicating that the letter is to form part of the contract.
I think the scenario is one of the following:
1. The RE Agent is being slack about getting in touch with the vendor
2. The RE Agent is having difficulty getting in contact with the vendor (for perhaps a genuine reason)
3. The vendor is waiting to see if a better offer is coming.My incllination is that it would be no 3. I would be sending a deadline to the RE Agent.
Cheers
K
Either the owner doesn't know about this offer yet, or they are hanging out for another offer because they think in a hot market they may get a better offer, or, as you say; they are still making up their mind.
I'm assuming you've signed the Contract? That makes it a bit harder if there is no time limit on the offer.
This gives the owner the option to still come back to you in a week or even longer, so any other properties you put offers on would need to have some form of "get-out" clause should the offer on this current property get accepted.
morts wrote:it is possible/likely that your lowball offer is being hawked around to others who have expressed interest in this property.good suggestion.
thx for all replies. will keep posted.
I can't tell you how many times i've submitted offers on 'stale' properties, only to find all of a sudden 'WOW' what are the odds another interested investor came out of no where and is suddenly interested and submitted an offer.. and as soon as i stand my ground on price, the 'investor' found another property elsewhere!
I think sometimes it does come down to the owners attitude and personality, some make decisions quick, while others maybe don't sell often and need time to mull over the biggest decision of their life – maybe it's their retirement money. I bought a property from a farmer (it was his investment property), he took one week just to get back to the agent (who i kinda trust), he finally accepted my offer if i threw in an extra $500, lol. well for the sake of not waiting another week for him to come in from the paddocks and check his messages, i threw in the $500.
good luck and let us know if you secure another one!
well……….
1pm today, still no answer, so sent an email:
“please tell the vendor this offer expires @ 2pm today, as we are submitting an offer on property X through agent Y at 2.30pm”
ask price was “offers over 300k”
my offer was 286kagent calls @ 2pm & says “sorry, but we couldnt just pluck a number out of a hat you know…….counter offer is 327k”
I laughed & said no thanks.
2 weeks ago the property was advertised as “offers over 320k” and they got none.
crashy, I just can't resist doing a Darryl Kerrigan (The Castle) and saying…
"Tell 'em they're dreamin'"
Regards, Tracey in Brisbane
When it still hasn't sold in two weeks' time go back and offer $275 …
Cheers
K
as expected, agent just called and said “vendor has reconsidered and has lowered their counter by 17k”
That's ggod news!
So what are you going to do now?
well property X offer was also rejected:
ask: 330k
offer: 306k
counter: 320kmight seem reasonable, but this needs a LOT of work…..2 new stumps & replace stucco.
Im now in a situation where I have take control away from 2 vendors. They can fight with each other over who gets the sale.
May the price war begin!
Offer $315 based on the vendor restumping & replacing stucco.
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