pre auction offer

Hi Troy,

You can always try the vendor directly but they will no doubt point you in the direction of the agent (and even if they accept the agent will do his/her best to get a better offer). Sometimes you can get lucky and understanding the vendor's motivation to sell will help guide you here.
If you go through the agent the general procedure is to give them the offer in writing, stipulating the amount, settlement terms, any conditions (such as inspection, valuation, finance etc) and an expiration date of the offer.

Bear in mind that if you make the offer within three clear business days of the auction date, you will forfeit your right to cool off on the offer.

A couple of tips in making the offer and the follow up:
 * Request to deal with listing agent only
 * Don't make an offer without first establishing the value of the property first
 * Don't appear excited (as they will use this to get more $$$ from you)
 * Don't chase them up after making the offer, let them come back to you and if they don't then your offer wasn't accepted

Also IMO agents don't like to sell prior to an auction. In a sellers market with favourable auction clearance rates, then the exposure they get from a successful sale is fantastic. They also gain benefits from the advertising up to the auction and of course the people on the street / in the rooms at the auction. They'll also want to get as many people through the property as possible, so if you see a heap of people walking through, then chances are the vendor (also being conditioned by the agent) will prefer to go to auction. If you notice that the place doesn't have the numbers in the frist couple of weeks, then it might be a great opportunity to go for it.

Best of luck, and if you're in the Melbourne area, we provide free workshops about home buying and the negotiation process that you're welcome to attend.