I had a question about making counter offers. If you have made an offer that has been rejected for a property but the property is still being listed, would you go back to the real estate and put forward your offer again and if so, how long would you wait? I have put an offer for a property that has been listed for almost two months now. It is actually only $8k under their asking price of $385 plus (the agent emphasised the plus) but the real estate agent has been very inflexible. I saw these about 5 of these apartments sold for $370k last year, the last one in November by the same agency.
They did drop their price by $10k but I think realistically they were only expecting to get an offer around that mark anyway so I don't see they have come forward in any way. Generally speaking if you find yourself in this situation, would you go back to the agent after a certain period of time has lapsed? They say it's a buyer's market but from what I can see is that a lot of sellers are desperately holding onto to their dreams of inflated prices, refusing to bend at all and their properties are being listed for weeks/months on end.
Hi NSW
There’s no explicit rules when it comes to negotiating. The only tip I can offer is to work out exactly how much you’re willing to pay for the property based on your own research and use that figure as the basis for your negotiations.
Cheers
Jamie
Jamie Moore | Pass Go Home Loans Pty Ltd
http://www.passgo.com.au
Email Me | Phone MeMortgage Broker assisting clients Australia wide Email: [email protected]
NSW2011: Mate I'm having the same sort of trouble. Real estate agents seem to think if they put '+' or 'from' or 'offers above' that you can't make an offer under it, had one guy get angry when I did and never called me back to let me know how the offer went- I imagine he probably shredded it (They had offers above 269k I offered 265k)
The property is still sitting on the market 6 weeks later and am waiting for the 'call of shame' asking if i'm still interested, i'll offer 255k then
I'm with you though, lots of buyers holding onto those inflated prices inflexible to move and spurred on by Real estate agents telling them to keep waiting as something will come up.
Fully: The property I put in an offer for is advertised at $389k. I've spoken to the agent and he has told me they are only accepting offers that are $385k plus. The agent told me that once they dropped the price to $389k, they would sell in a week. Hmmm … it's still being advertised a month later. I don't whether the sellers are delusional or if it's the agents who are feeding that delusion. I'm not sure how long your property needs to sit on the market before you realise that the price you set may not be achievable in the current market.
And that's another thing, sellers who paid too much for a property off the plan and expect buyers to pay a higher market price for it to cover their losses or sellers who want to sell it in a year or two in an area where the market hasn't moved significantly but are not prepared to take a hit. I will be interested if you get the 'call of shame'. After six weeks on the market, I think $265k is quite a good offer if they are asking for offers over $269k but what do I know
Hi NSW.
How do you know your offer was actually presented to the Vendor(s) for consideration? In South Australia, for an example, ALL 'Letter's of Offer' MUST be presented to the Vendor(s) by the Real Estate Agent within 48 hours. The Agent MUST also get the Vendor(s) to sign an acceptance, rejection or counter offer to the Purchaser. In this way, you, the Purchaser, KNOW FOR SURE the Agent has indeed presented your offer. If this is not the case in the state you live (which is probably NSW as an obvious guess), may I suggest you re-submit the exact same offer to the Agent but add a codicil to the "Letter of Offer' that it must be signed-off by the Vendor as either being outright rejected, accepted (perhaps subject to different conditions), or the Vendor(s) counter offer in selling price and/or conditions of sale at a lower price. I hope you get the idea. Have a look at the OCBA (Office of Consumer and Business Affairs) website in SA and check out the regs and laws surrounding a simple letter of offer to purchase residential property and simply apply the same criteria to your offer.
I hope this has been of some help to you.
Kind regards,Real estate agents have an obligation to present all offers to the buyers, but often they will reject an offer without even submitting it to the buyer.
Make sure your offer gets submitted to the buyer by informing the real estate agent of their obligation (if they are tough) and I have found that it helps to ask for a counter offer from the seller if your offer is rejected. Half the time you don't get one, but this shows the real estate agent you are ready to negotiate and aren't just low-balling them.
I have often made counter offers straight away after receiving the news that my offer was rejected. As long as you stick to what you want to pay for the property and don't get talked into going higher you should be fine.
Whenever an offer is rejected I will always tell the real estate agent that I need to look at my finances before I submit another offer.
Ryan McLean | On Property
http://onproperty.com.au
Email MeFWIW, the market has come off at least 5-7% since Oct/Nov 10. The agent is dreaming if the price that they have on the place is right if it is still sitting there. The market has turned!!!!
Go back at the same (or lower) price, in writing and in person. Ask them to contact the owner (in your presence). Depending upon the size of the office & who you are dealing with at the moment, try to deal with the principal of the office and cut the sales person out of the deal.
Thank you all for your responses and yes, I am buying a property in NSW! I've had problems dealing with this real estate agency. This agency sell 80% of the apartments in this area and I have found out since that they are owned by the developer and hence they are quite arrogant as they almost have a monopoly in this area.
To cut a long story short (you can read about it more here – https://www.propertyinvesting.com/forums/community/opinionated/4331369?page=1), I made a complaint about the first agent I spoke to so when the second offer was made, it was through another agent at the company. I trust the second agent more but he may have just spoken to the first agent to relay the offer and not spoken directly to the couple. I think the first agent would rather bite off his arm than sell to me but that serves him right for being so patronising.
In one of his less guarded moments, the first real estate agent said that the couple who owns the house bought it in 2009 directly off the developer for $370k, hence why they want to make some kind of a profit. I understand that but at the same time, it's not my problem they are selling a property within 18 months. The motivation to sell the property is because it is too small for them so I personally think it's false economy to wait until the market is stronger so they can get an extra $8k for their apartment just to pay an extra $8k or more for their next property. Surely, it will more sense in this market to sell low (if you are forced to) but buy low too?
Ok, so I've got a few things I can do as suggested on this thread and on the other I posted:
A) I can send a letter directly to the owners and ask them if they received the offer. I can do this tomorrow morning. I can add a codicil to the "Letter of Offer' that it must be signed-off by the vendor.
C) I can rock up to the agency and personally re-submit my offer and ask them to call the vender while I'm waiting there. I think I'll have to call the agent first to make sure he's there but considering they only service that area, it should only be a short walk to get back to the office.At this moment in time, I'd only go up $380k but I'm even reluctant to do that at this point and the second agent asked me for my best offer which I gave at the time. My fear is that even though I don't feel I've done anything wrong is that I could possibly burn my bridges with this agency who as I said sell a lot of the properties in the area.
pm me & i’ll strategise it for you.
snm
Scott No Mates wrote:pm me & i'll strategise it for you. snmI have sent you a PM. Let me know if you have received it. I'm not sure if they are working!
I went to an open house where it was advertised as “$900,000+”
I had a sneak peek on the piece of paper the agent was writing on…he had offers ranging from 620-830k ….ahhahIt was sold for $863k 2 weeks later.
I say offer what would make you “happy” no point buying something and feeling ripped off! dont rush! there are PLENTY of properties out there!
Regards
MichaelMick C | Shape Home Loans
http://www.shapehomeloans.com.au/
Email Me | Phone MeSame Banks. Better Rates. Served With a Passion.
Shape wrote:I went to an open house where it was advertised as "$900,000+" I had a sneak peek on the piece of paper the agent was writing on…he had offers ranging from 620-830k ….ahhah It was sold for $863k 2 weeks later. I say offer what would make you "happy" no point buying something and feeling ripped off! dont rush! there are PLENTY of properties out there! Regards MichaelI spent a few years transitioning from one career to another and couldn't take out a loan. In the meantime, I saved up my deposit so I have been patient but I think it's my time
However, I live at home and pay minimal board so I have time on my hands and I'm prepared to wait it out. Good work on the 'sneak peak' but don't you think there is more movement around that price range than the lower price range I'm looking at?If this is a brand new listing and the agent havn;t had any “serious” buyers…then it be hard to pull the price down…
On the another hand, if this property been listed for 40+ days i find it’s soooooo much easier to bargain and the agent tend to be more “understanding ”If you want to see how long a property been listed for go here- http://refindhouseprices.com/
Regards
Mick C | Shape Home Loans
http://www.shapehomeloans.com.au/
Email Me | Phone MeSame Banks. Better Rates. Served With a Passion.
Shape wrote:If this is a brand new listing and the agent havn;t had any "serious" buyers…then it be hard to pull the price down… On the another hand, if this property been listed for 40+ days i find it's soooooo much easier to bargain and the agent tend to be more "understanding " If you want to see how long a property been listed for go here- http://refindhouseprices.com/ RegardsThe property has been listed for almost two months. I viewed the property when it had been listed for three weeks and put in a counter offer around the 5th week. Believe me, this process has been anything but easy
but I am quite proud of myself for speaking to the agency and putting the second offer through another agent.There is even another apartment which has been listed for 6.5 months in the same block and the owner wants $390k when her apartment needs about $4k work and the apartment I posted about in the same building is listed for $389k and is immaculate.
I love looking at that website which I found out about from this forum & put it on my Facebook and Twitter account!
Doubt & fear are two powerful tools.
I can add a codicil to the "Letter of Offer' that it must be signed-off by the vendor.
However, I live at home and pay minimal board so I have time on my hands and I'm prepared to wait it out. Good work on the 'sneak peak' but don't you think there is more movement around that price range than the lower price range I'm looking at?
but I am quite proud of myself for speaking to the agency and putting the second offer through another agent.You must be logged in to reply to this topic. If you don't have an account, you can register here.
