What should I do next?

I recently attended an auction (selling by auction is really unusual in our area). 3 registered bidders but only one other person and I bidding. I was the highest bidder until the vendor made a bid well above my highest bid. Property passed in.

The agent was really dismissive at the end of the auction and said 'you're not even close.' He didn't seem at all interested in pursuing negotiations and was actually quite rude.

Any advice about what I should do next? Should I make another offer or wait and see if they contact me?

 

Just wait for the agent to contact you or relist on the market again. Sometimes the vendors expectations are too high, especially in a sellers market like Syd/Melb. Obviously this vendor is not in a rush to sell.

 

Thankyou Kangabanga. Back to trawling the web I think!

 

Not a good agent to work with imo.
Even if you aren't close to expectation there are much better ways to communicate with buyers. He should be enticing you to offer more, even if you aren't close, and not communicate so abruptly. You and others probably would want to avoid dealing with him again. A professional yet friendly manner goes a long way.

Just my 2 cents.

 

Thanks @Gockie, It was actually a really awful experience. Definitely not someone we would ever consider selling with now! Hopefully they put it on the market with a price guide and that may give us a better indication. I am hoping something even better comes along now though.

 

I just thought I'd update this as I always love hearing how things turn out. My husband contacted the agent 2 days later (he is impatient) and offered 10% above our highest bid with a 4 week settlement. This was rejected and a counter offer of 50k higher than the vendor bid was made. We thanked the agent for his time.

Two weeks later he received a call from the agent advising that they had an offer and he told him the price. He asked what we wanted to do so we offered 2k more than that offer. He then called back and said that the vendor had accepted an offer 3k higher than our offer.

It really was he weirdest situation, is buying houses usually this complicated? We have only done it twice before!

 

If the agent is telling you the other person's offer they are likely lying I find. Also what stops them from telling the other person your offer? They are not your friend...

Pay what you think the house is worth and then walk away, don't pay attention to the other distractions out there (other offers). Play your own game.

 

Just play the game backwards,if the agent is still playing the numbers game and as you may be the only person,then just say thankyou for your time and i'm going to look elsewhere as that's the final offer,then see what happens to the other offers..

 

@Big Will Sorry I missed your first post! That is so true, I think I just get caught up in the rush and urgency.

You were both exactly right! Agent came back today and offered us the house for our first counter offer. To be honest it is more than we had set a limit for the property for so I think we will just offer what we are happy to pay and then walk away knowing we did our best.

All the games make me feel uncomfortable about the house anyway!

 

This agent sounds like a real tool. As much I like seeing idiots get a taste of their own medicine I think you should consider making a serious offer, if you're serious about the property that is.

The sooner you're done with him the better.

Good luck.

 

Thanks @Air_Bender, I did think our offers were serious? We put them in writing and everything?

Maybe he didn't consider them serious though? That might've been the problem. He basically said that the other offer's finance wasn't as organised as they stipulated and whoever signed the contract first would get the property as the owner was 'over it.' He made out like the other party was still in the running but there offer was higher!

I find it all so confusing.

 

The games (I like to call it a dance) is what I find the most enjoyment with property.

I would do it everyday if I could afford it but sadly I cannot.

If the agent came back to you, you are in a very strong negotiating position as your offer is likely the best one they have and could be the only interest they have around your price point or at all in total.

 

I had the experience where the vendor not the agent was playing it up. I was highest bidder at the auction, but the agent said quietly afterwards that they were really annoyed: the vendor had only given them the reserve just before the auction started, and it was higely over the worth of the house (even more when taking into account the suburb values).
The agent quietly stated that unless I was going to go up $100k then there was no use trying to come to a agreement post-auction as highest bidder.
They put it on the market after the failed auction. Then switched agents. Then took it off the market for 12 months.
When it came back on the market I again was there bidding - with a different agent, and being assured that "the vendors were more realistic than last time". This time it went "to be sold" (after interesting auction antics) and I was outbid. No problem - someone valued it more than I did. Interestingly, it was still only $50k higher than my bid the previous year, and that $50k was probably the CG in that year. So they could have had effectively the same price as I bid at auction the year earlier and the use of the money over that 12 months...ah well.

So for your situation, I would give them your original price and say something like "that's what it's worth to me", while explaining that you have 2-3 auctions on the weekend to go to and a couple of inspections during the week. Explain that your offer is therefore time-limited - say 48 hours - as you will need to be able to bid again on the weekend. Wait for them to respond with a counter-offer, and then decide how much you want the property...

 

Thanks for all your advice we paid the deposit today. We decided just to offer what we were comfortable with and walk away and they accepted. We were a little surprised and it confirmed my suspicions that they probably never had another offer We got it for 100k under reserve which was good. It makes us now investors too eek! Cannot wait to learn so much more!

 

Enjoy the ride

 

Auctions are often a pain in the rear, but so can places on open market, some vendors are not seriously selling & just fishing for a silly amount or buyer.

 

That is awesome!