Another extortionate way to profiteering.

[Mr Celine]

I though sealed bids was a Scotland thing?

They are. They are also binding on both parties once accepted, so there's no gazumping.

 

[Beebo]

If and when the market turns the buyers will have the power.
We bought our house at £20k below asking price.
It’s just supply and demand. And if i was selling now i would undoubtedly go for sealed bids. Well presented family houses are selling quickly.

 

[Eric Olthwaite]

I'm not sure there's anything dishonourable about auctions. You bid what you are happy to pay. What's wrong with that?

 

[Bonefish Blues]

One of my daughters lives near Stoke on Trent and is trying to buy a house after selling hers. I don't know if this is going on just in the Midlands but she has to put a bid in an envelop and obviously the highest bidder will win. What happened to the old traditional way of just paying the asking price and more the the point, why bother about an asking price? Really, this is more like an auction with a set starting price.

Be aware it's not the case that the highest bidder will automatically win.

I 'won' a sealed bid exercise at over asking price. The vendor came back and asked for more money. I told him to stick it up his *rse.

 

[PaulSB]

I noticed a bit of shameless profiteering recently, but dressed up as environmental concern which makes it even harder to stomach.

Depending where you shop, Douwe Egberts instant coffee is about 6 pounds for a glass jar with 190g of coffee in it. They also sell a "refill pack" alongside, (for to save the planet from too much glass production they tell you - despite the refill pack being plastic). It appears to be cheaper at 4.50, so you consider that instead, because the jar has a cost so you believe that might be where the saving comes from... But then you look closer and notice it's only got 150g of coffee in the pack, making it actually more expensive than the same coffee in a jar, gramme for gramme. So you're not going to buy the refill pack if your head's screwed on, which negates their claim that it's all for the environment.

No, you Dutch coffee bait and switch mongers, the smaller pack is not for the environment, it's for your profits!

This one has been going on for years with coffee. It's always wise to check the gram price on everything.

 

[Slick]

Be aware it's not the case that the highest bidder will automatically win.

I 'won' a sealed bid exercise at over asking price. The vendor came back and asked for more money. I told him to stick it up his *rse.

That is very true and is what we are hanging our hat on as we are cash buyers. We sold our house early December and have been renting ever since but we have been studying our local market for nearly a year now and seeing a steady flow of properties that were listed as sold, returning to the market as people realise you need cold hard cash to bid over the valuation. Unfortunately, there are a number of people in the same position as me.

 

[Beebo]

That is very true and is what we are hanging our hat on as we are cash buyers. We sold our house early December and have been renting ever since but we have been studying our local market for nearly a year now and seeing a steady flow of properties that were listed as sold, returning to the market as people realise you need cold hard cash to bid over the valuation. Unfortunately, there are a number of people in the same position as me.

True. If their surveyor doesn’t agree with the higher valuation the mortgage company won’t lend.

 

[AuroraSaab]

I think it's fairly common now. Certainly round here, 'Offers over' is very common on the listings. I feel very sorry for young people today. My kids will never be able to afford to buy property round here now, even if it was a flat.

 

[Drago]

One of my daughters lives near Stoke on Trent and is trying to buy a house after selling hers. I don't know if this is going on just in the Midlands but she has to put a bid in an envelop and obviously the highest bidder will win. What happened to the old traditional way of just paying the asking price and more the the point, why bother about an asking price? Really, this is more like an auction with a set starting price.

Its been going on for years, an American import, although its picked up in popularity of late. Daughter number 3 came up against this on one property she liked, and I urged her not to do it, even if I bankrolled the difference for her somewhere else myself. If people dont play the game then the estate agents won't be inclined to do it.

Its undignified at best, heartbreaking at worst, to make desperste buyers play some stupid gladiatorial game. Just name your f#$%^@& price up front and folk know where the stand instantly. No stress, no worry, no hopes being dashed after weeks of waiting, no other putchase opportunities missed while they wait to see if their bid is the winner...

What I have discovered since, and what estate agents won't tell you, is that if you make an offer they are duty bound by law to pass it to the vendor, who can then still accept it if they choose to so so.

 

[Badger_Boom]

Whatever happened to houses being a place to live rather than a commodity?

 

[Blue Hills]

What I have discovered since, and what estate agents won't tell you, is that if you make an offer they are duty bound by law to pass it to the vendor, who can then still accept it if they choose to so so.

I think there have been cases where estate agents haven't passed on bids etc though - as they favoured other contendors to do with self-interested chains they were constructing.

 

[Dirk]

One of my daughters lives near Stoke on Trent and is trying to buy a house after selling hers. I don't know if this is going on just in the Midlands but she has to put a bid in an envelop and obviously the highest bidder will win. What happened to the old traditional way of just paying the asking price and more the the point, why bother about an asking price? Really, this is more like an auction with a set starting price.

Nothing new.
We sold a house in Worcestershire on sealed bids.
That was nearly 20 years ago.

 

[Arrowfoot]

Prices, sales and sales approach are all a function of demand and supply. A good government will ensure steady supply by having an organised building program for both private and public housing. That means clear plans on land availability and building infrastructure for utilities to the lands and having land release programs. This helps private developers, builders and contractors to come onboard quickly.

It also involves proper zoning just outside popular locations.

I seen this done well in Australia. The prices in Sydney are crazy high but land development with full facilities are available for new housing. The Govt every now and then releases housing grants to the eligible folks to buy. These must be first time home owners. The property ladder issue is not a thing there.

They too have auctions and sealed bids but not the norm.

 

[Ridgeway]

In the UK aren't you talking about the offering stage ie it doesn't matter on what price you agree or how you came to agree it but either party can walk away at any point and for no reason until contracts are exchanged ie a few days before completion and that's at least 8-12wks since you agreed a purchase price..... seems like madness to me.

The bidding process wouldn't be a concern to me, the fact that the seller can change his mind at any time would be though.

 

[Bonefish Blues]

I have no experience of sealed bids but I do have experience of getting some way down the line and and seller pulling out with a better offer (ie being gazumped). At the time someone (solicitor, estate agent I forget) told me about sealed bids as if they were some kind of enlightened thing done by those much more civilised people north of the border, rather than a means to rapacious profiteering.

The Scottish system is binding once an offer is accepted - that would be a big step forward IMHO.