how to make offer when Property says "Inquiry between $300K - $360K"

[ak22]

You can deal direct with the seller but the seller has a contract with the RE so will prob still be liable for commission depending on the contract. Either way not the buyers issue.

AK22 your reply could be " I believe both yourself and the vendor have unrealistic expectations, something for you to ponder on." :P

LOL Maccachic! I like your approach.

[Leftette]

I would be very tempted to eail the agent back and voice your concerns re the misleading advertisement. Don't be scared to quote the body that governs REA's. I suspect he's broken the rules, if not strongly bent them, if the vendor will not accept $300001 under any circumstances.

[ladyagent]

yes!.......

[sidinz]

Is the REA a nationwide chain? Could you go into a local branch and put your offer on paper? An agent local to you would be more likely to actually forward it to the vendor, I would have thought, as they haven't had the personal contact/instructions.

And I agree, it is misleading. If they had a set price in mind, they should have just put a price on it, or "enquiries over" rather than "enquiries between".

[McDuck]

Now, I fear I did it wrong. Please help.

Here's the RE agent's email to me after I emailed him my "offer price":

Thank you for that. However the offer you have made is well below the sellers expectations. They have made it clear to us that unless an offer is at least in the middle of the range it will be unacceptable. We also believe that this is fair and reasonable for that particular house. Something for you to ponder on. Cheers.

This is easy.

Firstly, don't confuse the two separate issues.

Don't even worry about what the Agent can or can't legally do. Sort that out after the deal is done. Get him a several thousand dollar fine if he's been breaking the rules. Commission might even be void.

So, what to offer...?

Well, it's all about mental conditioning.
You have two players to out play.
Player one , the agent, condition him by offering 10% below the lowest price.
Then let him stew for a while.
Call him back and come in at the lowest offer, ask him to present it with a view to increasing it at the counter offer.
Even if they recognise your tactic, they will at least know they're not dealing with a chump. Many agents will recognise your tactic but try and ignore it because in their minds, they and only they are the most clever players.

If he agrees, you are now in the face of player two, the vendor.
Because player two has seen your lowball, the pre conditioning has already started.
The closer you get to the lower mark, the better you have played.

PS: don't forget to do a comparative valuation - just to make sure you are in the right general area.

Remember, the agent is motivated by getting a quick sale first, and getting the best possible price second. The agent will be working whichever end is softest the most.

[td91]

Start low and use negotiation to work towards the ideal price

[ak22]

This is easy.

Firstly, don't confuse the two separate issues.

Don't even worry about what the Agent can or can't legally do. Sort that out after the deal is done. Get him a several thousand dollar fine if he's been breaking the rules. Commission might even be void.

So, what to offer...?

Well, it's all about mental conditioning.
You have two players to out play.
Player one , the agent, condition him by offering 10% below the lowest price.
Then let him stew for a while.
Call him back and come in at the lowest offer, ask him to present it with a view to increasing it at the counter offer.
Even if they recognise your tactic, they will at least know they're not dealing with a chump. Many agents will recognise your tactic but try and ignore it because in their minds, they and only they are the most clever players.

If he agrees, you are now in the face of player two, the vendor.
Because player two has seen your lowball, the pre conditioning has already started.
The closer you get to the lower mark, the better you have played.

PS: don't forget to do a comparative valuation - just to make sure you are in the right general area.

Remember, the agent is motivated by getting a quick sale first, and getting the best possible price second. The agent will be working whichever end is softest the most.

Thanks McDuck for this strategy. Wish I've read it earlier. tsk tsk.

Here's an update to what happened to my offer.

I emailed back agent inquiring why he didn't put my email offer into a written S & P. Agent replied saying vendor might not take it due to offer price not within their range. He's trying to tell me this to save work (he said). Plus, he mentioned another buyer is also interested.

A day after, he again emailed me saying he can show my offer to vendor or if I'm prepared to increase my offer. He said he had another offer from buyer as well. He can present my offer (if I'm still interested) together with the offer from other buyer.

I stuck to my initial decision, asked him to offer my original offer price ($290k) with the aim of increasing price during negotiation. Also, I thought he's bluffing (ooopppsss). He said he will present my offer together with the second offer from other buyer when he talks to vendor.

The following day, I got an email in the afternoon saying vendors has gone with the other buyer and property is now under contract.

Now, I'm wondering if I made the right moves. I was willing to pay upto $310k but probably misread the whole scenario? Property has been in the market since February, no offers til I made an offer. Sometimes, I'm thinking I should have started my offer from $300k and stopped at $310k.

I guess i big lesson learned. Now, I'm back to searching again for my first IP.

Thanks so much for all your inputs/suggestions/advise. It really helps when you hear other's opinion especially that I'm a newbie.

Happy weekend.

[sidinz]

Consider making a complaint about the REA not putting your offer on paper in the first place. If he'd done that, you might have been able to negotiate a contract before the other buyer came sniffing around.

Clear case of the agent working for himself and not in the interests of the clients. He saved himself a little running around at your expense and perhaps that of the seller (for all you know, the offer they accepted may have been below your top figure.)

[Maccachic]

Though a multi offer situation vendor can only neg with one of the parties not play them off against each other, this should have been explained to you? So therefore you would have been advised to but in your best offer.

[cube]

Your 'offer' was used to make the other offer look good, so thanks from the agent for that.

Don't worry about it - Keep Calm and Carry On to the next deal.