Sealed Bids - Help

[Anonymous]

Hi,

We are just about to bid on a period property that is being sold by sealed bids as there is a lot of genuine interest in the property.

The guide price is £395000 and the house is getting lots of positive viewings, but it needs work and probably has a current price ceiling of £460000 when renovated.

What level do you all feel would get us a winning bid?

Thanks,
Martin.

 

[Anonymous]

The beauty and the agony of sealed bids

_ nobody knows_ ( I think ! )

You have to do your homework and evaluate what the property is actually worth to you , put in a bid that you can realistically afford, taking consideration of any repairs etc....
As far as you are concerned that is the value of the property, not what anybody else is going to bid.

Good luck

 

[Anonymous]

Well, depends how much you want it? Seems to me the two ends of the scale are desperate to own the house - bid £450001. Speculative and not that bothered if you lose it - bid £350001

How about; £400001

PS always add a quid on the end.

 

[Anonymous]

Unless you are in Scotland, sealed bids have no legal force so you could put in a high one then find an excuse to lower it. I came highest once in a sealed bid process but the seller turned us down in favour of a lower bidder because they could complete more quickly than us (the seller was a professional estate agent who was married to the then chairman of a famous high street bank - this was one of their spare London houses). In retrospect I am glad we didnt get the the property because I prefer the house we now live in.

 

[Anonymous]

Either the asking price or what you can afford, then walk away from it until you have an answer.

If you are in the funds, have it surveyed first, but you will REALLY HAVE to be Sure you want it, and have ALL your funds in place.

Good Luck

Jocelyn

 

[Anonymous]

My answer is a kind of remix of all the ones you've had so far.

I once bought a house in Oxfordshire by sealed bid. It needed a lot of work, so was one of those properties that nobody could really value.
I bid a bit over the guidance price - the maximum that I felt I could realistically afford (leaving enough funds for renovation), and then added 55 pounds. I am a little worried at the idea of adding 1 pound, because I think it can sometimes suggest that you're being a bit flippant.

I won the bid, and I have no idea by how much. I was a cash buyer (no, I'm not filthy rich - just managed to sell my previous house first!) which I feel worked very much in my favour.

Whatever you do, don't get carried away and exceed what you can honestly afford. And as Jocelyn says, do make sure you've got all your funds in place. If you haven't, you can lose the bid even if you initially won it.

One final recommendation: do tell the selling agent that, if you win, you do NOT want to know what the next lowest bid was. If it was 10 pounds you'll be laughing, but if it was 10,000 pounds you'll cry yourself to sleep for weeks!

Good luck - do tell us how you get on.

 

[Anonymous]

Sorry Martin - one more thing. If you put in a bid, it's well worth enclosing paperwork that will confirm to the vendor that you have all the necessary funds in place. This can sometimes give you an edge over other less organised bidders, even if they bid more.
A letter from your solicitor confirming your cash situation plus (if appropriate) a definite mortgage offer is the best way to go.

 

[Anonymous]

I agree with David on the enclosing a letter. We did this, even including how we worked out our offer, of value/work required/end value etc. plus a diclaimer that is an offer which is dependant on all the neccessary legal issues/surveys etc coming back ok.
We bid in our minds a good value for money bid for both parties, which was some way below the estimate. We were in a position to move immediately and we came 2nd. It took the owners nearly three weeks to discount us, which I think was a higher bidder getting his money etc sorted.

So I'd say forget the guide price, look at the eventual resale if it was done up and work backwards, include what would be a profit margin as well and then bid this price.

Graham