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April 1, 2007
Last minute offer change
My wife and I were looking at a co-op apartment in a brownstone in Brooklyn, and the realtor told us the seller had put out a call for a best and final offer. We submitted a bid, which was accepted. The next day, the realtor called us with the bad news that a higher offer had come in, but granted us the option of first refusal. The new bid is just slightly higher than ours, and we know we could match it and are tempted to go for it. But are we being scammed?
Comments
This same thing happened to us on a house with Aguyo (or however you spell it) we lost the house. The whole situation totally sucked but the good news is we found a house we loved so much more shorty after that. Good Luck. Let it Go.
Posted by: Anonymous at April 1, 2007 3:33 PM
Chances are quite good that you're being scammed--the problem is, there is absolutely nothing you can do about it. I think every broker in the city does this (including the one who sold our house for us, without telling us)--it's a very effective and obviously unethical way to create a sense of urgency and to get buyers to stop dillydallying over price. However, if it's not too much higher than your offer, and if you truly love the place, you'd probably forget the pain pretty quickly, no? I think there should be a law that requires brokers to PROVE there is another firm offer by showing you a piece of signed paperwork from that alleged (usually phantom) buyer, but in Brooklyn, which still has kind of a wild west realty system, that's dreamin'. Good luck!
Posted by: Bob999 at April 1, 2007 3:51 PM
I was subjected to a similar situation at least three times. My approach is to stand by my recent offer and be ready to walk away. If there really is another buyer it becomes apparent a little later in the process. Three out of three times - the other buyer didn't "come through"...
Good luck!
Posted by: Gary at April 1, 2007 9:45 PM
Not always a scam. Good brokers sometimes end up in this situation and play it out at the client's request. A broker can ask to see a written offer from the broker for any buyer so there often can be evidence to support this. I've been the guy thinking he was scammed and losing the house, I've gbeen the guy with the winning bid... scammed or not, and I've been the seller with legit competing offers who asked for best and finals. Go with your gut. If you love it and can deal, then go for it. If the stretch is too much, there's always something else sooner or later.
Posted by: Anonymous at April 1, 2007 10:37 PM
I agree with 10:37. Brokers want fast sales. The additional fee they get from a "last" round of bidding as you've described - legit or not - doesn't make the risk of both bidders walking away worth their while.
Posted by: John at April 2, 2007 8:35 AM
As a broker I thought best and final meant just that...not always. Although I counsel owners that I am repping that if we go this route we need to adhere to the results. But as they say money changes everything. The broker wants a signed contract period, and a smooth transaction. We really don't stand to make a significant amount of money off the increase of a best and final scenerio..by that time the price has probably reached its threshold so to speak. Problem is this is NYC and people don't like to "lose", hence after the B&F is over Mr/Ms. loser tells there broker to submit another higher offer and we have to submit it to the seller. Now maybe that extra $5 or 10K doesn'nt mean much to us, but to the owner it's different story...what would you do? I counsel we stick to the original winner or as other posters have said what is the point of best and final? I have been on both sides of this scenerio and it's never pleasant! But owners get greedy and sometimes find it hard to turn down more money, ten grand is ten grand...So you're probably not getting "scammed" just caught up in this un regulated battle of egos and money...the ball is in your court, good luck!
Posted by: AgentB at April 2, 2007 9:16 AM
As a broker I thought best and final meant just that...not always. Although I counsel owners that I am repping that if we go this route we need to adhere to the results. But as they say money changes everything. The broker wants a signed contract period, and a smooth transaction. We really don't stand to make a significant amount of money off the increase of a best and final scenerio..by that time the price has probably reached its threshold so to speak. Problem is this is NYC and people don't like to "lose", hence after the B&F is over Mr/Ms. loser tells there broker to submit another higher offer and we have to submit it to the seller. Now maybe that extra $5 or 10K doesn'nt mean much to us, but to the owner it's different story...what would you do? I counsel we stick to the original winner or as other posters have said what is the point of best and final? I have been on both sides of this scenerio and it's never pleasant! But owners get greedy and sometimes find it hard to turn down more money, ten grand is ten grand...So you're probably not getting "scammed" just caught up in this un regulated battle of egos and money...the ball is in your court, good luck!
Posted by: AgentB at April 2, 2007 9:18 AM
As a broker I thought best and final meant just that...not always. Although I counsel owners that I am repping that if we go this route we need to adhere to the results. But as they say money changes everything. The broker wants a signed contract period, and a smooth transaction. We really don't stand to make a significant amount of money off the increase of a best and final scenerio..by that time the price has probably reached its threshold so to speak. Problem is this is NYC and people don't like to "lose", hence after the B&F is over Mr/Ms. loser tells there broker to submit another higher offer and we have to submit it to the seller. Now maybe that extra $5 or 10K doesn'nt mean much to us, but to the owner it's different story...what would you do? I counsel we stick to the original winner or as other posters have said what is the point of best and final? I have been on both sides of this scenerio and it's never pleasant! But owners get greedy and sometimes find it hard to turn down more money, ten grand is ten grand...So you're probably not getting "scammed" just caught up in this un regulated battle of egos and money...the ball is in your court, good luck!
Posted by: AgentB at April 2, 2007 9:18 AM
I have been in this situation, too, and ultimately increased my bid $9,000 over what I had hoped to pay (which was already $11,000 over asking). I have moments when I regret it and feel that I was played, but the bottom line is that I love the house and the neighborhood and plan to live there a long time, so the $9,000 is not terribly significant in that context. If you can see yourselves living there for a long time and the house meets most of your requirments, I say go for it.
Posted by: Anonymous at April 2, 2007 2:23 PM
Sounds like a big scam. I thought "last and final" was supposed to be just that. Do you have anything in writing saying they're accepting your offer? I don't think it would hold up legally anyway, but as a rule, get everything in writing.
Unless you're extremely invested in the property already - financially (lawyer's fees, inspection, etc) or emotionally - I would say to walk away.
Just keep in mind that if the broker is playing these games before you're even IN hard negotiations, they will likely try to play more games later on down the line. Bad omen.
Walk walk walk...
Posted by: Anonymous at April 3, 2007 10:41 AM
This is the game that is played out here in Brooklyn, for sure. If you're dealing with Aguayo & Huebener this is their way of doing every deal. They are a dispicable bunch of people that give all real estate agents a bad name. We had a disastrous experience with A&H back in November 2006. All that being said, like others have mentioned, go with you gut. If you love the place and can safely, comfortably afford more and it will make you happy--go for it. If the (possibly very likely) scenario of being "scammed" into paying more will make you bitter & lose sleep, then walk away. But you always have to be able to walk away until it's really yours anyway. Good luck & we are now very happy in our place that we bought NOT thru A&H.
Posted by: Anonymous at April 3, 2007 7:01 PM
Stand pat. The higher offer will mysteriously disappear. I've seen it happen over and over and over....
Posted by: Anonymous at April 3, 2007 9:06 PM
I'd leave my offer on the table as-is, clearly stating so. If the other offer is accepted, they might back out after inspection, they might not get a high enough appraisal and have financing refused, they might have less to put down. Even after the other offer is accepted, there's a good chance the seller will wind up without a buyer and then you can step back into the game. Don't be anxious, keep looking at other places, and wait to see what works out. I've seen houses on the market for over a year that have gone under offer repeatedly...makes you wonder why?
Posted by: AW at April 4, 2007 11:52 AM
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