The Underbidders Survival Guide
You had your hopes up, building inspection paid for, contract checked and budget set… you’d told your friends and family. You were ready to be the buyer. The one putting the sold sticker on the board… this is the one.
But there’s another buyer prepared to pay more than you, now you’re clapping while the agent walks over to shake their hand, walk them inside to sign contracts, and take their picture in front of the house. It’s a tough pill to swallow, being the underbidder. But it happens, even for professional bidders like us.
As with all of life's toughest moments, it’s how you recover that matters most!
Our tried and true underbidder process keeps client morale high, while most become bitter and dejected after missing out, we’re focusing on what’s next and how we can skip straight to “It was meant to be!”
First things first, don't panic. We allow our clients to grieve what could have been for the remainder of the weekend. Meanwhile of course we are working behind the scenes to find something better.
Being a qualified buyer (someone who is actively looking, or even better, has just missed out at auction - an ‘underbidder’), means you’re like gold to agents. They’re able to have more compelling conversations with potential vendors about the buyers on their books, and are more likely to get you through pre-market and off market properties. It also means they now have a pretty good idea of your budget which can lead to dangerous territory in negotiations as they may offer you ‘exclusive’ off market options at an increased price point just because they know you’ve got it.
This is where having an independent advisor in your corner is going to help avoid a rebound into a less than suitable and overpriced purchase. Knowing how to negotiate and having an in-depth understanding of values in your search area means you’ll be less likely to rush into the wrong property.
Given we feel pretty confident in our negotiating abilities and valuations, we like to push the underbidder position and use it to our clients advantage. After missing out at auction on a Saturday, an ‘underbidder’ email goes out to up to 200 agents in the local area looking for the next opportunity. The aim is to have 1 - 3 solid options lined up to inspect with our clients the following week.
The same goes for on market opportunities, particularly property that passed in over the same weekend and now has an advertised price below budget on what may have initially been thought to have been an over budget property…. Now they’re golden opportunities not to be missed! They also require close monitoring of the general market in your chosen area. A text to the agents to find out the result on any properties of interest that day will put you ahead of your competitors given the results are often not reported until a few days later.
Another job that can be handballed to your favourite advocate, if you’re clever enough to engage one. This is what we do on the daily, we work full time on your search so you don’t have to. All you need to do is decide which one you want to buy and we’ll take care of the rest!
So if you’ve just missed out at auction, and you’ve got the underbidder blues, call in the team at Prop Culture. We’ll help you forget your troubles with in-depth analysis and Sold stickers!