Scottish property system

"Mike Mitchell" wrote | >| It's the silly season 24/7/365 over the border... | >That's why we don't have gazumping, gazundering, chains collapsing, | >negative equity, etc etc. We also don't have the abomination of | >leasehold flats, and our public land registry predates England's | >by a few centuries. | But you do have people paying way over the Offers Over price, i.e. | a stab in the dark, in an attempt to secure the property of their | dreams. There must be an awful lot of disappointed buyers in Scotland!

Pretty much only in Edinburgh, from a demand point of view. Other areas have problems of affordability (house prices vs wages). Scotland's population overall is falling.

Owain

Reply to
Owain
Loading thread data ...

"Richard Faulkner" wrote | I must admit that when I first became an estate agent, I believed | that every buyer and seller were honourable, and took their word | at face value. As time went by, I learned that this was somewhat | naive and, as more time went by, I actually reached the point | where it was difficult to believe any body until they actually | proved themselves to me.

And by then it was 11 a.m. on your first day in the job and your turn to make the coffee...

Owain

Reply to
Owain

"Mike Mitchell" wrote | At least I am trying to do my bit, and can only hope that others | will, too. Call me naive, but someone has to make a start on | sweeping out the Augean Stables.

The only way of sorting out the Augean Stables is to shoot the horses.

Owain

Reply to
Owain

Very good. Do you write for Dilbert at all?

.andy

To email, substitute .nospam with .gl

Reply to
Andy Hall

"Andy Hall" wrote | >| I must admit that when I first became an estate agent, I believed | >| that every buyer and seller were honourable, and took their word | >| at face value. As time went by, I learned that this was somewhat | >| naive and, as more time went by, I actually reached the point | >| where it was difficult to believe any body until they actually | >| proved themselves to me. | >And by then it was 11 a.m. on your first day in the job and your | >turn to make the coffee... | Very good.

Eyethenkewe.

| Do you write for Dilbert at all?

No, can't stand it! I just know too many people too like that.

Owain

Reply to
Owain

Don't I know it! They're all coming dahn sarf! Radio 4 nowadays is wall-to-wall Scottish accents. I mean, I know they are supposed to sound genuine (the accents), but raw Jim Naughtie at 7:00 am on a Monday morning hurts my eardrums!

MM

Reply to
Mike Mitchell

"Mike Mitchell" wrote | >Scotland's population overall is falling. | Don't I know it! They're all coming dahn sarf! Radio 4 nowadays | is wall-to-wall Scottish accents. I mean, I know they are supposed | to sound genuine (the accents), but raw Jim Naughtie at 7:00 am | on a Monday morning hurts my eardrums!

You can probably find Radio Clyde on satellite somewhere...

Owain

Reply to
Owain

Now why on earth would I want to do that?!!

MM

Reply to
Mike Mitchell

"Mike Mitchell" wrote | >| to sound genuine (the accents), but raw Jim Naughtie ... | >You can probably find Radio Clyde on satellite somewhere... | Now why on earth would I want to do that?!!

Would make Jim Naughtie sound braw not raw.

Owain

Reply to
Owain

But only if there are a number of bidders.

If you are the only bidder then you are free to go back and negotiate, but then you don; really make a sealed bid anyway.

What does not happen is that the seller cannot play you off against another buyer. I thought that would appeal to you noble and ethical viewpoint. There is no cheating or trickery. This appears to be the point that you either do not wish or cannot understand.

David

Reply to
David

Now we're getting to the root of the problem ;-)

MBQ

Reply to
MBQ

But it would be much FAIRER if everyone put their cards on the table! Then I can see what others are prepared to bid and on that basis can decide whether to outbid them. They in turn can do the same against me. But in a sealed bid system, buyers will offer well over the price the vendor is likely to be satisfied with, as that is the only way they stand a chance of securing the property.

MM

Reply to
Mike Mitchell

Mike apologies for snipping all of the previous

but there is no point in taking the time to correct anything you said.This is a lost cause,

There is no point is trying to explain something where the opinion is already clearly set in stone. You choose to ignore the facts and opinions of those who have actually experienced using this system in favour of your vague idea of what would happen.

bye

David

Reply to
David

Or where two or more people want the property and are prepared to bid over the asking price. Why do you think people are less likely to take the bidding over the asking price in the open auction system?

I would say the number of successful closed bids in the Scottish system point to the equity of that system.

Shit happens, Learn to deal with it!

If the property is rare then yes, put in an inflated bid, just as you have said can happen in the open system. If properties are plentiful then you know there's another one around the corner, up your bid by a few hundred and eventually you will be successful. The net result is the same in both systems. Where do you think these hordes of bidders making vastly inflated bids are coming from? Nowhere, because they're a figment of your imagination and some journalists spin. Supply and demand will determine the selling price of property. Why can you not see that?

If someone can afford to outbid you they will do so, regardless of the systrem.

The only substantive financial difference I can see is that you end up paying for more abortive surveys in the Scottish system. That's a totally different issue from whether a closed or open auction is fairer. But consider this: In an open system you're actually *more* likely to end up paying more since you will always want to bid more (up to a limit) than the other bidders to secure the property. That little bit extra (usually at least 1K pounds, often more) would pay for quite a few surveys on properties where everyone gets one chance to make their best and final offer.

MBQ

Reply to
MBQ

But you appear to believe that it's only me! That I somehow have this idée fixe, which must therefore be perverse in some way. But The Scotsman reported even earlier than that other report of theirs I quoted from, as, on 12th August, it wrote, under the headline "Scottish house-buyers' frustration with sale system":

ONE in four Scots would prefer the English house-buying system to be adopted north of the Border, according to a new report.

The uncertain "offers over" system, soaring prices and the cost of multiple surveys have led to increasing criticism of the Scottish process, once regarded as superior.

Buyer frustration has peaked in hotspots such as Edinburgh and Glasgow where the offers-over price often bears little relation to the true valuation of the property. The result is that buyers waste time and money pursuing properties which they have little chance of securing.

The research, conducted by BMRB International for Clydesdale Bank, reveals that 25 per cent of Scots support scrapping the current system in favour of the English method - despite such a move possibly opening up buyers to a host of problems from which they are currently protected under the Scottish system.

Jamie Macnab, of the estate agents FPDSavills, said he was not surprised by the findings.

"The [Scottish] system is a mess at the moment and I would wholeheartedly support reform. I am not at all surprised that there is this level of disenchantment," he said.

"For a buyer the asking price scenario is a nightmare. People set their hearts on a home only to find that the seller is expecting a 40 per cent premium."

Now why is it that you ignore the one in four Scots who agree with my view that the system is flawed?

MM

Reply to
Mike Mitchell

Here's a different interpretation of the same survey data:

Everybody recognises that both the Scottish and the English house-buying systems are flawed, in their different ways, and both subject to abuse. But a massive majority of Scottish housebuyers (3 out of 4) do *not* want to change to the English system.

Reply to
Ian White

"Ian White" wrote | Mike Mitchell wrote: | >Now why is it that you ignore the one in four Scots who agree with my | >view that the system is flawed? | Here's a different interpretation of the same survey data: | Everybody recognises that both the Scottish and the English house-buying | systems are flawed, in their different ways, and both subject to abuse. | But a massive majority of Scottish housebuyers (3 out of 4) do *not* | want to change to the English system.

And "in hotspots such as Edinburgh and Glasgow" why would the English system, which gazumping, gazundering and chains, be any better?

The simple fact is that if there aren't enough houses to meet demand then some people are going to end up disappointed.

Owain

Reply to
Owain

In message , Owain writes

And, invariably, when buyers feel hard done by, they tend to complain with the support of the media.

In general, when sellers are hard done by, it is usually accepted as "the norm", or market conditions.

I'm not sure how this element of our culture, in relation to property transactions, has come about.

Reply to
Richard Faulkner

HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.