On Tue, 31 Aug 2004 18:26:21 +0100, Janet Baraclough..
wrote:

The message
from Mike Mitchell contains these words:

On Mon, 30 Aug 2004 23:08:57 +0100, Janet Baraclough..
wrote:

The message
from Mike Mitchell contains these words:


I believe that when it comes to the biggest asset most of us will ever
acquire, there is no room for funny business and vendors should state
the price up front as in England and Wales.

The Scottish system is an auction. When property in England and Wales
is sold at auction, the price starts at a reserve and goes upwards, just
the same.

In an auction you get to see what others are bidding and can pull out
or go on accordingly. In the Scottish sealed bids system you are
driving blind all the way. It is a ridiculous system.

It's an auction where you only make one bid, which is what the
property isn worth to you. You can't get carried away and bid more than
you intended.

Not an argument that sways me. If adults with some degree of common
sense bid more than they intended, then they are crazy. But when the
system is blind and mired in secrecy, it's the system that is crazy.
And what kind of auction system other than this sealed bid system for
Scottish property would last more than a second if, say, you went to
an auction room to buy an antique and you only had one bid available
to you?

There must be thousands of Scots who, after moving in, hear through
the grapevine that Mr X would have willingly accepted a much lower
offer. In other words, Mr X has ripped off the buyer.

There are also fixed price property sales in Scotland; it's used for
newbuilds, and sometimes for property which didn't attract any auction
bidders.

Yes, I saw some fixed price properties on RightMove. Perhaps even the
Scots are getting wise to their own grossly iniquitous system.

The Scots much prefer their own system; it's fast, secure and there's
no gazumping or last-minute bullying. You won't want to hear this, but I
bought this place in a week, and sold the previous one in a fortnight.
Surveyors, lawyers and mortgage lenders all work at that speed.

So, surveyors, lawyers and mortgage lenders need scams like this to
work at speed!! In other countries, surveyors, lawyers and mortgage
lenders work efficiently within a fairer system. That is no argument.
As for gazumping and so on, simply make the offer (for English/Welsh
properties) binding at the time of the offer with a significant
deposit. That would also have the effect of cooling the market, as
people would need the readies to begin with and you wouldn't be
plagued by time wasters who haven't even put their own property on the
market yet. I have had several of these, and it never ceases to amaze
me that they think (like I once did) that selling one's house was a
mere formality.

I've bought and sold in England and Scotland and much prefer the
Scottish, both as a buyer and seller.

As a seller, I can understand! As a buyer, I'd be extremely put off by
the Scottish system. And once I'd bought my house there and had spent
a few years living in it, if I decided to move, I'd get it valued and
play fair with people by stating a fixed asking price. Not much to
ask, is it?

MM