On Wed, 01 Sep 2004 11:32:19 +0100, Mike Mitchell
wrote:




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?

Sealed bids are normal practice in all kinds of commercial
transactions. It is commonplace the world over for somebody
purchasing goods or services to invite sealed bids from would be
suppliers and then to select based on what is offered and the price.
This is simply the reverse of that.

It's also naive to assume that the English system is transparent.
If you make what appears to be an open bid as a buyer, the agent or
the vendor can say that they have a higher one in an effort to bid up
the price. It may or may not be true. A sealed bid system does at
least prevent the wasted time of going round in circles.



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.

This is simply not true. The buyer made an offer that they were
happy to do at the time and the vendor accepted it. Both parties
were happy at the time and that is the end of it. It isn't a rip off
at all.

In any case, the buyer has had the opportunity to get a valuation and
to decide whether he wants to bid at, below or above this value.

In an open system, if the market is rising, the same thing happens -
the bidding goes up beyond the point that the vendor would have
accepted in the first place.

From what you are suggesting, you would only be happy to accept a
situation where the vendor sets a minimum price that he would be happy
with and advertise that, so that the first buyer willing to pay could
come along and make that offer. Why would any vendor want to do
that?



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?


That's up to you, but I can't see many vendors agreeing with you.
The property market isn't about playing fair. It is about the
vendor getting as much as they can for their property consistent with
making a sale at all and the buyer paying as little as he can
consistent with being able to secure the purchase.
It's not a gentlemen's club.


..andy

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