Around the time that my mum was buying one of her houses.
She'd put in an offer and an "Under Offer" sticker was placed on the For Sale sign. I thought that this meant that my mum had put in an offer lower than the asking price (which was the case) - hence it was an "under" offer not "met" or "over".
This I saw as a ploy by the sellers/agents to try to start a bidding war with other buyers, prompting them to *hopefully* put in "over" offers.
EDIT: It didn't once occur to me that "Under Offer" meant "a buyer has made an offer to the vendor to buy this property".

On a tangent - why have a price range when selling houses? F'r instance, if I look at a house and it's price is "$450000 to $460000" I'm not about to rush in and offer the larger amount when I might be able to get it for 10 grand cheaper now am I? To me that just goes against the whole concept of haggling.
(Misery McUglywife an attention seeking sociopathic fuckstain., Wed 18 Jan 2012, 23:32, 8 replies)

spastic.

( janet aylia y'all motherfuckers need jesus, Thu 19 Jan 2012, 4:01, closed)

I prefer the term
Property Magnate.
(Misery McUglywife an attention seeking sociopathic fuckstain., Thu 19 Jan 2012, 5:05, closed)

I also wonder about that
the meanginglessness of stuff like 'Up to 100 or more people were crammed into the bus' is slightly annoying too.
(username failed moderation, Thu 19 Jan 2012, 9:13, closed)

The Scottish system is even worse
It's offers over £120,000 (made up price). You have to decide how much you want the property and pitch your bid accordingly. If you offer the asking price, you won't get it.
(Bad Monkey hasn't had an abusive gaz since, Thu 19 Jan 2012, 9:36, closed)

Not quite
It means that if you offer under the asking price you probably won't get it. I've bought two offers-over places in Scotland for substantially less than the asking price.
(ubergeekian, Thu 19 Jan 2012, 9:39, closed)

they must have been dives!
Until recently people i've known were struggling to get anything without offering about 10% above the 'offers over price'. Things have changed now though with a system more like the english one where you can buy for under the 'offers over' or 'fixed' price.
(Studentken is looking for motivation on, Thu 19 Jan 2012, 9:50, closed)

Sounds like a pretty
unworkable system.

If I ask for offers over £1million for my 2 bed terrace in some gretty suburb of Glascow, I'd imagine I'd struggle to sell it.
(username failed moderation, Thu 19 Jan 2012, 11:00, closed)

Here's how I do it
Selling - know what you want, know exactly you lowest amount (if they offer less than that, laugh at them). If you don't want to haggle let the agents/buyers know - far more likely to get "real" bids. State 1 asking price based on market value (don't just rely on real estate agents - get a proper valuation done).

Buying - do your research for the area (I find volume of sales usually has more info for you than asking prices). Have a budget. Stick to it. Drop a minimum of $10000 off the price straight away - go for dropping more if you think you can but have your market/values facts straight or be prepared to be laughed at (and lose the sale).
(Misery McUglywife an attention seeking sociopathic fuckstain., Thu 19 Jan 2012, 11:34, closed)