Q&A

Your property questions answered

Agent won't put my low offer to the vendor

I am having problems actually putting in a bid on a particular house. It has been on the market for eight months - I saw it then but did nothing about it, although I have been keeping an eye on it. Two weeks ago I put in a bid of just over 20 per cent below the asking price - I appreciate that it's a low bid but you never know. I called the agent four days later to find out what the seller thought and he said he hadn't even put it to her as it was way too low, "a derisory offer" he said and asked me to come back with a more "sensible" offer.

Most agents would consider it their professional duty to put any reasonable offer to their client - your agent clearly considers your offer unreasonable and maybe that's because he has had to put several similar low offers to his client over the past eight months and has been given short shrift. Indeed the vendor could very well have told him not to come back again with such a low offer. But that's nothing to do with you. Stop phoning and put your offer in writing to him - e-mail or note - requesting that the bid be put to the client immediately with a response in writing to you in the next three days. If no response is forthcoming, mention you will be forced to go directly to the seller. That should get things moving.

Are property buyers' trips abroad worth it?

What is your opinion on free buyers' trips to a foreign country? My son who lives in London is due to go to Bulgaria on a two-day trip and wants me to go with him. We are keen to buy a holiday property together (not necessarily Bulgaria) - not as an investment but for family use.

These sort of "viewing" trips are fine once you understand exactly what you're getting involved in. Once you arrive in Bulgaria (or wherever) your entire trip will be scheduled with every minute accounted for. It's not the free holiday it seems. You will be brought around various developments or sales offices to see "off plans" schemes and a salesperson will pull out all the stops to persuade you to buy. You'll only hear positives and see the upside of your "investment". Some people are cool in the face of such enthusiasm and pressure, take it all in, say thanks very much and come home with nothing more than a little bit more information about foreign property. For others the charming hard sell, coupled with the sunshine, is too much and they end up signing for something they don't necessarily want. The best way to buy a property abroad is to visit independently, talk to local estate agents to get an accurate picture of the market (so you're not paying an inflated "Paddy price") and visit several different types of properties within your price range. By all means go on this trip to Bulgaria but if something takes your fancy, don't sign anything, take time to think about it when you come home, and revisit it again in a few weeks' time without the hard sell sales person, and while you're there, look around at other properties on offer in the area to make sure you're getting the best deal.

Your questions

Send your queries to Property questions, The Irish Times, The Irish Times Building, 24-28 Tara Street, Dublin 2 or email propertyquestions@irish-times.ie. Unfortunately it is not possible to respond to all questions. The above is a representative sample of queries received. This column is a readers' service and is not intended to replace professional advice. No individual correspondence will be entered into.