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[QUOTE=½ûÂþÌìÌÃfan]Is it normal for an agent to put the price of a property up as soon as you show interest, they claim the vendor has decided this.The agent is a registered one, but I dont know whether to tell them to stuff it now or should I view then make my mind up ? Has this happened to anyone else and what did you decide to do?[/QUOTE]

Depends how much you want it I guess. Personally I would always move on (we did); there is plenty of property out there. As for price, I tracked one property on 4 different agent's websites at 4 different prices with a max difference of E60k. If it's a stunning property that may be your deciding factor but if it's a standard rustico with 1/2 hectare of land and work needed there are loads - we know, we saw most of them in a 2 year period over which [U]asking[/U] prices have changed little.

despite all thats been said about agents and the registry of..... i could go tomorrow to naples and buy the qualification.... for a certain amount...there are price lists here in italy for virtually every qualification you might care to want..... it in fact makes no difference at all in practice.... there is a professional association for them ....and i think those registered with that association might be less likely to be dubious.... but only less likely not guaranteed....

so in essence i agree with poetica.... if its of exceptional value and at the price rise you still think it is then accept.... i wouldnt even try an offer if not...walk away...

we did... acompany here in abruzzo...featured often i have been told on uk tv and newspapers.... we put in the offer...of the asking price...the owner accepted...we didnt sign anything but were due to arrive in two weeks to do a compromesso and then pay a deposit....guess what agents phoned price up by e10,000 ...because we had not signed up to the deal they had had another person view who was prepared to offer more....

...my father in law...then checked this company out with the chamber of commerce where at that time they were not registered to trade in italy.... there followed several threatening and abusive phone calls from these people .... needless to say the sale to us did not go ahead... i beliee though have never checked this company is now registered as an estate agency....

.... we also got a call a few months after t had all happened...an apologetic call from the owner of the house we were interested in.... he suggested that he had no knowledge of all of this and that we buy his house minus agents at less than the original price... needless to say agin...we didnt bother...

moral of the story...it happens...theres no easy answer.... and it happens everywhere...wasnt it the uk that gazumping was invented... look for value is the only real answer

.....remeber, houses can stay on an agents books for a long time; the property market in Italy is not as fluid as the UK (or ½ûÂþÌìÌà cities) and property is not seen as a commodity to be bought & sold, they tend to be seen as homes.

You may have been unlucky(!) but I've always said, go with you gut feel. If you feel the agent/vendor is taking to whatsit, look elsewhere....... there are STACKS of properties, believe me!

You could ask to meet the vendor and take along an independant interpreter, then ask what the real price is, as it appears to be common (certainly in my area) that they tell the ½ûÂþÌìÌà vendor one price and the English buyer another.
In some cases the difference being E50,000
Our estate agent had a brand new Audi within 3 days of our rogito, so I think that we probably paid for it!
Trust no one!!

Our agents have stopped this happening to a friend I recommended to them, [url]http://www.buyahouse-italy.com/[/url] if you are interested speak to Vincent.

Basically its greed, they get the price, they chat to friends and try it on. Buying a house is an emotional experience as we all know. The price once agreed upon, is set in stone once you pay the 5% deposit (which depending on your agent is repayable in default + a matching 5% penality for pulling out).

I hope your agents are being active in this situation, a good agent should be acting on your behalf, and negotiating like mad, sadly theres some really pants agents, that sorry to say, are out there for the food, wine and sunbathing (which is why we are out there) rather than being good estate agents. Its make me realsie just how lucky we where. :rolleyes:

At worse remember theres other properties out there, we lost one and now we have an even better one.

Hope it all get sorted chaps

Elaine

Well what can i say ....for sure if you think is worth more than go for it but I would be really wary.. when you normally show interest and put a an offer in a property the offer is normally less then the asking price or you come some sort of discount off the selling price(ie vendor pays the notary fees, geometra fee etc) you never offer more, this is not normal. Try to find out what percentage they get and see if you can find out about the property, if is in a small village is easy to find out what the vendor is really asking for. There millions of properties round and if you are not in the rush and you are not 100% convinced then just move one and see what happens, pretty sure that you will see the property still up for sale in few moths time

Good luck

I agree with the comments already made.

The only thing I would add is that sometimes vendors will increase the asking price because they are hedging their bets.

According to new figures released by the Office for National Statistics, more than 200,000 people left Britain for foreign climes last year. This represents a rise of almost 9% from 2003 and shows that moving abroad has now reached an all-time high.

I would say that price is a function of a number of variables, but the gold rush mentality inspired by the greater number of overseas buyers setting foot upon ½ûÂþÌìÌà soil to search for a dream home has significantly influenced price over the past year.

Thanks for all the comments so far, it would appear to have happened to quite a few of you and you either chose to walk away or put up with it!
I'd love to tell them to stick it but,been looking for a particular type of house which doesn't come up very often,I'm going to look and offer what I can afford to pay take it or leave it,if suitable of course.This agent is very well known !but is the only one to have the house. I may try the finding out who the vendor is directly as even if they still pay the fee to the agent I'll at least find out who put the price up!

It is certainly very frustrating when this happens.

Before a client came to view a property here via our agency, the seller increased the price and I advised my client not to view although he was interested in that property and was a little disappointed.

It does not seem to be a common occurrence but it does seem to occur sometimes.

I would suggest that you find another property or properties to view as there are always more available than you believe.

Good luck with your search

Linda
[url]www.intouchitalia.co.uk[/url]
[email]linda.stubbs@intouchitalia.co.uk[/email]

I was going to buy a property - and the price went up - I thought I was being ripped off - and failed to sign the Compromesso - the house eventually sold for more than what I was going to pay