I'm about to buy this foreclosure for a certain value, about 385. I have a real estate agent, and she's my buyer's agent.

I made initially made a offer for the 360 to the seller. My real estate agent said that's pretty low offer.

I got a call from her saying later after submitting the contract that there are 2 other offers, and I should raise my bid for the place, so I raised my offer to my higher limit 385 and won the offer.

It's not that I don't believe my agent, but I'm questioning the selling agent. Is there a way to tell how many offers there were on the property without talking to the selling agent? I don't want to know what the offers were for, but just that I've been told the truth.

Is it possible to find out the number of contracts submitted to the bank?

That information will probably need to come from the listing agent as that is the path where offers are typically submitted. A few new business models allow for the buyer agent to submit directly using a secure web site but that won't tell you how many others are being considered.

Ask your agent to find out from the listing agent if it is all that important to know. In practice all you really need to know is that you beat the next most attractive offer, regardless of how many others there might have been.

Okay, I'm just afraid of being taken for a spin. I'm just afraid of having to raise my initial bid on false information of other potential bids.

What's preventing the listing agent from telling false information there are other bidding just to get best offer from the buyer?

I guess if I were that listing agent and if there is nothing preventing the buyer to know how many bids came, I would make up something just too see if I can create a false sense of market when there is none.

It's an ethical issue for that agent.

The number of offers means nothing . . . . it's the amount of the highest Offer that should matter . . . . and unless it's an Auction, you are not going to be privy to that figure.

You have the option of "Calling their Bluff" and just hold your ground and wait and see if it closes for more than your current bid, or more than you would have paid anyway.

In this business one's reputation as a "Liar" is almost always irreversible, and certainly not worth the risk for one dinky commission . . . . but stranger things have happened.

I wouldn't worry too much about how many other Bidders there are, or what they are offering. Offer what it's worth to YOU. If someone else thinks it's worth more than you do, then they should be getting it. Remember, there are other houses.

I don't think a listing agent will risk loosing a possible sale to you by "creating" a non-existent buyer (or many of them!) and then wind up with no buyer at all.

Multiple offers and the bank probably told the listing agent to inform all parties to come with there highest and best. If this was a good deal then multiple offers are common.

The market here in Minneapolis has become very competitive. Just this week I had investors miss out on two properties. On one we were bidding against one other party and went $8,000 over list and the other I am not sure how many bids there were, but we went $17,700 over list and still missed out.

As an REO specialist for over 15 years I can tell you if the listing agent is experienced that they do not have time for games. I know on my listings if there are multiple offers I tell other agents that.
You are leaving out much information here to really give you a true and correct answer. First you say you want to buy this for $385K and made an offer for $360K. What you are not telling me is what is the value of the property as well as what is the list price of the property.
If the value of the property is correct at the list price given the condition then most likely the seller does have multiple offers. Also how long has the property been on the market and what type of marketing is the listing agent doing. He the listing agent is doing what they are suposed to and has a salable list price then yes most likely they have multiple offers.

Thanks for all the replies. The original listing price is 380. Our initial offer is 360. After knowledge of the other bids, we raised to 385.

The house has been on the market for about 30 days. The listing agent recently dropped the cost on the house 125 that weekend when we made the initial bid.

Two years ago, the house got rated as 650. I'm sure that I got a good deal.

Well then if you think its still a good deal at the currant price than I am sure others think so too. And then in that regard the listing agent does have multiple offers.

One thing you most likely will never know is the terms of the other offer. If yours is FHA and the other is cash you may lose even if your offer is a better net to the seller. With REO's ability to close vs risk of not closing is a huge thing.

Okay.. that matches what my realtor told me. She said our offer isn't the highest even though we won.

We stated 20 down and no help with closing.

This information helps quite a bit.

In multiple offer situations it is very common to go one more round of "highest/best". I tell buyers to keep in mind that highest is not always best and then give them the example of two offers only $1000 apart with the lower one being cash, and close as quickly as the seller can produce a deed vs the higher one being financed, requiring every test and inspection known for real estate and needing to sell another house that isn't even listed yet but they are going to ask twice what it is worth. If they were the seller which would they chose?

If your getting that kind of deal I would take it and run. Even if the market recoups only half the old value in a few years you have done very well for yourself.

It seems the practice of withholding the other bidder amount is unethical. There have to be some legalities around that.

Actually, in NC it is illegal for us to disclose the amount of an offer without the written permission of the person who made the offer.

There is a movement for more transparency in the offer process by buyers, but how can this be acheived without hurting the seller?

I would think the listing agents would never say there are other offers or highest and best unless there are other offers on the table. It is more likely they will lose a sale than make a few more dollars by telling a lie.

Bigtoe, it would be against the agency contracts in most states!

To do that it would become an auction. As well as unless you have the permission from all parties most states do not allow it.