Using my offer as leverage - common??

[Richard White]

Hello, all, I've been reading BP for a bit, but this is my first post. I have been investigating the different areas of investing, and my girlfriend and I believe short-term rentals in our vacation area is the way to go. We currently have a studio apartment that is almost fully rented on Airbnb throughout the year and gives great cash flow. So we've looked in the same area for comparable size and prices that make it worthwhile for us. Last year we tried to pursue this strategy by offering on another studio apartment across the street from us with a better ocean view. We walked the unit, did the numbers, and presented our offer. My agent discovered that the owner sold to someone with a unit in the same building, and the seller's agent let slip that the seller was trying to get his neighbor's offer as high as possible. This week we made an offer on a 6-plex on our island which is 100% long-term rented currently. The numbers worked even for continuing the long-term renters, but our plan was to convert 1-2 1BR units to Airbnbs when leases expired. The seller's agent wasn't responsive throughout the process, and we even set up a visit through the mgmt company since she wouldn't really do anything. We made our offer, but learned they went with a neighbor's offer, and that neighbor's agent had submitted the low price of their recent sale as a comp. So apparently they were also just using other offers to get the neighbors' offer higher. I feel really upset by the time and energy we wasted with both properties, but I wanted to ask how common this is for sellers and agents to do? It seems to me you'd want highest price for your property, but neither even tried negotiating with me. A very frustrating part of the business I guess!!