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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Or does this estate agent just not want to sell us a house?

61 replies

UntamedShrew · 17/03/2012 11:31

Saw a house last weekend.

Monday - second viewing, just DH as only time agent could do was 6pm answer have young kids needing bath, stories, boobs etc.

Wednesday - slightly cheeky offer of 90% asking price. Agent didn't even call back to tell us the response.

Friday I went to office in person, agent said oh yeah sorry I didn't call you but it's a no. I increased offer to 94% asking. Agent looked hungover & disinterested. Called me three hours later (fine) to say it was rejected.

I've asked if I can see it again today for a 2nd viewing before making a final offer. Receptionist told me they're too busy and that she would phone the boss to see if anything they could do. This was 2.5 hours ago.

AIBU to say shove your house? I do love it so totally cutting my nose off to spite face etc but I'm feeling very annoyed that these people just aren't taking us seriously.

Gah.

OP posts:
PurplePidjin · 17/03/2012 15:03

Have you checked rightmove and findaproperty to see if it's on with another agent?

Fwiw my flat was on at 125k, my offer of 112k was the one accepted. That's got to be about 10% below asking price, right? can't do maths for toffee

Original poster
UntamedShrew · 17/03/2012 15:05

The agent we are dealing with is the owner of the firm! So can't really escalate this one Smile

We've been told by other agents that things are going for anything between 90 & 98% asking. Why wouldn't you start at 90, surely no one wants to over pay? Confused

Also the offer was lower than asking given we are in a strong and flexible position being chain free, mortgage in hand, ready to go but in no mad rush... If it were me selling if think that sounded like a good buyer. Is that not a reasonable thing to do? I'm intrigued some of you find 90 & 94 to BU, I would like some advice for our next one un case this house doesn't come off... It seems silly to offer asking price straight up to me but is that naive?

One agent even said "oh ignore the prices, if you like it make an offer however low"! So I'm genuinely confused why this agent (in same street) is so affronted by our doing that.

We just saw it with the vendor, as arranged by agent. I didn't tell her they've been rubbish but did say i had been trying to get hold of them etc.

OP posts:
Original poster
UntamedShrew · 17/03/2012 15:07

Pidgin that is 10.4% off - how very cheeky of you! Grin

OP posts:
greentown · 17/03/2012 15:07

Absolutely, basic courtesy. So either the agent is rubbish at his job or he's trying to put you off.
Seen this done, where an agent was fixing his developer mate up with a property for a nice little cash-back arrangement.
If you want the house drop a note to the vendor.
If you want to poke at the agent, you'll have to go over his head if they're a chain.
if it's an independent agent - forget it.

MoreBeta · 17/03/2012 15:07

I would just write to the vendor directly with your offer and send a copy to the agent. At least you know the vendor will know you made an offer.

Make sure you write 'SUBJECT TO CONTRACT in capitals at the top of the letter and in the body of the letter make clear the offer is 'subject to contract', satisfactory search, satisfactory survey and any other conditions you wish to impose.

Original poster
UntamedShrew · 17/03/2012 15:09

A kiss why is it unusual? Wanted to see if it was worth stretching ourselves - the difference in cost would mean potentially shortening my maternity leave for example. So a massive decision and not one to make without seeing it again surely?

Gosh this is such a minefield, shoes how people can read different things into what you say & do. Arg!

OP posts:
Angeleena · 17/03/2012 15:10

If v nice property agents could be holding it back for themselves or friend.

I refused to raise a price once on a house we bought (because I couldn't contact DH to confirm) they stripped all the lights and fitments when they moved out. But we still made on it imo.

PurplePidjin · 17/03/2012 15:19

Untamed, I actually got it for 110k due to the roof needing replacing Grin

AKissIsNotAContract · 17/03/2012 15:28

'A kiss why is it unusual? Wanted to see if it was worth stretching ourselves - the difference in cost would mean potentially shortening my maternity leave for example. So a massive decision and not one to make without seeing it again surely?'

Ok I'm sure some people will disagree with this, but no house is worth stretching yourselves for. I think you need to find a house you can comfortably afford, and consider what you will do if interest rates rise.

You only saw it last weekend and you've had 2 more viewings and made 2 offers, on a house you are not sure you can comfortably afford. I think you need to slow down and not get too carried away.

mummytime · 17/03/2012 15:43

We got more than 10% off the price of this house when we bought it, and similar for the last house we bought. It's quite normal in my experience.

Some EAs are useless. Sometimes they are crooked. If its not raining I'd be inclined for a quick look at the outside, and if you see the owner or a neighbour chat to them. Find out more about the area.

One firm of local EAs I wouldn't use except to get a valuation, as in my experience they are useless at selling.

nickelhasababy · 17/03/2012 15:48

I agree with MoreBeta actually.
I would also put in my letter that the estate agent was being unprofessional and seemed not to want to deal with my offer.

nickelhasababy · 17/03/2012 15:49

Kiss - if she's had her offer rejected, then it's perfectly reasonable to ask to see it again.

Stratters · 17/03/2012 15:58

90 and 94% are perfectly reasonable offers, particularly in this market. I would do as MoreBeta has suggested, it wouldn't surprise me in the slightest if the offers haven't been put forward. Would be interesting to know how long the house has been on for.

I'd also consider stretching myself right now, this is the only sort of market to do that in. If you're hell bent on doing so, do it now.

Fourcatsonthebed · 17/03/2012 16:34

A few years ago I was trying to find a house and was in a really strong position. Cash buyer and no chain as I was living at my Mums. A friend was looking at the same time and the estate agents were always ringing her up saying that this one or that one was on the market, would she like to see it? I simply couldnt get them to get off their arses. Eventually i found a house i liked which i knew had been on the market a couple of years before. I wrote a note asking if they were still interested in selling and hey presto... 10 weeks later I was moving in. It was the simplest house purchase I have EVER done!
Honestly, estate agents really are a complete waste of time!

meredeux · 17/03/2012 17:08

haven't read the whole thread so this may have been said before. I suspect that the vendors are not being told of your offers. I strongly suspect that the agent has taken a bribe to sell it at a low cost to someone else.

NaiceAm · 17/03/2012 17:18

We have had this problem before. We put a note through the door of the house we were interested in saying that we had put in an offer but were having problems talking to the agent. We included our contact details - worked a treat

Tranquilidade · 17/03/2012 17:22

We once put in an offer on a house, were told it was refused then found out later it had never been passed on.

Didn't matter to us as we ended up in a house we love more but the poor vendor was stuck for ages. It turned out the agent had someone else interested who was selling a house through him so he'd have got more commission.

thederkinsdame · 17/03/2012 18:32

I'd bet money that the offers haven't been passed on - remember, lower offer means less commission for him. I would go down the note thru door too. EA are cheeky buggers!

greentown · 17/03/2012 19:04

It's not the commission -

On a £200k house a 10% difference in sale price is only worth two or three hundred pounds to the agent - peanuts to them.

On a £1m house, 10% difference in selling price is still only a thousand or two difference in commission - smallish beer for an agent in £1m + houses.

It'll be a much bigger slice of a developers profit - depending on the house, more than ten or twenty thousand, maybe £50k or more - that's how pissy little independent agents keep going, not on the couple of grand a week they get from straight-up house sales.

meredeux · 17/03/2012 19:26

Do yuo know if it is a probate situation?

Nat38 · 17/03/2012 19:31

Is it Taylors Estate Agents at all??!!!

NoOnesGoingToEatYourEyes · 17/03/2012 19:40

Our offer was £20,000 less than the original asking price and £12,000 less than the price they had dropped it to by the time we viewed it.

It was accepted immediately and they didn't mind us having a second viewing so we could measure up a bit.

I think the agent is breaking the law if he is not passing on your offers. And he's probably breaking his contact with the seller too, they normally say they will pass them on within a certain amount of time (24-48 hours I think).

G1nger · 17/03/2012 21:12

We once had a purchase fall through and - because we had accepted an offer on our flat - gave ourselves a weekend to find a replacement. We were very serious buyers - and made this clear - but still we had to twist people's arms!

Blueflowers2011 · 24/05/2017 21:20

OP what was the outcome of this? Did you get your offer to the vendor or are you looking for something else now?

i am in this situation - made an offer, agent not bothering. FFS. It is a fantastic house so trying not to build my hopes up. But i have called and they just keep playing it down saying they are still getting viewings but no offers yet when I push. I am certain they are holding back for a friend or someone they know to buy.

I am tempted to post through the letterbox. Just wondering what happened with you and if you got to the bottom of why they were not calling you back?

ghostyslovesheets · 24/05/2017 21:29

oh come on - no one offers the full asking price!

This house was £160,000 got it for %150,000

My house was offers OVER 200,000 sold it for £187,500

a house is only worth what people will pay and they are usually over priced

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