to throw bricks through the windows of our estate agent?

[Jellyontheham]

Or firebomb them?

Did someone mention needing bricks?

The system in England for buying and selling houses always sounds horrific. I have no reason to move to England, but if I did this would really put me off. Does everyone go through such worries of prices changing?

I'm in Scotland too, but moved down from Essex. Loved living there, but you can imagine what the wideboy estate agents were like ... It really was just an awful process, and we ended up switching one estate agent after another. All were useless.
Have since sold in Edinburgh and it's completely different. Estate agents up here are very professional, as they work so closely with the solicitors. Things are more legally binding too.
You have my sympathy OP, and I hope everything works out for you.

You are being used as the flex in the chain. Don't allow it. Stand firm and refuse the reduced offer. I know you desperately want the new house, but you are under no obligation to accept her offer!! PLEASE don't be pushed around by an estate agent. If you give in at the start you will find yourself making concessions all the way until completion. Plus I wouldn't put it past your Buyer to try and negotiate the price down again on the brink of exchange, when you have done all the legal stuff and think you're almost there. Good luck, take a breath, call the agent and say you want to put yours back on the market unless she reinstates her original offer. Her problem in selling her house is exactly that; her problem. The loss shouldn't be passed on to you.

Plus don't let the stress rob you of your enjoyment of the new house. Xx

Settles down with jam tarts. Please update op i do love hearing ea getting their just deserts. Sounds like they running scared. Also suspect mrs m is liked to ea.

I am sat here with and waiting for the next instalment. DH couldn't understand why I found you jam tart comment so funny. I think jam tarts might become the new pom-bear!

Anyhoo, if all of these properties are being marketed by the same umbrella organisation why are they not managing this better? If F and J are taking 3 lots of commission and yours alone is £6k, could they not sacrifice that so that you get the full £537k with no commission deducted (equivalent of £542k minus commission)?

When does you sole agency contract expire? Have you got the T&Cs yet for terminating the contract? Chains tend to make you give a notice period although it could be argued that failure on their part to allow viewings causes them to be in breach of the contract anyway.

Oooo never thought of them being in breach! Good one!

Soooo update. Returned Paula's call. She is the manager of AgentF. She was very effusive at first and said MrsM was v genuine and had "been texting overnight" to say how much she wants the house, and is being "pragmatic" and therefore has raised her offer to £530k.

I said I was really pissed off, we had taken it off the market for her, at £537 and had been encouraged to accept her offer because it kept everything in house. She said that she "hadnt been aware that our house wasn't being marketed." This is utter utter bollocks, a total lie.
She said that the £7k which we're adrift by, could come off the house we are buying, but I absolutely DON'T want to reduce our offer on the one we want, as its a wreck and we haven't even gone to survey yet, so we might need some wiggle room there for essential repairs etc, and that'll be gone if we reduce our offer now just so MrsM gets our house for less!
I said we were disappointed that we had hung on for weeks for an offer that was below the asking price only to be asked to take a £12k hit and that all she was caing back with was £530k. She got all shouty and said that SHE wasn't coming back with £530, MrsM was offering that and she was only the intermediary. I told her to stop shouting at me and I didn't have to even have this conversation and we had agreed £537 and that's the price! I pointed out that RivalAgents are coming tomorrow with regard to dual or sole agency and she shouted again that I needed to decide if we would take MrsM's offer or not as it "wasn't fair" to keep her hanging on! Not Fair I thought I might explode!
Anyway the other phone was going so that's where I left it - £537 or bust.

Then I had two packets of french fries and a spoonful of Nutella. I have my period and am not to be trifled with.

She shouted at you

Feck 'em I say - see what the the agent has to say. If the house you want to buy has been on the market for ages I doubt they would want to lose their sale to you just to be spiteful.

(the other agent i mean)

Good for you. It's a shit situation but do not let them bully you. You will always regret it If you gave in to these fuckers.

I would leave Mrs M hanging and speak with the other agent tomorrow with regards to marketing it again. I would, most importantly, speak to the vendors of the place you are buying directly to keep them in the loop and aware of exactly what is going on. You do not want the agents being spiteful anftelling them that you are the ones being difficult as they may decide to remarked theirs too.

Tell Paula to shove it. Shouting down the phone?? They are just parasites. Let her have her little tantrum and go via another agency or do it yourself online.

I also admire your restraint - stopping at one spoonful of Nutella... By God, woman!

of course you can only offer less on the house you are buying as well (sorry if it has been said, at work not time to read the whole thread)

She shouted at you? . In the timeless words of Corporal Jones - "They do not like it up 'em" do they? The minute you start to give them some back they spontaneously combust. Please stand your ground and I still say Mrs M should go suck shit through a sweaty sock. Cheeky mare!

Good for you asking for original or bust.
My in-laws got their house for a stupidly low price, turns out it's quite common for estate agents to undervalue house, get mates to buy it before it goes on general sale (house buyers think amazing get offer day after putting on books) then re-sell it. Happens where areas only have one estate agent. In-laws got in with their offer after it was released accidentally (and fairly) and out their offer in before cheeky estate agent friends could and owner accepted

I don't understand why you won't just offer less on the house you are buying. If the survey comes back and shows loads of issues you then negotiate more off, that's how it works. It sounds as though the house you're buying was overpriced anyway given how long it's been on the market so don't feel guilty about it. It's worth what it's worth.

I'd be telling DARLING PAULA that I was so upset that I'd gone and spent 3k on jam tarts to cheer myself up, and that I would now not accept less than 540.

actually I wouldn't, I'd pull out entirely, and tell them all to go fuck themselves sideways.

Jelly This all sounds like a nightmare.

Tell the Estate Agent and Mrs M to gft and have another spoon of Nutella.

I am 7 months pregnant and have the rage today so would be happy to accompany you to your estate agent for a bit of tart lobbing. Please advise where / when to meet.

Wow - what shocked me most at this was that the estate agent was shouting at you!

Blimey. She showed you who she is working for. (Mrs M)

Yes you've been led up the garden path!

Maybe the estate agent should take part of 'the hit' by lowering their fees to you. 3k instead of 6k. They are only a shop front after all and will have done minimal work

Make an official complaint about being shouted at twice. So rude!

I agree with saying its your price or the house goes back on the market. You've already taken a big hit

My vendor tried to change the price at the last minute. I probably would have buckled normally, but the EA rang me at work moments before an important meeting where I had to present and that I was crapping myself about. I used his call as an opportunity for a cathartic release of tension and slammed the phone down.

I got the place for the amount I originally offered.

Id love a cathartic release of tension right now! Instead I'm dealing with a whining toddler and a blocked toilet AND lots of calls from AgentF.

So, MrsM is very upset (eh?) and has agreed to £536 plus £1k for some previously agreed chattels. I think she expected some sort of a fanfare but after discussion with a very skittish MrJelly I told her we would let her know at the end of the week if that was acceptable. We're both really disappointed that she even tried this £12k price drop and there's nothing to stop her doing that again. Paula intimated that if we didn't accept MrsM's offer then she would remarket the house we want and that she's got buyers tripping over themselves for it. I seriously doubt that but I don't want her contacting the people we're buying from and souring everything there too. In fact I might pop over to see them tonight.

Rival agent is confident he can move our house very quickly at full asking price or more so we're waiting to see what he has to say.
I am exceedingly tired of this bollocks.

F....ing estate agents! We had precisely the same thing happen to us. They only ever push their own agenda regardless of whether that means doing a good honest job or not. Bastards! hope you get things sorted in the end X

Poor Mrs M. My heart bleeds for her. NOT. The EA should have explained to her that gazundering someone will probably not endear them to you hugely and that one of the risks is that they will tell you to gfy and walk away from the whole deal.

Can they even re-market the other house based on your acceptance or not of their shitty offer?!! If there were people falling over themselves for it the EA probably would have engineered some gazumping situation already to push the price up or been on to you about upping your offer in the interim... They are so full of BS.

Whether they can re-market or not, that goes to show the kind of EA they are - personally I would sack them off by going down to the office all pregnant and mental and losing my shit in the middle of the shop in front of other customers.

If you are feeling a bit more restrained than I clearly am, then I think it is a brilliant idea to speak to your vendor independently of the EA, explain the situation to them and see what they say - with a bit of luck they will be fed up with the EA and shout at them too.

Then you can sell your house through the other EA, get the house you want and piss old Agent F all in one swoop.