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AIBU?

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Original poster

Estate agent unreasonable?

91 replies

veuveo · 31/01/2018 11:00

Selling my house
First people to view bought it. They knew I hadn't found anywhere.
I had my offer accepted on a property within a week.
Estate agent has just told me he thinks it's a better idea if I sell my property without linking it up to my purchase.
WTF? WHY?
He said that Things move quicker in London, so my sale is likely to be ready before my purchase.
So they think it's reasonable to ask me to pack up a 4bed house without anywhere to move into.
I was quite reasonable on the phone with them but I'm furious now.

OP posts:
foodtime · 31/01/2018 12:34

I dislike estate agents as much as the next person, but there really is no problem here.

I am struggling to belive you have sold two houses and this is the biggest problem you have ran into.

Original poster
veuveo · 31/01/2018 12:36

Different area, so my current estate agent doesn't know my seller (ex estate agent)

Survey is back on, they've got over their conflict of interest. Wtf is going on?!!

OP posts:
SusannahL · 31/01/2018 12:37

The thing is a very high percentage of potential sales fall through, so it wasn't unreasonable of the agent to point out an alternative suggestion to you was it?

Ideally you could sell and rent for a few months until your new home becomes available. We have done that in the past and it worked very well.

therealposieparker · 31/01/2018 12:39

My buyers tried to do this to me, I basically told them to fuck off. The buyer has invested in the house, once they've offered they have imagined their furniture in your bedroom, thought about the changes they'd make to your bathrooms and kitchen, decided whether to bring all their garden stuff.... They're in,. Having to wait an extra few weeks won't put them off.

Original poster
veuveo · 31/01/2018 12:43

Foodtime- where did I say I didn't have problems?
I've done this exact thing before, ended up in rented accom for 10 months.
My last 2 sales included lack of planning permissions, no signed off regulations, lack of build over agreements. But still went through within a suitable time frame .

OP posts:
sahknowme · 31/01/2018 12:44

How do you tell an estate agent is lying...

Blobby10 · 31/01/2018 12:44

The last four houses I've sold we have ended up renting or living with parents before our purchase was ready. Trouble was I was desperate to sell and therefore did everything the buyers wanted. Yes in an ideal world you would be able to co-ordinate leaving one house and moving into the other on the same day but increasingly this just isn't possible.

You are lucky - you've sold very early on but be prepared to lose your buyer if you haven't got somewhere to move into already.

Original poster
veuveo · 31/01/2018 12:47

i have actually thought about all the pitfalls, if my buyers pull out, if my sellers back out.
I'm trying to co-ordinate a move 200miles away. I know the rental options in new area are few and far between and rental options here, if I wanted to finish out school year would be ridiculous.
But it's not really the cost that's prohibitive, it's the inconvenience.

OP posts:
Original poster
veuveo · 31/01/2018 12:48

Sah- they're breathing?!!

OP posts:
Original poster
veuveo · 31/01/2018 12:49

Oh no- they're talking!

OP posts:
hooliodancer · 31/01/2018 12:49

You can just say no. He is wanting to ensure the sale goes through and he gets his money.

However, having had a very stressful year of trying to buy and sell at the same time I have now given up. I am going to do anything not to be in that position again. I will put my stuff in storage.

Emmasmum2013 · 31/01/2018 12:50

Don't worry about it OP.
Yes, wouldn't it be nice if we all had somewhere to move ourselves and all our worldly belongings for a few weeks until we could complete on a house purchase.. wouldn't it make the house buying 'chain' a lot simpler and more stable. Of course it would but in real life its very rarely possible.

My guess is that the estate agent office is under pressure to get the sale completed by the end of the month for their targets. They've probably not sold much and want to try and get as many in as possible.

Could it be that they're part of a large estate agent company and their branch isn't doing so well? So they want to bump up their sales numbers? The winter month's are always the hardest the estate agents. A lot less sales than in the sunnier months.

You're well within your rights to say "no sorry, I need my new house to move into."

gillybeanz · 31/01/2018 12:51

Maybe the people who have made the offer are in a rush to move and the EA is just suggesting this rather than a potential loss of sale.

Original poster
veuveo · 31/01/2018 12:54

Gilly- I told the EA one week ago that rushing wasn't an option. And we're only a week in !

OP posts:
whiskyowl · 31/01/2018 12:55

All my dealings with EAs have only reinforced the impression that they are CF of the highest order.

Els1e · 31/01/2018 12:57

I did it last year. My sale was going quicker than my purchase. Rather than hold up the chain, I put my furniture into storage for 2 months and moved in with family. I liked it because the actual moves were stress free. I was able to get the keys for my new place, clean, decorate and get new carpets laid before moving furniture in. However it was easy for me because of having somewhere to stay short term but if you think it would be a nightmare, just say no.

kmc1111 · 31/01/2018 12:58

I don't see the problem. He just suggested it, he didn't try and demand you do it, and you haven't said he was rude about it.

Where I live it's very normal for the buyer to request a settlement date that suits them and for the seller to do what they have to to make it work. It's a buyers market, so not many are willing to hang about for an indeterminate amount of time while the seller starts up their own house-hunt. Even when people are in chains they tend to start the house hunt when their house goes on the market, so when it sells they're usually ready to make their own offers ASAP.

Almost every time I've sold and bought a house I've spent a few weeks in a hotel in between. Honestly IME it makes things easier. I now hate the mad rush of moving out and moving in at once, and the fear that something will go wrong with one settlement while the other is imminent.

Original poster
veuveo · 31/01/2018 13:00

Kmc- it's been a week. We're nowhere near talking about dates

OP posts:
TalkinBoutWhat · 31/01/2018 13:01

SusanBunch - It's not wrong at all! By shortly before sale I mean a few weeks, or even a month or two (rarely). Contracts are exchanged so close to final sale date that you don't even have time to pack up and organise a removalist nowadays.

In other countries the contract is made MONTHS before. You don't pay for surveys etc until you have a contract in place, so there is no wasted money or time. The buyer will have usually have everything organised before hand - mortgage pre-approval, with the bank also doing their survey, and funds available to pay the deposit required.

The bridging loan will usually require you to pay just a little bit more than your future mortgage payments will be, covering the mortgage on both properties (usually paying interest only on both properties for this period of time), and then moving automatically to a mortgage on the next property only. It's a smooth transition, and is the 'norm'.

I've been through both and I can tell you now that the process in the UK is absolutely horrid in comparison.

Original poster
veuveo · 31/01/2018 13:07

The process in the UK is awful.
Why can't sellers already have relevant searches done, valid for say 6months, all relevant warranties and planning permissions done, even the survey done?
Offers could be subject to survey, and just more legally binding.

OP posts:
Bluelady · 31/01/2018 13:08

It may be horrid but it is what it is. Given that no agent will give you the time of day until your house is under offer, you can't have the next one lined up until then. I start packing as soon as the offer's been accepted for a quick get away but no way would I move into rented and store my stuff for someone else's convenience.

TalkinBoutWhat · 31/01/2018 13:21

It's not that simple I'm afraid. To do that the whole of the land registration process etc needs to be overhauled.

I chatted with an international property lawyer about it - the land registration process here is quite simple under the surface, and so the complications need to be dealt with at the purchasing stage - so searches, etc need to be done carefully by lawyers - lots of room for everything to go wrong.

Whereas in other countries (generally 'younger' countries) the registration process carried out by the government is quite complex, with information being kept by land registration agencies being very detailed and up to date. So the purchase system doesn't need to cover all of that, as it has already been done.

When I had my fence line re-surveyed in Australia for an older property, the surveyor had to start measuring from a registered survey point, and was required to measure EVERY property join/fence line from the registered survey marker through to our property (just the side ones, not the rear), so about 20 or so houses. That survey is registered at Lands Titles Office and every fence line that he measured was updated on the system, so future surveys are able to utilise that information and don't need to re-measured in the same manner. In that way the 'underlying' information is updated to match up with newer developments. My survey cost me a lot, subsequent surveys done by others on the street won't cost anywhere near as much.

Tartyflette · 31/01/2018 13:32

For all the people who have moved into rented accomm for a few weeks or 2-3 months -- is it easy or even feasible to find somewhere for that short a time?
It's something we are looking to do but I fear many rental contracts are six monthly or even yearly. And what if you plan to rent for , say, six weeks, but there are delays and you need more time?
Sorry to derail but we think that it will be less stressful for us to NOT link our sale and purchase, especially given that EAs don't want to know you until you have an offer. Our house is going on the market this spring. (Fingers crossed).

MagicWillHappen · 31/01/2018 13:44

Tarty - it depends how picky you are IME.

You may be lucky and find something advertised as a short let...or more likely, you can offer a let of 2/3 months. Someone will take it, probably someone whose property has been empty a while so anything is better than nothing.

I would just phone various EA and tell them what you're looking for and ask if they have someone in mind who would accept x weeks or months.

Lweji · 31/01/2018 13:47

even the survey done?

Because the survey (and searches) are for the benefit of the buyer.
Would you trust a survey commissioned by the seller? And would it be detailed enough to your requirements?

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