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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To want to do more about house that EA says is STC

128 replies

AliceRR · 16/10/2018 12:13

DH and I viewed a house about four weeks ago. We really liked it, we said it could be our dream house, perfect area, nice street, nice house but needs everything doing (windows and doors, bathroom, kitchen, decorating etc)

On the market for £295 which is a good for a 3 bed detached in that area but would be worth more when done up.

DH offerer £260k and was told by vendor agent no point putting an offer until we have sold our house but they work note our interest and update us if any developments.

No updates.

On the weekend I looked for the house online out of curiosity and saw it was no longer on Rightmove. Called EA and he said house was sold STC as of Monday last week. He apologised they had not told us. I asked price and he just told me it was less than asking.

I was annoyed as DH and I said it wa worth asking price and we would pay that.

DH called and they changed their story a couple of times about why they didn’t tell us (whereas they just apologised and said it was an oversight when I called).

DH offered £280k. EA said vendor wants to stay with current buyer. We don’t kno what current buyer offered but I cannot help but think EA would have said if it was more than £280K. DH then offered asking and was promptly told vendor said no.

I find it odd. Either they deliberately didn’t call us last week and give us the opportunity to put in a higher bid or it was an oversight but their client has potentially lost out on £20k (we don’t know what they have sold for).

I’m really disappointed as we both really loved that house. Have baby due in Jan and no other houses compare for me with the house and the area.

I should say we haven’t sold ours but we are looking at keeping current house to rent and buy the new one.

Is there anything we can do?

OP posts:
MorningsEleven · 16/10/2018 12:52

You're not in a position to proceed and you offered way below the asking price. You've got your arse in parsley.

StealthNinjaMum · 16/10/2018 12:53

When we bought our current house, we didn't have a buyer. We could afford to own both houses. Luckily for us the estate agent believed us or we wouldn't have our lovely house. I wonder if the estate agent is friends with the person who bought the house and used that to make sure their customer accepted a low offer.

I think you should stick a note in the door of the house and say you made an offer and you wanted to let them know in case the estate agent hadn't passed it on.

HollyBollyBooBoo · 16/10/2018 12:53

I'm not sure why they said they'd keep you informed, seems a bit odd? Think you're just going to have to chalk it up to experience really and let it go.

Gazelda · 16/10/2018 12:53

Have you got finance secured so that you can purchase a new property for £295, plus cost of the essential repairs and transferring your current mortgage to BTL?
Your description of your current situation and budget doesn't come across as secured and finalised.

KitKat1985 · 16/10/2018 12:53

You weren't proceedable when you put in an initial offer, which was also, significantly below asking price. So they found another buyer, and are doing the right thing in not letting their current buyer be gazumped. No one has done anything wrong here, although I understand you are disappointed.

Always remember estate agents work for the seller not the buyer.

Barbie222 · 16/10/2018 12:53

I think maybe the issue there is that technically you didn't make an offer with the 260, as the estate agent "agreed there was no point putting in an offer yet", and your second offer was refused, so they probably feel they have held up their end by putting only reasonable offers forward to the client and reporting the response back to you.

peachypetite · 16/10/2018 12:55

Why would an estate agent inform you? Their job is to close a sale.

Berniethefastestmilkwoman · 16/10/2018 12:55

When I agree to sell my house to someone for a certain price then I will sell my house to them for that price even if someone else offers me more. I expect sellers to do the same when selling to me. A deal is a deal. They have already made a deal.

StealthNinjaMum · 16/10/2018 12:58

The issue to me is whether the estate agent expressed to their customer whether you were interested or not. If your dh said he wanted to offer £260k the estate agent is obliged to pass that on even if he says it's too low. Did the estate agent do that? That's why I wonder if he has a friend who offered a similarly low price.

OlennasWimple · 16/10/2018 13:01

Any estate agent who facilitates a lower offer on a house (for a friend, family member or whoever) is going to lose commission as a result. If only for this reason - never mind professional ethics - I findit highly unlikely that this is what has happened.

Agents are supposed to put all offers to the vendors, but I know when we have sold we have given the agent a threshold below which they can say that we won't entertain it and it sounds as if your first offer was below their lower point.

The sellers - and agents - are behaving admirably IMHO by not being lured by the money and allowing their buyers to get gazumped. I'm assuming that you haven't been in the position where you think you have your dream house and then it gets taken away from you by someone with a bigger cheque book? I have, and it sucks, and I will never ever do that to someone else.

Foxyloxy1plus1 · 16/10/2018 13:03

You don’t know what price the vendor accepted and you don’t know whether the offer was made and accepted on the proviso that the house is removed from the market.

It might be legal but gazumping is morally questionable in my opinion.

Maryann1975 · 16/10/2018 13:04

When we were buying and selling our house, the estate agents were really strict about checking Finances were in place before you were able to put an offer on a house in. It stopped people wasting everyone’s time, by putting offers in and then Having to wait months for their house to sell, possibly then holding up a massive long chain of people who were completely ready to move. If I were the people in your dream home, I would rather sell to the person who offered slightly less but could proceed now, rather than accept the highest offer (which you may well drop anyway if the survey doesn’t come back as you want) and hang around for months waiting for you to sell or get tenants in for your house.

Thenewdoctor · 16/10/2018 13:05

If you thought it was worth asking price you should have offered that and not dicked around.

Twickerhun · 16/10/2018 13:10

Have you got the funds in place to buy a house plus put your current house on a btl mortgage?

MardyArabella · 16/10/2018 13:10

You say that it was worth asking price then didn’t put an offer in for asking???

Also 280 is still quite a bit below 295. I imagine the other offer is likely better if ea are saying it was just a bit below asking.

HazelBite · 16/10/2018 13:11

I think OP you have to go with the flow on this. We had a similar scenario when we were house hunting (living in rented so nothing to sell) we were a sellers dream as all finance was in place, but the house we set our hearts on was also STC and no way would they be moved from their purchasers.
We lost another house when the vendors decided at the last minute not to sell, but we ended up with a wonderful house, which has turned out to be (with a lot of work) a wonderful family home.
It'll happen OP your perfect house/home is out there it could be that this one isn't mean't to be.
good luck!

Bobbybear10 · 16/10/2018 13:11

You can’t have loved the house that much if you were willing to put in such a low offer!

You have no buyer or renter lined up. It could take years for you to sell or months to find a renter. You could be messed about and have your house sale or rent dragged out for months.

It’s really no wonder they didn’t take you at all seriously.

It is a good learning point for you though, don’t view houses until you are in the position to place an offer and move forward with it and don’t offer a low, cheeky offer if you love a place and would be devastated if it sold to some else/the owners thought you were cheeky and refused to deal with you/etc etc.

WindDoesNotBreakTheBendyTree · 16/10/2018 13:11

If you'd made a sensible opening offer and explained that you could finance the move without selling, you wouldn't be in that position.

Ideally the EA would have contacted you but their contract is with the vendor. Your offer clearly led them to perceive you as timewasters.

And, frankly, gazumping is out of order.

cadburyegg · 16/10/2018 13:13

YABVU. You are not in a proceedable position and you offered much less than asking. Someone else offered more and presumably is in a proceedable position. They have made a deal. The EA has no obligation to keep you updated, they work for the sellers not the buyers.

Maybe the vendors have reasons they want to move quickly too and don’t want to be messed around.

BigChocFrenzy · 16/10/2018 13:16

YABVU
It was STC and you are trying to gazump, to persuade the vendors to go back on their acceotance of an offer 

Also, I would not take such an offer seriously, not from someone who has neither the cash in the bank nor a mortgage offer available in advance.

The vendors accepted an offer from someone who had the funds and / or made a better offer.

This is an example of what you risk when you make a an offer below the asking price for a property that you really want

  • at least if you do so, you need to be a cash buyer, so you can offer the avantage of a quick sale, if the vendor needs that.
Bluelady · 16/10/2018 13:17

Nice to see a vendor refusing to gazump a buyer with whom a sale has been agreed. Find another house, OP.

BigChocFrenzy · 16/10/2018 13:18

Your offer may well be higher, but the vendor is a decent person who keeps to their word - and / or thinks your behaviour makes you a poor risk.

Loonoon · 16/10/2018 13:20

YABU. The EA is paid by the vendor to sell the house and they appear to have done this. For all you know they had half a dozen people in a similar position to you who might be in a position to make an offer at some point. They can’t reasonably be expected to ring them all up and ask what their current situation is when a serious offer is on the table.

Your only option now is to approach the vendors directly. It you are quite sure that the EAs haven’t presented your offer you could put a note through the door giving your best offer and explaining your situation. It may not work but you have nothing to lose.

And if you find a second dream home, make a good offer straightaway.

TheLuckyMrsPine · 16/10/2018 13:21

YABVU

You obviously were originally planning to sell your house to fund or it wouldn’t have even come up. You would have had finances ready and would have been ready to proceed immediately.

When we sold our house we instructed our EA to not allow any viewers who weren’t under offer or ready to purchase as it’s just a waste of time.

underthewillow · 16/10/2018 13:23

Agent may have a buyer from their books that is selling. He will push for that buyer as then receives commission on both sale.