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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To think an agent can’t refuse to put my offer forward?

144 replies

thankunextex · 18/04/2019 14:24

Best and final offers were asked for and mine was declined.

I then was advised by another estate agents that they are legally bound to put forward any new offers to the vendor until the contracts have been exchanged.

I’ve asked to put a new offer in and they refused ad they said it’s unethical. Surely they can’t do that?

OP posts:

justasking111 · 18/04/2019 15:14

Twice I have sold a house and higher offers have come in. I am not prepared to mess around someone whose offer I have accepted. In my mind it is a handshake type agreement. I also block any future viewings.

notatwork · 18/04/2019 15:14

Are you in Scotland? If so gazumping is illegal. The final offer which wn will have entered into a contract.

If you are in England then the buyers have decided not to continue marketing. The offer they accepted may have been contingent on the house coming off the market, or the vendors may have a strong conscience.

youknowmedontyou · 18/04/2019 15:18

I wouldn't accept a further offer from you, suddenly you have £20k three days later? I'd worry that further down the line you'd be saying you no longer have the £20. You seem totally disingenuous, but thanks for confirming you're a nice person, I'm sure the buyers will agree with that.

Mildura · 18/04/2019 15:19

Many may say that it is a little unethical.

However, it is not for the estate agent to make such a decision on ethics/morals on behalf of their client. It is for the vendor to decide.

What you have been told by other agents is correct, the EA must submit all offers to the vendor up until the point contracts have been exchanged, irrespective of whether a 'best & final' bid process has occurred.

I suggest you make the offer in writing, letter/email, my guess is that the EA would be far less likely to refuse to put it forward if there is a written record of you having made a further offer.

howmanyusernames · 18/04/2019 15:24

Sometimes it's not just about money, sellers want their house to go to buyers they like, or just buyers they have committed to selling to!

Gazumping is a horrible thing, imagine you were about to exchange and someone, like you, came along and broke that chain? People would have lost a lot of money, rearranged their lives, and it could put more pressure on family situations (families splitting up, families having to move because of jobs etc). I don't know why you think this is an okay thing to do.

If I sold my house and had committed to that buyer, I wouldn't accept an increased offer, and would instruct my EA to not pass any on.

I would also be suspicious of someone finding an extra £20k 3 days later, and wonder how serious they are, and wouldn't take a risk on them.

JenniferJareau · 18/04/2019 15:25

It might depend on what the sellers have instructed the EA to do. If they want a clean process they may not want to see any further offers.

Also, to be honest, if someone came back to me with a higher offer and said their 'circumstances have changed' 3 days after the process closed, I wouldn't believe them.

justasking111 · 18/04/2019 15:26

You could offer another 20k, then find your mortgage provider says wtf, you are paying to much for this house. So no I do not want that type of messing about.

AntiHop · 18/04/2019 15:29

Don't know why people are laying into you op.

It was only a few days ago. You have a clear and legitimate reason for why your circumstances have changed. The property is still for sale.

Is it one of those estate agents who charge a flat fee by any chance? Most estate agents get paid my commission, so it's in their interests to accept a higher offer.

It reminds me of a situation when we were buying. We had an offer accepted. Shortly after, the estate agent (an online one that charges a fixed fee) told us they were dumping us for a higher offer. The crazy thing was, they didn't even ask us if we wanted to match or exceed that offer. It seemed like they couldn't be bothered with the negotiation. We actually would have gone higher. If I was the vendor, I would have been furious if I'd known I'd missed out on a higher offer.

Mildura · 18/04/2019 15:31

howmanyusernames
Sometimes it's not just about money, sellers want their house to go to buyers they like, or just buyers they have committed to selling to!

It may very well be the case, but surely in the situation the OP describes it is for the vendor to say "no thank you, I've accepted an offer and I'm going to honour it."

Whatever you think about the morality, it is wrong of the agent not to put forward a higher offer from the OP.

KnitterOfSocks · 18/04/2019 15:37

I told our agents that I didn't want to see any more offers after we accepted one. They said if they are instructed not to forward any more offers then they wouldn't.

Bluntness100 · 18/04/2019 15:39

I've sold when it went to best and final under sealed bids. I accepted th highest offer and that was it off, the market. If another buyer had then upped their offer my agent likely would not have told me, because I'd agreed an offer and if he had done, I'd have told him I'd already acceptaed and taken it off the market and what part of the process confused him.

And I've bought where my condition was it comes off the market. And yes it can then take a few days for websites to be updated. But if an agent then told me, oh sorry the seller has had a higher offer so is pulling out, I'd have bad mouthed that agent all over the Internet, because taking it off the market was my condition for the offer. No further viewings, no further offers. Game over.

And what if your 20 doesn't secure it. Or what if the current highest bidder says fuck uou and offers 25. Where does it end? It makes a mockery of best and final.

I don't believe for a moment your circumstances have changed. I think you've lost out and now want to up your offer in a bid to secure it now uou know you low balled them.

Youwanapizzame · 18/04/2019 15:39

Estate agents - Morals - LOL

Only joking (ish) its been 3 days they will not have had surveys etc done yet. If the EA wont put your offer forward put it through the door. I would.

howmanyusernames · 18/04/2019 15:41

Mildura - The vendor might have asked for no further offers to be put forward, hence the 'best and final'.

If offers were being put forward until exchange then you mess a LOT of people around, cost people A LOT of money, and most people don't want to get involved in that.

If what you've said happens, it could be going back and forth for months, and the vendor probably just wants to sell and move on to their new home/life.

How would OP feel if they were 2 months into the process, they'd spent money on solicitors, surveys etc and someone came in with an offer £5k more than theirs?

LittleChristmasMouse · 18/04/2019 15:41

OP, wouldn't you be worried that if the vendors permitted you to up your bid that they would then have no qualms doing the same to you further along?

I wouldn't want to buy from them if they accepted my higher offer. Can you not leave your higher offer on the table in case the current offer falls through?

LittleChristmasMouse · 18/04/2019 15:43

I guess as well the vendors might be concerned that your counter off isn't genuine (as in only 3 days you've raised 20K extra than your best and final offer) and that you plan to reduce it just as you are about to exchange?

longearedbat · 18/04/2019 15:47

Well you could always test them (the agents) by getting a friend to ring and see if the property is still available to view... but, the last time I sold a house I went with the buyer who seemed, given their circumstances, most likely to complete without messing us around. I liked them, we got on well and are still in touch. We took the house off the market once we'd accepted their offer because we don't agree with gazumping. This house may be off the market, just not been taken down from rightmove.

MissBridgetJones · 18/04/2019 15:48

Best and final means best and final. It is unethical and against fair practice to accept offers after this. Best and final is used when there are several interested parties but no offer has been accepted by the vendor.

Gazumping is totally different - it's when a vendor accepts an offer and then someone else comes along and offers mores.

Crazycrazylady · 18/04/2019 15:48

They can if the seller has told them to..

Bluntness100 · 18/04/2019 15:50

Whatever you think about the morality, it is wrong of the agent not to put forward a higher offer from the OP.

That's just made up nonsense 🤣 if the condition of best and final was it came off the market once an offer was accepted then the agent is abiding by that and is in the right.

BrightYellowDaffodil · 18/04/2019 15:50

Removing the property from the market may well have been part of the purchaser's condition - I know that when I had my offer accepted it was on the condition that the house was removed from the market and no further offers were accepted. I know there were others with higher amounts to spend, but I was a first time buyer with no chain and the vendor preferred my offer.

OK, so your circumstances have changed, but tough. Every body made their best and highest offer at the time and yours wasn't chosen. Don't be that person who even tries to gazump those who did have their offer accepted, because that would make you the sort of arsehole who makes house buying such a nightmare.

Find another house and move on.

Redglitter · 18/04/2019 15:55

Surely it defeats the purpose of best & final offers if people can offer afterwards

When I was house hunting a house I loved went to a closing date. The minute it passed the closing date time the EA wouldn't consider any other offers on it. I assumed that was the norm otherwise the whole procedure is pointless

Mildura · 18/04/2019 15:55

Bluntness100
That's just made up nonsense

No it isn't!!!!

Unless the vendor has specifically instructed the estate agent not to pass on any further offers, then it would be illegal, under the Estate Agents Act of 1979 for the EA not to put forward to the vendor an offer that had been submitted. Best and final bids or no best and final bids.

Harebel · 18/04/2019 15:56

What's your AIBU?

You don't want answers unless they agree with you.

I'd be wary of someone dicking about like you too. For some sellers it's not always about the most cash offered believe it or not, it's about reliability and trustworthiness and the confidence that things will go smoothly as they can without mishaps. I'd tell you to take your new final final offer elsewhere I'm afraid.

TheGrey1houndSpeaks · 18/04/2019 15:57

Yes, it is. Full and final mean just what the dictionary definition says they mean.

Constance1234 · 18/04/2019 15:58

It’s still up for sale on rightmove, on their website etc
That doesn’t really mean anything. The flat we bought stayed on rightmove etc for ages - I guess estate agents do that to reel people looking for similar properties in.
OP I think you’ll just have to move on and accept that when best and final offers were asked for you weren’t the front runner and your financial circumstance have changed too late. Good luck in your house search!

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