Is the estate agent screwing my mother?

[dodgyestateagent]

DM, who is elderly, has just had to put her family home up for sale, she is moving to assisted living. She is 78 and has lived in this house for over 50 years - my father's recent passing has meant she can no longer cope with the house by herself. She has no idea about market value, valuations, selling a house, so we have been dealing with the estate agent ourselves.

The house went up for sale on Friday, and we were told it was inundated with interest. So much so that the estate agent held an 'open viewing' for viewings on Saturday, for one hour. We were told that over 200 people had come to visit the house!

We've just been told the highest offer, and it's below what would be expected for the area (we are South East, detached, 3 bedroom, large south facing garden). Especially since he said they'd been inundated with viewings and interest. When we queried the estate agent on how he got the offers, he told us that due to having so much interest, he was doing an anonymous 'best and final offer'. The highest offer (and best position) we've been given is supposedly the highest of all of the 'best and final'... However, when we enquired whether or not he'd gone back to any of the other interested parties to see if they'd like to improve on it, he said he hadn't to ensure 'fairness for everyone involved.' It doesn't seem like he has tried to get the best price for my DM. Myself and DH have purchased a couple of properties, and each and every time we've been told about other 'higher offers' and been asked if we'd like to improve on our offer... It just seems a strange way of doing things and I am worried the estate agent has got some sort of back hander going on... AIBU?

Cheeky twunt

What is it up at and is that the average for area

Or does it say modernisation

Don’t accept highest offer

Change agent. No way can you get 200 in during one hour. Somethings not right. Change agent x

In writing you need to set out your concerns, particularly given your mother’s age and circumstances....and have a solicitor write it....that should get his attention. And be perfectly clear that you do not wish a sale to take place without the following matters being addressed to your satisfaction:

1. How did the agent arrive at his initial valuation ie where are the comparable properties]?
2. You have been informed that interest was so overwhelming that 200 people attended a viewing. Who are these viewers and how were they accommodated given the present lockdown restrictions?
3. You believe that insufficient time has been given to test the market, what’s the rush?
4. The purpose of the sale is to achieve best price within a reasonable time scale, you’re not satisfied that has been achieved. You want to have sight of all the offers, and the proof of funds relating to any offers. It may be incompetence it may be corruption [a back door deal etc etc] but how can you have confidence that this agent is behaving properly?

Shamelessly place marking for more updates

The OP has already established that it’s not incompetence, the agent lied outright to her friend who posed as a buyer.

Oh that sort of screwing

Confront the EA, but make sure you do it with someone else there too (your DH?). So the EA can't worm his way out of this.

Then ditch him and find someone else.

Not the thread I was expecting from the subject, but gripping nonetheless.
OP I hope you sack this charlatan and report him. Absolute crook. I am quite sure he probably does this to all sorts of clients but anyone preying on the elderly makes me absolute rage. He’s scum.

I'd find another estate agent.
I just sold my late father's house. The estate agent booked people into 15 minute slots . After each day's viewings they gave me a full report verbally and confirmed by email feedback from each viewing.
Their suggestion was to consider offers and if there were several the same then to go to best and finals.
I'd also ask for details of their complaint procedure and the Property Ombudsman details to make a complaint

Do they have social media? Given how slow they are to react to complaints, could you get a few people known to you from outside the area to leave a few questions? 'How do you ensure vulnerable older people are not ripped off', for example?

He's taking the piss. Tell him you're not accepting the offer, and - unless you have a contract with him preventing you from changing - also tell him to jog on, and get yourself a reputable estate agent/solicitor. Are you sure he's even done things as they legally should have been?

In writing you need to set out your concerns, particularly given your mother’s age and circumstances....and have a solicitor write it....that should get his attention. And be perfectly clear that you do not wish a sale to take place without the following matters being addressed to your satisfaction:

1. How did the agent arrive at his initial valuation ie where are the comparable properties]?
2. You have been informed that interest was so overwhelming that 200 people attended a viewing. Who are these viewers and how were they accommodated given the present lockdown restrictions?
3. You believe that insufficient time has been given to test the market, what’s the rush?
4. The purpose of the sale is to achieve best price within a reasonable time scale, you’re not satisfied that has been achieved. You want to have sight of all the offers, and the proof of funds relating to any offers. It may be incompetence it may be corruption [a back door deal etc etc] but how can you have confidence that this agent is behaving properly?

This. Also see website getagent.co.uk. They compare estate agents in different areas - if you’re going to switch then you need to find one a bit more reliable. I saw an offer upthread somewhere from a member of RICS expressing concern and offering help. If ending your agreement with him proves difficult it might be worth mentioning that you have this kind of a contact and are thinking of making a complaint.

@AWamBamBoom

They shouldn't have done a best and final without consulting your mum. Properties are selling so quickly in the SE, it's sounds to me they just wanted to move it on with little effort from them

Yes, and I agree he may know the buyer. A lot of agents know developers and sell to them at less than they could get otherwise.

I'm sorry if this has been said before, but surely it can only be "best and final" if you and your mother agree that it is? It's not the estate agent's decision to make, is it? Anyway, get rid of him and hopefully you can find one who's less of a charlatan. You'd do better with knowing what recent sales prices for houses of the same type in the same street have been, so you can tell the agent you won't accept less than a certain sum anyway. I think you can probably check the Land Registry for that, or if not, there are numerous sites like Zoopla and RightMove and MousePrice, to name but a few, where you can find useful information.
Good luck.

@dodgyestateagent have you made a decision over what you are going to do about the estate agent?

No wonder you are livid! What a creep!

Definitely dodgy and suspicious. Do hope you get this resolved.

Thank you for what must be one of the best thread titles in Mumsnet history, I have been chuckling to myself about it all day!

Not the type of screwing I imagined

There’s no reason why another friend cannot record the EA and there is no automatic bar to such recordings being used in legal proceedings.

I’d be getting someone to call tomorrow. At the very least it’ll get you out of your contract swiftly.

My DS's house recently had an Open Day, around 15 viewings, several asking price offer. He's had to make Best and Final offers on three houses to get one accepted, even though he doesn't need a mortgage. It's a sellers market now and you should get a good price.
Someone said that if the house needs work this may have affected the price, but this is not the case in many areas - people like to buy a house that they can do from scratch and they are highly sought-after.

@dodgyestateagent

To say I am livid in an understatement...

Got a friend to ring up today and put in a higher offer. She was given the same spiel about needing to put a 'best and final' offer in straight away as the property has had so many offers and is so popular. The estate agent then did his very best to put my friend off . He told her that she should 'only offer what's she's absolutely happy with, she's got to feel comfortable with her offer and not to go above that'. Even worse, he told her that 'the elderly woman who lives there needs to find somewhere else to live, therefore it won't make the stamp duty holiday, and to bear that in mind when she puts her offer in'... DM is going into assisted living, so that is a flagrant lie to put potential buyers off!!

To be fair to the agent, this advice is what I would expect a sensible agent to give - house sales which are conducted through sealed-bids process are notorious for falling-through - bidders get over excited at the prospect of winning such a competitively sought-after prize, and overbid, and then when the excitement is over, they often regret bidding so high, get buyers-remorse and pull out. And solicitors/mortgage companies are horrendously overworked trying to rush through deals to meet the stamp duty deadline, and so any buyer who needs a mortgage is very unlikely to be able to complete a new transaction to deadline now, so it really would be unwise to allow someone to bid to the max of their funds calculated assuming a £0 stamp duty, as that would also jeopardise the sale.

The source of the problem is that the house has been undervalued to start off with. However, the market is crazy at the moment - a huge pent up demand has been released, and there are far more buyers than sellers. If you change agents now, you may miss this moment. I would suggest you recheck your research, decide the price you want, and tell the agent to bring you a proceedable - ideally cash - offer at that price. That way, even if he is selling to a mate, you will get the right price.

I would be very suspicious of this considering that houses are selling so fast at the moment at ridiculous prices. Nothing is being sold for less than asking price at the moment. He more than likely has a builder friend or someone that wants to refurbish it and sell it on at a profit.

I would get another agent for sure

Change estate agents op.

I hope the conversation was recorded. Good luck getting the estate agent struck off.

If it's that popular, dispense with estate agents, save the money and put a sign in the window.

Wow, I can see why you're livid. Well done for not just taking his word for it!
Have you made a decision about how to deal with this?