To put complaint in against estate agent?

[Macanecheeseeee]

In the process of buying a property. It has been an absolute shambles from start to finish. I've purchased a house before so I know how stressful it can be but this is on a whole new level. EA has lied about certain issues and overall I'm just really disappointed by their attitude and the service. Problems that could have been avoided easily if they had done their job properly, having to ask them to do something multiple times before they got it right etc, you get the picture. It took 2 months just to get the paperwork sorted (everything was fine and ready to go on my end). My offer was excepted and then everything came to a standstill because the agents hadn't reported something beforehand (something that they should have reported when the property was put on the market). I have no idea what is going on or if the property is still even mine. I'm coming and going and just feel like I'm in limbo. Communication is extremely poor (well, it was ok when they needed something from me) but now they've messed up, I've not heard a peep from them.

I phoned the agent this morning and she said she would get back to me. I even explained how frustrating this whole process has been which she didn't even acknowledge or apologise for. I told her I was debating whether or not to withdraw my offer (they haven't had any other offers for the last 9 months, I wonder why). It is a fairly large branch with a complaints and feedback department. WIBU to phone them up and explain the situation? Or am I best off waiting until I (possibly) buy the property. I don't want things to be awkward with EA but also feel she should take responsibility for her error. When I've made a mistake in my job I've always been pulled up on it.

If it wasn't for the fact I love the property/location so much I probably would have pulled out by now.

The EA was suppose to report and gain permission to sell the property when it was put up for sale 9 months ago

Report to who and gain permission from whom? Who instructed the agent to sell then?

Are you saying that the EA didn't get the sellers to sign a contract with them agreeing that the EA could sell?

Why would the EA need permission to market the property. The EA isn’t selling the property the seller is. It sounds like they are the one you should be frustrated with

You can complain to them, but I'd expect them to ignore your complaint because you are not their customer and they don't owe you anything.

If you want a complaint that lands, pull out and let the seller complain to them.

If you want the house, you need to continue playing the game.

The estate agent is employed by the seller to find a buyer. You are not the customer in this transaction. If anything, you're the product.

Sorry to be harsh but it doesn't seem to be sinking in with you!

As DameCelia says you are confusing the agents role with that of your solicitor/conveyancer.

Op did someone else habe an interest in th property which was not revealed to th agent by whomever instructed them to sell?

It is a shared ownership property. The vendor is not the only person who owns the house. She has a 50% share. The EA should have (this is the other share holders words as my solicitor spoke with them briefly) requested permission to sell, not just from the vendor. The property has been up for sale for nearly 10 months and this should have been sorted before they listed it. After my offer was excepted I was then told "oh well actually, the property might not be for sale).

The estate agent is employed by the seller to find a buyer. You are not the customer in this transaction. If anything, you're the product.

The agency is employed by the seller. The agent is employed by the agency. If the agent is incompetent enough to threaten a sale, of course the agency will be interested

Doesn't make sense who would they need permission to sell from as surely the seller would of instructed them , unless seller jointly owned and gave permission without other party or something and hadn't told estate agent.
Also do you mean accepted the offer?
And why are you doing lots of running around at this stage that should be your solicitor and yes if it was a huge hold up I would prob say if not sorted soon I will have to pull out and look for another property, although around here they are going like hotcakes

Are you in the UK as this doesnt read like a UK process (I apologise if its a Scotland specific process its been awhile since I looked at those processes)
Why does the estate agent need to request permission to sell the property, surely the seller has instructed them to do so?
I dont think anyone is not reading/listening properly despite your frustration, its just there seems to be chunks of information missing and it seems a bit odd

Just read the update on shared ownership, seller should also of known this as well maybe they had told the estate agent all was ok, seems to be long time to get to before this is found out though? Do you have a solicitor working for you

Estate agents don't sell the property - vendors do. They market it (based on information provided by the vendor) and then if the vendor accepts your offer, they confirm in writing and exchange solicitor details.

They can sometimes act as a go between vendor and buyer after that but that is the extent of their remit.

@Macanecheeseeee

It is a shared ownership property. The vendor is not the only person who owns the house. She has a 50% share. The EA should have (this is the other share holders words as my solicitor spoke with them briefly) requested permission to sell, not just from the vendor. The property has been up for sale for nearly 10 months and this should have been sorted before they listed it. After my offer was excepted I was then told "oh well actually, the property might not be for sale).

That makes no sense? And is certainly unusual. The seller has to speak to the shareholder and explain they wish to sell, then there is a whole process to be followed from valuation to a contract with solicitors details before the seller can market it.

This is the sellers responsibility to do this not the agents.

No it was the sellers job to get permission and that to be confirmed by the solicitor nothing to do with the EA

The seller should have got that.

Tbh OP it sounds like you should walk away - or at the very least tell them you will walk away if problem not resolved by y date. In the meantime keep.looking - there is always another house.

Permission to sell? Do you mean a signed agency agreement from the seller? That wouldn’t hold anything up and is between them. What country are you buying in?

@Hereward1332 in England the agent works for the seller not the buyer. Unless the agent has caused the buyer a financial loss there probably aren’t any grounds for an actual complaint. In fact the agent could refuse to speak to the buyer at all and just get them to liaise only via their conveyancer.

Bit of a guess but it reads as if, prior to offer, you raised a question with the agent who went back and got the answer from the seller and reported back to you accordingly. Could it be the seller was not 100% truthful/factual with their answer to your initial question hence and it has now come to light? The agent is only the middle man usually and if you raise a house specific question they would normally refer back to the seller for the answer.

Sorry mine was a cross post but I agree with those above this is a seller issue not an agent issue

@Toomanyradishes she mentions now its a shared ownership so prob half owned by Housing association etc so not sure how works everywhere , but here if you want to sell you have to offer it to ha first and then if they don't want you can sell on open marker with their agreement, well thats how I understood it when I looked into it.
Would of thought a solicitor would pick up on this pretty quick though

@bamski

in England the agent works for the seller not the buyer

No, as above the vendor employs the agency. The agent is employed by the agency. You can complain about an employee's competence to the agency.

OK you have explained the issue is that the property is shared ownership and the other owner has not yet given permission to the vendor to sell.
The agent should have confirmed this was in place before marketing the property to you but ultimately it is not for the agent to secure this permission. It is for the vendor and their solicitor to secure permission to sell. So while you are angry with the agent, I think you would be better off directing your frustration at the vendor and their solicitor via your own solicitor and that should help get things moving. Good luck!

I found this on a website
"When you want to sell, you will need to contact your housing provider to let them know. As there are often long waiting lists for Shared Ownership homes, your provider will then have a set period of time (as outlined in the terms of your lease) to try and sell your home to other buyers who are looking to purchase through the scheme. After this time, you will be able to advertise the property yourself, selling privately or through an estate agent of your choice."
Did the seller not do the first bit?

Sounds like your issue is with the seller. It is the seller who should have communicated with the other owner. For all you know the seller may not have given the EA all the information.

Apologies if I have been short with people and not explained myself properly. It's been an incredibly stressful few weeks on my end.

Firstly, I was unaware that the property was on a shared ownership basis. This was never advertised and I thought I was buying the property outright. Once I was told (3 weeks later) I gave it some thought and decided to go ahead and put an offer in anyway as I loved the house and the location so much.

Once my offer was accepted I was then told "well, actually we haven't even really requested permission from the other party to sell yet" even thought the property has been on sale for nearly 10 months!