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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

NIGHTMARE HOUSE SITUATION

163 replies

MummyToBeAgain1 · 04/02/2022 13:56

AIBU to be annoyed at estate agents!

I'm currently in the process of selling my current property - I recieved an offer at start of Jan and solicitors are doing they checks etc so hopefully it'll be sold within 10 weeks!

The issue is buying a property through an estate agent. My experience so far has showed that they want a cash buyer - no chain which leaves people in my situation at a loss.

A property was listed yesterday morning. We are interested and LOVE IT - literally the property that ticks all our boxes after over a year of looking.

I called the estate agents straight away to book a viewing. They noted my details and said that they are waiting for the vendor to confirm when people could view the property.

I called back after 2 hours and they had the same story, I called back at 4pm and the story was the same.

I called the estate agents again today at 9am - I was told the lady who was dealing with this house sale isn't in till 10am. I asked her what the reason was for the vendor to have listed the house but not sorted viewings. She said there are viewings and today is fully booked. I said I called yesterday and was told your trying to get in contact with the vendor. She then asked for my name and said your not on the list.

I said but that isn't fair because I called several times yesterday. I said during my second phone call I was told that you hadn't even recieved any other calls regarding this property yet. She muttered something.

She said well now you'll have to wait till next tuesday because they fully booked before then. I said but what if they accept an offer before then. She replied with 'Well, to be honest you don't even know if you're going to get it - because there's alot of interest for this property and cash buyers with no chain'.

She said the lady whose dealing with the sale of this property will call back at 10am.

At 9.40 I get a call which I missed. I called back and was cut of after 2 rings. I called again and it was the lady I spoke to earlier - she advised the lady who deals with the property has rang in sick and she'll book me in for next week.

I feel so deflated and already feel like there's no point viewing this house because I know the estate agents prioritise cash buyers.

Yeah, I get that it's a business and they want a good priced, quick sale. Obviously, with those of us who are in a chain - it takes time and there's that risk of the sale not going through or our mortgage not being accepted.

But what else are we meant to do? 😔 I genuinely feel like giving up today. By the way, this is one example from many. We initially put our property on market through estate agents from nov 2020 to aug 2021 - this was a nightmare situation and so much effort was wasted.
In december 2021 I put it up privately and managed to find a buyer with a good offer within 2 weeks.

I don't know how else to find a house. Or find one privately. I've checked facebook.

A colleague once said selling and buying a house is one of the most stressful situations people will experience in they lives. I honestly can not agree more! I've never been so stressed. I have young children and it will be difficult to drag them on rent till we buy a house and then drag them to the new house. It's unsettling and difficult.

Thanks for listening to my rant! AIBU to be annoyed that estate agents push those of us in a chain to the back of the queue.

OP posts:
BasiliskStare · 04/02/2022 17:14

@MummyToBeAgain1 - I know you think selling and moving into rented is a PITA - of course it is - but people do it. We did . Children can cope. It is the reason we got the house we are in now and we were not the highest bidders - just genuinely cash buyers.

I think you need to decide the stress you want - either selling yours and moving into rental or dealing with chains with all that entails . Neither is perfect but unless you can write a cheque out for the new house there will be a compromise.

JustinOtherdad · 04/02/2022 17:18

Remember that EAs aren't there to help you buy a house, they just want to sell that house for as much as possible to anyone.

Dishwashersaurous · 04/02/2022 17:18

And also, if you do move into rental, then don't thinknof it like renting a family home.

Eg you could put all your furniture in storage and rent a furnished two bed flat for six months

babbi · 04/02/2022 17:20

It’s a really difficult time to buy .
Do you really need to move from your own house at the moment ?

I say that because friends of mine sold over 2 years ago and moved in with family.
They finally got a new home last week as they had 2 solid years of being outbid by silly money offers in houses . (Scotland)
1 house listed at offers over £275 k sold for £387 k - lunacy ..

May be different in your area but there’s so few houses in the market at the moment you may struggle and need to rent for a while .

I’m sorry about your position.. it’s hard ..

I was refused a viewing in a house today as my house isn’t sold ( typical time in my street is 3 days to sell ) .. but still no … chain free only !

TonTonMacoute · 04/02/2022 17:24

@MummyToBeAgain1

I would have a EA if I was selling through them right? I'm selling privately so the most I can do is contact EAs to tell them what I'm interested in.
I think you need to visit EAs, find someone sympathetic, chat them up a bit and try and make yourself their 'favourite'!

If you can establish a personal relationship with an EA, which includes letting them know that you will be ready to buy and move quickly, then that might shift things along a bit and they can give you more warning of properties as they come up for sale.

bouncydog · 04/02/2022 17:25

My mum decided to put house on the market Monday lunchtime and told EA’s. First viewing 4p.m. same day as EA’s had list of buyers interested in that type of property. Offer received 6p.m. same day and accepted 9.00 a.m. Tuesday morning!

The lady selling property you are interested in may not be able to afford upkeep and have to move from her long time family home which may be very painful for her hence appointing an agent. For those suggesting a note through the door, please consider the possible impact on the vendor and deal through the agent.

MajorCarolDanvers · 04/02/2022 17:30

If I lived in England (with the way you do house sales) and was selling a house in the current property boom then I would want the estate agents to prioritise cash buyers too.

BasiliskStare · 04/02/2022 17:46

@Dishwashersaurous - Wise words I think. we moved into a small flat but it did the job we needed - because it was an interim step I wasn't too fussed that everything was not perfect but we all had a chair to sit on and a bed - yes stuff had to go into storage but I reckon the amount we saved on the house we bid on and got ( because we were cash buyers ) it wasn't a wash - the rental obviously cost some but we got the house we are in now (10 years or more later )

The house we sold - we went wth the people who were renting and could get all money at the time we wanted to sell. I would absolutely go with a cash buyer every time.

It's hard , I know it is , but just because a house is your perfect house does not mean to say you are their perfect buyers. It's harsh and very often disappointing but I think realism counts a great deal during a stressful time.

PriamFarrl · 04/02/2022 17:46

So the property is priced well below what it’s worth and the current owner is elderly and not mobile.

It strikes me that the owner is moving into a smaller home/ sheltered accommodation/ with family or even nursing home. They need to move soon, they need the cash quickly. They have priced it low to sell it quickly, they don’t want to spend ages stuck in a chain.
Therefore they will have asked the EA to prioritise cash buyers.

If I was them I’d do the same.

BasiliskStare · 04/02/2022 17:47

& @MajorCarolDanvers - As a vendor - I agree - I would too .

BasiliskStare · 04/02/2022 17:48

@PriamFarrl - cross posted - I agree with you

Dishwashersaurous · 04/02/2022 17:49

And agree about the needing super quick sale to pay nursing home fees.

Ericaequites · 04/02/2022 17:51

Don’t fall in love with a house until you have looked inside and smelled the house. A three bedroom center hall Colonial backing onto conservation land was listed in 2000 at a wicked low price. I went to a scheduled viewing, and the place stunk. A widower and his dogs had been urinating in corners. The owner’s children wanted a quick sale to finance his nursing home stay, so laid new carpet over the damp subflooring. It would have cost a lot to do it up properly; the place was in general disrepair.

vera99 · 04/02/2022 17:52

Boris is keeping quiet about this but in the last year 65k Hong Kongers have come to the UK. They are selling up and getting out often with a huge war chest as cash buyers. The UK is the number one destination for them given the 5-year visa that up to 3 million are entitled to. London and the SE is their favoured part and where live in Welling the number of new Chinese moving in is unprecedented. Same all over London and easily commutable distance to the centre. Even had the estate agent who sold us our house 3 years ago call me called to ask if I was interested in moving as he had ready cashed-up buyers ready to go.

www.usnews.com/news/best-countries/articles/2021-09-16/hong-kong-residents-moving-to-the-united-kingdom-after-china-crackdown

BasiliskStare · 04/02/2022 17:54

@Dishwashersaurous - my DFIL sadly died before it became a big issue but given we did not have nursing home fees in our back pockets - the free term is not long and his house would have had to be sold in double quick time. The house was not worth a fortune but it was over the £23k or whatever it is where you can claim a free nursing / care home place.

BoredZelda · 04/02/2022 18:00

An estate agent can’t prioritise buyers unless the vendor gives an instruction to do so.

DePfeffoff · 04/02/2022 18:03

It sounds to me as if the agents are being realistic. If they've got a full programme of bookings up to Tuesday, it's obviously a desirable property and they are almost inevitably going to get a good cash offer, or an offer from someone without a chain. Unless your offer is likely to be well above what anyone else offers, realistically the buyer is never going to accept you so the agents might as well save you the time.

Good luck with your search!

LM20 · 04/02/2022 18:05

I’m an estate agent - I can’t speak for all but most are commissioned based therefore they higher the sale price the higher the fee. A LOT of sellers have stipulations such as only proceedable buyer, no chains or even cash buyers only. Some sellers have set days for viewings and will only allow a certain amount of viewers for that day.

The market is insane at the moment! Frustrating as it is, the estate agent has likely received astronomical amount of phone calls and frankly if you’ve rang 4 times it’s OTT!

Chances are if your not on the list there has been a human error - believe it or not we are humans!!

Ps a note through the door is stalkerish despite whatever MN say! I’ve had this happen before and our sellers have told us UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES ARE THEY ALLOWED TO VIEW!

I’d suggest emailing the EA ask if they can squeeze you since they ‘forgot’ you on the original list, repeat your proceedable and ready to view anytime.

Good luck!

Ellowyn · 04/02/2022 18:08

Good luck OP. I really hope you get this house.

m00rfarm · 04/02/2022 18:09

We are agents (in Portugal) and to be honest, we act for the person paying us -i.e. the owner. We would always recommend a buyer who is not in a chain and does not need a mortgage - even if the owner accepts a slightly lower offer. Therefore, the people who meet this criteria usually get priority viewings. They may have had multiple people on their books who they already knew would want to view, and therefore would see the house before someone who was calling in. It sounds like a tricky situation and the house will meet the needs of a lot of people. I hope things go well for you and you find your perfect house soon.

badkitty · 04/02/2022 18:16

If the seller has cash buyers interested then they are not going to accept someone in a chain, inconvenient though that may be for you. There are far too many risks - and you say the solicitors haven't even finished carrying out checks on your buyers so it is not as if you are about to exchange. The fact is that at the moment there is a huge amount of people in the market who have sold and are renting/living with family while they buy. Unfortunately until you are in the same position you are going to be at the back of the queue, at least for the desirable family properties.

badkitty · 04/02/2022 18:18

By the way, I bought last year, having been renting for sometime, there were 6 offers from cash buyers on the first day of viewings, went straight to sealed bids and I was lucky.

bellamountain · 04/02/2022 18:39

Sometimes you get people who want to sell their much loved home to people they like. It does happen, good luck OP.

Mountaingoat12 · 04/02/2022 18:53

I’m in Scotland. Buying a house is crazy here. Most desirable houses go to sealed bids. So if you want it you have to go well over the home report valuation to secure it. Mortgage providers treat the home report value as the value though, so if you go over that you need the money in cash. It’s an incredibly frustrating system.

LakieLady · 04/02/2022 20:17

Two people I know have recently turned down higher offers from people with a property to sell, in preference for a slightly lower offer from people who were chain-free.

One of the buyers offered 10% above the chain-free people's offer (a lot, as the asking price was £1.2m!), but they wanted the certainty of the chain free purchase.