NIGHTMARE HOUSE SITUATION

[MummyToBeAgain1]

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.

Regarding selling, renting, then buying we found it quite straight forward. Our children were tiny, so school wasnt an issue. We moved to a 2 bed flat, so smaller (and therefore cheaper) than our previous property. Because it was so small we didnt unpack a lot of stuff but left it boxed up in the garage, which made the second move easier. We had a 6 month tenancy which then would have gone onto a 1 month rolling contract, although in the end we were only there just over 5 months.

But - big but- this was in 2008 when the market was first cooling then crashing so buying was not as competitive as today. We sold for slightly less than we wanted to then bought for very slightly above the asking price once we found the right place. So that plus the rent made the whole process slightly more expensive than it might have been but house prices have risen over the past 13 years so that hasn't been a problem long term.

@MummyToBeAgain1

I understand that you are frustrated. But you are blaming estate agents for the choices that the sellers are making.

Estate agent are exactly that - agents. They act for the seller.

If the seller want to only sell for cash, that’s their choice. Same as if they want to accept an offer from a black couple rather than a white couple. Or a family with children instead of a single person.

Of course, if they say to the estate agent “ I won’t sell to a single parent “ the estate agent won’t act on that and will explain it’s discriminatory. But if the sellers say “ I’d like to accept the offer from x “ then the estate agent has to act on that.

I notice that the same posters who get angry at sellers choosing the purchaser they prefer are often the same ones who say that they did exactly the same thing when they sold!

It’s not equal opportunities or first come first served. Nor do you get extra points for having children.

I did not have a preference for the sort of person I wanted to buy my house - it was nice that it was a family - but the fact they were cash buyers with no chain was important - as it was to our vendor when we bought the house we are in now.

As I have said it can be very stressful to sell and then rent - but so is being in a chain - choose your stress.

We sold and went into rented accommodation in order to be a compelling buyer because of the market.

It’s been a massive sacrifice but a risk we took to be taken seriously.

Eatate agents are AWFUL. I’ve sold / bought property 5 times now. The 2 times I was in direct contact with the other side and ran the process, it went smoothly. The 3 times the estate agent was in charge of communications, the deals collapsed because of bad communication.

Having spent a lot of time talking to estate agents, my conclusion is that they are almost all very very dim and lazy. I’m sorry if you’re reading this and you are an estate agent: I’m sure there are exceptions. But the ones I meet get the job because they are well spoken and smartly dressed and capable of walking around a house holding a key, but are incredibly dim / lazy.

To answer your question OP biying a house with a chain behind you can be done but you miss out on the ‘besr’ properties. We moved into rented each time, was ridiculous.

@Iwonderifiwonderwhy

Eatate agents are AWFUL. I’ve sold / bought property 5 times now. The 2 times I was in direct contact with the other side and ran the process, it went smoothly. The 3 times the estate agent was in charge of communications, the deals collapsed because of bad communication.

Having spent a lot of time talking to estate agents, my conclusion is that they are almost all very very dim and lazy. I’m sorry if you’re reading this and you are an estate agent: I’m sure there are exceptions. But the ones I meet get the job because they are well spoken and smartly dressed and capable of walking around a house holding a key, but are incredibly dim / lazy.

To answer your question OP biying a house with a chain behind you can be done but you miss out on the ‘besr’ properties. We moved into rented each time, was ridiculous.

I’m sorry to hear you’ve had such bad experiences . But mine has been different. I’ve bought 7 times in the last two years and I’d say that in my area, most estate agents are very good.

I’ve met one who was very dishonest and a few who were not very bright. But it’s like any other job - some are amazing, some are appalling and most are in between.

I think it’s pretty unfair and unkind to write them all off as “ very very dim and lazy “.

It’s not an easy job, whatever you might think.

Looking for a private GP recommendation for elderly mother in law based in Knutsford / Wilmslow. We would like to help her find someone who will really listen and follow up (and not be treated as “forgotten” because of her age). All recommendations gratefully received.

@Kimberley1304 Probably best to start your own thread on this, and include the area in the title of your thread.

@MummyToBeAgain1

As much as I want to - I won't be knocking or posting a note. If the situation was different - I probably would. However, as the vendor is elderly I don't thnk it's a good idea and I certainly don't want to make anyone feel uncomfortable.

Rightly so, those who are cash buyers will have priority but as a poster said above how many cash buyers can there be? In a space of a day.

I live in West Yorkshire and I just can't see a flood of cash buyers here.

I kept thinking your experience sounds as frustrating as mine.

Also West Yorkshire! I have a great mortgage offer, mine is sold to cash buyers, but I can't get viewings! I NEED To move, not just want. I'm in a bad position and just want to live near my family.

I think that if you are selling privately you are at a disadvantage when dealing with agents.

They prioritise their own clients as selling and buying in house is simpler.
They have no means of checking your buyers if it is a private sale.
They may simply doubt the veracity of your statement that you are in a position to proceed.

All these taken together means that when a house comes to market you will inevitably be way down the pecking order. I am sure EA's will deny this happens, but we have had an experience of it and so have various friends.

When it happened to us we decided to sell via the agent selling the house we wanted. It worked, it obviously cost us more, but the end result worked for us.

Estate Agents like a quick sale/completion as they get their commission quicker. IMHO they will steer a seller this way rather than a slightly higher offer from a chain which means they wait longer for not a lot more commission.

I am not an EA - but I would like to say some are good are some not so good - like any profession. A lovely woman (EA) when we were selling last house investigated and found a rental garage for the buyers) ( because we did not have one ) It really helped make the sale - for both us as vendors and for the buyers .

I know EAs get a bad rap here and some aren't great but actually some are pretty good. & as PPS have said - remember they are working for the vendor. If they can do something which suits the buyer - all well and good.

Motherhood apple pie anyone ?

Update

I rang EA to put an offer in today. The lady said I shouldn't 'waste my time' - I insisted that I would be chain free in literally a few weeks!
She asked how much I'm offering and then sort of gave in and told me to send documents.

I asked if the vendor wanted to sell quick to someone chain free. She didn't reply. Instead, she said we advise the vendor on the quickest and best option.

After so many replies, I do get the reality of all this selling and buying business now!

I've emailed her my docs and offer - I'll get a response by tommorow. Fingers crossed.

What ever happens will happen but atleast I tried!

@MummyToBeAgain1 - yes you have tried - if it makes you feel better DH & I lost our ( what we thought was our perfect house ) to sealed bids - the house we ended up buying - I thank every day we missed the first one and ended up with this one ( very hard when you are going through it I know ) but all best of luck & I have my fingers crossed for you )

I asked if the vendor wanted to sell quick to someone chain free. She didn't reply. Instead, she said we advise the vendor on the quickest and best option.

Exactly what I suspected- it’s not the vendor who has specified chain free, it’s the EA as they just want a quick and easy deal.

@BasiliskStare

Thank you so much for that.. it gives me hope! I can't wait for it to all to be over!

@minipie Yess!!! I asked the same question 3 times and recieved the same response so now I'm 100% it is the EA. I guess it comes down to luck now - maybe a miracle lol

People saying they are ‘cash’ buyers and those who actually have the ready cash are two very different animals.

We apparently had a ‘cash’ buyer lined up last year for my late FiL’s house, it turned out the bloke was not 😡 It was only because I insisted that the EA got absolute proof of cash in the bank that we didn’t waste weeks or even months.
Lying about having the cash should involve a financial penalty.

I’d suspect the EA of having the place earmarked for a mate or relative, and so is only going through the motions of having it on the open market.

I have personal experience of this - the viewings were a sham. The property - a rental at the time - was owned by someone else at the EA (as it was obliged to say in the blurb).

My offer was fobbed off for what seemed a very weird reason.

I later found out via nethouseprices that it had sold for way below my offer*, presumably to a relative, and the low price would have shrunk the capital gains tax bill significantly.

Never trust an EA who tells you his father is a vicar!!!!

*For around £180k, instead of the £220k I’d offered.

@BorgQueen - Yes - I think there is a difference between cash plus mortgage and no chain and an absolute cash buyer who could write a cheque out - bank transfer - and a decent EA would work out the difference between the two if that is what the vendor wanted. You were right to check it it was actually cash - we downsized and we were asked to give absolute proof we were cash buyers - not just say we were

You’ve offered without viewing it?

Borg, yes - good estate agents will ask for a cash buyer to see the bank statement with that cash in the bank.

Whilst the market is so buoyant I’d be wary of selling and moving into rented. There was a piece on regional news detailing a women who did just that to find she is now out priced from buying into a sideways move. Anything is can afford is smaller than she needs 🤷‍♀️

I agree it’s utter madness!

It does sound extremely frustrating. But as others have said, it may be the vendors preference, which they are entitled to.

When we bought this house we exchanged contracts on our own house but set a completion date well into the future (they buyers were happy with that). We were then essentially without a chain when looking at houses to buy but did not have to rent as we managed to find a house and complete in the time allowed. Only just though. We were about to start looking at rental properties when we found this one.

@irregularegular - yes I agree - it can be frustrating to not get the house you want - but the vendors are not obliged to sell to you - they have their own priorities . How lucky you were - excellent. We had to move into rented for a while - complete PITA but 10 years on - have forgotten it - like childbirth.

Exactly!!! Last year there was a property we put an offer in for and someone else was accepted because they offered cash. They dragged the deal on for months (maybe because they didn't actually have the money).. after around 9 months it still said STC and not sold - I rang EA and they said its become difficult and probably won't go through. It ended up going to second highest offer and went through with them!

You did right by asking for proof - it becomes a black and white deal then, they've either got the money or they haven't!