That Estate Agents have no real loyalty?

[chatenoire]

I'm trying to sell a property and no matter what, the EA is doing voodoo maths to get me to accept an offer.

I had an initial offer (which I rejected) and counter offered for £10k on top. The buyer isn't moving, so I told the EA that there was no deal.

I've been clear to the EA that it's not that I want the full amount of the counter offer, but that I should see some "good will" from the buyer (so even a gesture of £2k would be enough).

Then the EA came back saying that the slow months are coming and she wouldn't be able to sell it and that her contract would expire.. then I said "maybe then try harder?"

BTW my counter offer is what she valued the house on.

I'm in no rush to sell. It's an inheritance from my uncle, so my mother obviously has an opinion and I don't want to end up fighting with her either.

There’s a strong vibe here that the stress and difficulty here is coming from you.

Why are you quibbling over a “goodwill” gesture? They’re supposed to mind read that you don’t mean you want £10K, you want £2k more because it’s not about the money but about… some weird thing in your head! Sorry, but you sound like a PITA vendor who isn’t treating it like a simple business transaction. Which links with the loyalty oddness: she’s not your friend. You should expect professionalism, not loyalty.

Your EA gives you an honest warning about the well known winter slow period, and instead of being pleased she isn’t bullshitting you that she can sell - to keep your business - you rudely tell her to try harder then?

In what way did her numbers not make sense?

Uh? But you said there was room to negotiate. What is the £2K “goodwill” if not a negotiation?

Like I said above, the problem here is you, not the EA.

Let your ego go and consider your mother in this too - it’s much better to sell now than leave it over winter in this kind of declining market.

This is not in the UK but the down low is:

*EA valued at £290k (my DM cried because she thought it was too low by the by)

*Was advertised for £325k, then reduced to £305k which is the current price

*One cash offer of £250k

*Current offer of £280k

The offer was final, but that wasn't clear from the EA.

However, they want to pay £80k in cash and the legal limit in that country is £40k (money laundering regulations).

Apparently their "willing to negotiate" is to actually follow the anti-money laundering law, and not do what they originally proposed which is against the law.

I'm completely against doing it outside of those regulations, however I'm OK with paying the EA commission in cash as a middle ground.

The buyer has not moved in price nor in his original position to go against the money laundering regulations.

However I have been open to move my goalpost slightly.

EA tried to manipulate the numbers by showing me that there's little difference between:

a) paying the full amount and paying all my taxes - including her commission as a bank transfer (at an agreed price of £290k)

b) not follow anti money laundering regulations and paying her in cash (at an agreed price of £280k)

My point being that I should have to accept a lower offer just because I want to ACTUALLY follow the law.

Jeepers, this is a complicated (and tedious) drip feed. If I was you I'd just talk to your agent and try to come to some legal and sensible conclusion.

Crying because the valuation doesn't meet an unrealistic expectation kinda sets the tone.

TBH this sounds like less of an EA problem and more of a mother and buyer problem.

Even if you do agree terms, I would not be betting the farm on this transaction going smoothly.

Your mother being greedy and tearful is not the EA’s problem!

I only want it to be legal! And to meet me somewhere in the middle for the purchase price.
Having it to comply with the law shouldn't be seen as a compromise

It sounds like you need more legal advice than some strangers opinion on your EA, who doesn't really own you any loyalty.

It sounds like your EA has more than earned their commission already getting to this point, their loyalty is only to getting their completions over the line and to their sales figures. Not to your family dynamic unfortunately.

Selling houses is stressful enough without making it entirely more complicated than it needs to be by marketing it way over the valuation, and expecting good will gestures from buyers.

My accountant said to stay away from dodgy deals. My lawyer said that the EA was being very odd for being so stubborn

Yes, but I've never bought (nor sold) a house on the first offer.

This would be like my 4th/5th

But you have no other offers.

Don't make a complete matter more complicated. It's business.

Whatever the current final figure on the table is, present to your mother and discuss. Let your Mum know the EAs view of the market. Choose to accept or not accept. Let the EA know.

Remember if this money was in yours and your Mumss bank account now you could probably be getting 5 percent easily in interest (albeit taxable). Depending on the value of the property it might not take long to get that 2k you want back, a different way.

Just seen the drip.feed.

Make sure its being done properly and legally.

Yeah but I'm in no real rush in that sense, and it hasn't been on the market for that long.

But ultimately I can't accept that offer because I refuse to do things illegally, and there's been zero movement from the buyer

Honestly? The estate agent couldn't give a stuff about you or your relatives - even if they pretend to. She wants a quick sale, to get her commission and to move on. Estate agents see people at their absolute worst - people in the middle of a divorce, a house being sold to fund care homes (with squabbling children).

If the estate agent is criticising you for wanting to accept breaking the law, ask them to put their request in writing.

They won't of course. You should be reporting this to the police not continuing to deal with them.

The agent is acting for you. She is liaising with the buyer. She may have THOUGHT that there was room to negotiate, but apparently there is not. Buyers can change their minds. However, as an agent, I would not be happy with you wanting another 2k for goodwill. What on earth are you thinking? Have you ever sold a house before? Just find a buyer (which are like gold dust right now) and sell the bloody thing to them! Your agent sounds extremely patient, and is at least telling you the truth in that prices are going down so stop with the good will gestures from the buyers!

Ah - ok - not in the UK.

It came clear today that she KNEW for at least 36 hours that the offer was final.

So she was trying to "negotiate" to make it ACTUALLY within the realms of legality.

That's what I mean by goodwill. I was flexible enough to move my goalposts in the legal arena to make it go through.

The buyer hadn't. The buyer hadn't even offered to move it closer to what would be deemed legal. They were happy to liaise with a conveyancer that would make dodgy moves to make it look legal to HRMC.

I don't play those games.

You've lost me OP.

You have an accountant and a lawyer acting on your behalf. They're going to make sure you don't fall foul of the law, so any jiggerypokery suggested by anyone will be stopped won't it?

As to whether you can 'meet in the middle' remains to be seen. But just because you've done that before (in different markets presumably) and because you want to, doesn't mean it will happen this time.

Take the money - legally and using your professional advice- or don't and then try to find another buyer.

I think you are bringing too much emotion into a business arrangement. Why do you expect loyalty from the EA or goodwill from the buyer?

The EA wants to make a sale, and it's in their best interests to get the best price if their fee is commission based, so I wouldn't necessarily assume they aren't giving good advice about the market slowing over winter.

But if you can wait then that is also perfectly reasonable, just give the EA clear instructions.

They're advising me, but they're not part of the sale. They're external, as the buyer chooses the conveyancer (and you only need one).

The buyer is arguing the equivalent of stamp duty to not wanting to raise their offer.

Estate agents are just sales people. They just want to make money. You’re overthinking it