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Original poster

Estate agent broke Covid agreement..wwyd?

105 replies

Idontwantarow · 04/06/2021 19:30

I won’t name the estate agents yet...
The agreement we have is that anytime anyone is in the property the agent will be there. Also, that if anything needs to be touched, only the agent will do and will be wearing gloves.
Today I came home and the place was a complete tip. The buyers had been over, the agent had let them in and then left them at the property.
The front door was unlocked, there were leaves and grass all over the floor, lots of furniture had been moved, the floor in one room was wet, there was a towel on the floor in the bathroom, clothes had been moved around and most distressingly my bed was not how I left it.
The estate agent admitted they were left alone immediately and apologised. I have sent an email with photos attached. I’m really uneasy they were left here alone. I’m in the process of checking everything is here (if it’s not I am uninsured as they didn’t break in to the property... so fingers crossed, I’m sure they didn’t take anything) but also because of Covid, I don’t know how long they were here, who was here or what they touched......
cleaning everything!!

OP posts:
Hellocatshome · 05/06/2021 18:51

@Idontwantarow of course you can asking them to deal with the house sale through the agents is completely different from you contacting them about this. All you have to say is "I know this might sound like an odd question but did the Estate Agents let you into the house yesterday?"

Original poster
Idontwantarow · 05/06/2021 18:51

@MRex
Fantastic advice! Thank you so much. That is what I will do!

OP posts:
icelollycraving · 05/06/2021 18:54

If you have their contact details, use them!

eurochick · 05/06/2021 18:59

If you haven't exchanged you can threaten to pull out of the sale entirely unless they relent on the fee.

Nanalisa60 · 05/06/2021 19:00

Of course you might not be so outraged if you get a lovely generous offer for your house on Monday morning!!

SheldonesqueTheBstard · 05/06/2021 19:02

Hellocat

Aye. I’d be doing that.

And asking for a new bed, bed linen, towels and pillows and a professional clean.

Someone needs to be paying for making merry whoopee in your house.

Nanalisa60 · 05/06/2021 19:02

Sorry just realised that they have already offered!!

SuperbOwls · 05/06/2021 19:03

Woah. Agree that covid is the least of your worries here. Huge breech of trust!

colouringcrayons · 05/06/2021 19:11

They have breached the contract. Ask your solicitor what you do as you don't want to use them anymore.

maddiemookins16mum · 05/06/2021 19:27

If they do buy it, don’t forget to buy some frozen prawns before moving out.

AllThatFancyPaintsAsFair · 05/06/2021 19:31

@SheldonesqueTheBstard

Hellocat

Aye. I’d be doing that.

And asking for a new bed, bed linen, towels and pillows and a professional clean.

Someone needs to be paying for making merry whoopee in your house.

A new bed!

That's going a bit far, the OP doesn't even know what happened yet. It's stretching credulity a bit far to think that any normal person would drop into t a house they are buying, have a sex session and walk away without a second thought

That doesn't make any sense to me

CoolShoeshine · 05/06/2021 19:45

It doesn’t make sense to me that someone at the agents would have a shag in the bedroom and not try to tidy up behind themselves. However they should have been at the viewing, take photo evidence of the mess and threaten to complain to the property ombudsman.

SheldonesqueTheBstard · 05/06/2021 20:04

allthatfancy

I get what you are saying but I’d want that.

I took in a friend for a year. No charge. I went away once. She had the run of the house but I asked that no guests were allowed to stay in my room.

And chose to make merry on my bed with a couple of swells. I came home early to find them all entangled.

She had the biggest room in the house but I had the biggest bed.

I replaced it. She was shown the door.

That is my line I’m afraid. My bed is my sanctuary. I get to pick who goes in it.

SheldonesqueTheBstard · 05/06/2021 20:05

Normal people wouldn’t do it.

Chancers and minks would.

PicsInRed · 05/06/2021 20:24

Have your solicitor talk to the buyers' solicitor.

Find out what happened - it's fairly likely that it had nothing to do with the buyers and the agent was doing someone a "favour" who forgot to clean up and lock up. The real estate agents will negotiate. Everything is negotiable under the right circumstances.

Also, house prices are rising steeply in the main. Depending on the house and area, you'll probably get more if you withdraw for misconduct and reslist with another agent. Focus their minds.

QueenStromba · 06/06/2021 08:41

Whatever you do, don't I'll out of the sale to avoid paying the EAs as your contract will almost certainly stipulate that you need to pay them anyway if you pull out.

MRex · 06/06/2021 14:38

your contract will almost certainly stipulate that you need to pay them anyway if you pull out
Not in England unless you proceed with the same buyers or it's a very quirky contract, you can pull out of the sale up until exchange and there's nothing. The estate agent has created a security risk, so there's reason to cancel the contract.

Original poster
Idontwantarow · 09/06/2021 19:15

Just to update…
I sent 2 emails over the weekend and I heard nothing back, the branch manager was cc’d into both.
On Monday the branch manager called me, said that this hadn’t happened. I queried this as the agent admitted it had immediately and apologised for it.
Yesterday, I had a long, formal and apologetic email from branch manager about what had happened. He told me I would not have to deal with that agent again and offered me an Amazon voucher (he didn’t specify to what value)
I replied that I would like a re-negotiation on the fee.
Just not sure if I am cutting my nose off to spite my face with the good offer from buyers and how far we are along?
Should I just accept what’s happened and get over it or continue and risk loosing them?
I think the agents are quite spiteful and would be glad to see me miss out because of the worry I am causing them with this…. Help!!!

OP posts:
SheldonesqueTheBstard · 09/06/2021 19:56

Did he give you any explanation OP?
Because I doubt it was the buyers who made merry on your house.

I don’t think you are cutting your nose off - whatever happens your agent will no doubt still get some fee? Something is better than nowt and they might just chivvy it along to get it over and done with.

You’ll know yourself from the tone of the email.

If he isn’t willing to negotiate I would probably drop it.

But I would put a review up discussing what had happened after the deal was done and dusted.

MRex · 09/06/2021 20:05

What's your solicitor advised, and have you asked the buyers yet for confirmation that they went to the flat?

FeatheredHope · 09/06/2021 20:47

So the branch manager actually lied and tried to gaslight you? Fucking hell.

AnyFucker · 09/06/2021 20:53

This is difficult to believe

AllThatFancyPaintsAsFair · 09/06/2021 20:59

What had happened then?

There's no way I'd settle for anything less than the full details. Don't make any decisions until you know for sure whether the buyers had anything to do with this

If the agent is renting your place out as a knocking shop don't lose a sale over it. Monetary compo is your only realisticoption now and you're in a very strong position I'd say

Moonshine11 · 09/06/2021 21:08

So what happened?

I would still reach out to the buyers you know. There is no way this is them.

If he’s wanting to give you a voucher I would expect it to be a nice amount

Gazelda · 09/06/2021 21:13

I think you should talk with your solicitor ASAP. They can find out if it was the buyer or the EA. Your next step depends on the answer.