How to help elderly aunt stop pressured house sale by estate agent

[dontwantdrama]

Hi,

I was hoping someone would be able to advise please. My elderly aunt has had a couple of falls, has issues with her memory and after a period of ill health wants to downsize to a flat ideally within a complex with a lounge etc. We live at other ends of the country don't see her very often at all however I do call and check on her.

A few months ago she looked into having a her house valued so that she could work out what she could afford in terms of a flat. Apparently the estate agent got her to sign paperwork that said that she could only go with him. The house has had no viewings but she's had an offer above asking however she doesn't want to sell as yet as she has no where to go. Her carers have flagged that they're concerned as the house is online as sold STC.

I'm really concerned that the estate agent is pressuring her. In addition to this my aunt told me that the buyer is also selling a one bed flat and that the agent is trying to get her to view it. I've offered to speak to the estate agent but she said that it's fine however there a lot of red flags. Could anyone advise as to how I go about this in terms of stopping the sale. I'm really worried she's being taken advantage of.

Ask for a copy of the paperwork asap and tell her not to sign anything else until you have been involved. Has she told the estate agent she's accepted the offer or contacted a solicitor yet?

It's usual to have an exclusive agreement with an estate agent - this isn't necessarily concerning. If she's accepted an offer it would show as sold STC and then she would need to find somewhere to buy.

Do you think she's being pushed into things she's not wanting to do by the estate agent? Or could it be that the process is just a bit overwhelming for her?

Any chance of her giving you Power of Attorney for her financial affairs?

An exclusive agreement with the estate agent is fairly standard.

presumably there have been viewings and so on?

what is stopping you from just going to visit her and while there check her papers and meet the agent? Nothing beats being physically present.

I was similarly concerned about my dad when he retired at 74 and bought a new home and I just flew out there to make sure he was ok.

If your aunt doesn’t want to accept the offer and wants to withdraw her property from the market then she needs to give her instruction to the agent as it’s her they have a contract with. An exclusivity period for marketing is standard, and if she withdraws from sale now it’s likely there will be also be a clause stating that she can’t instruct a new agent until the timespan of the current agent’s exclusivity has expired.

I think you - or another relative - need to speak with aunt and find out, as CoffeeCup says, whether she’s overwhelmed because having an offer makes things seem “real” and she isn’t feeling confident about looking for a new home and the reality of moving house and whether she actually wants to decline the offer or whether she just needs so support and a helping hand.

It's difficult to know if EA did anything untoward. It's usual to sign an exclusivity for them to try and sell your home. Though you can of course quit.

I hope you can find out if she really does want to sell or not. And reassure her nobody can force her to.

It sounds like an ideal situation for her to be honest.

Have you checked online the price of other similar properties in the area is the ea estimate reasonable? shes had no viewings but one offer - surely she still has to agree to accept this offer ? The ea can’t accept for her can he -I’m in Scotland so different rules does this sounds like a suspiciously helpful ea.

Just in the process of selling my parents house. It is perfectly normal that the estate asks you to go with them exclusively for a period of time, 6 months seemed the normal for us. They have to put the work in to get the ad ready, take the photos and everything, so they don't want their work to be passed to another estate agent for free, who then takes 10 mins uploading the original estate agent's advert, sells the house within days and gets the cut from the sale. That's fair.

However what does sound odd is that the viewing for valuation turned into a putting the house up for sale. We had to have a probate valuation, and it was clear to both parties that this was just a valuation (we couldn't sell at that point because the house was still in probate and not mine). I don't really see how the estate agent could have been asked to value the house, and somehow put it online without knowing they were doing the wrong thing. So either you aunt asked them to put it on for sale or they were deliberately doing it wrong!

You need to check the contract carefully, but I don't think there was anything in ours about not being able to take the house off the market, just about not swapping straight to another estate agent. I would maybe see if she could just say she doesn't want to sell. Take the house off, leave it a few months and then put it on with another agent.

Also you could ask the agent what they think is happening. The house should only be SSTC if she's accepted an offer. However both times I've sold, (to a buyer who then pulled out and then hopefully to a buyer who will end up buying it) the house has gone SSTC for a while, while the buyer sells their house. So it could be that the house is SSTC so she has a chance to buy.

As well as speaking with your aunt I think you (or another relative) also need to speak with your aunt’s carers and find out if there are any concerns about her memory and any potential capacity issues. If there’s a listing online then your aunt hasn’t just signed paperwork for marketing, she’s prepared her home, had photographs taken, confirmed the detail for the advert etc; is it possible there have also been viewings she doesn’t remember, perhaps because she was out at the time? Rather than jumping to the agent doing anything untoward, it doesn’t sound as though you have the full story here.

I also think this sounds normal, and (assuming that your aunt does still want to move) it’s encouraging that she already has an offer above the asking price.

Has she (or you or other relative on her behalf) started looking at flats yet? If not, why not? Her buyers’ one might be suitable, but it sounds like your aunt is looking for some sort of supported living arrangement, which seems sensible.

Thanks for all your responses everyone that's been really helpful. I've now spoken to the EA and it does sound as though she is possibly a bit confused about what is happening. She has now said that she does want to sell the house. I'm going to make sure to keep in touch with her, the EA and her carers to keep on top of things and make sure that she's happy with how things move forward.