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Original poster

Have had offer accepted but vendor wants to keep on market - advice pleeese

54 replies

dustythedolphin · 02/09/2010 20:52

Our house is sale agreed and we have just offered on another house.

After a bit of negotiation we have had our, fairly decent (about 3% under asking price), offer accepted.

But the agent has told us that the vendor wants to keep the house on the market until exchange of contracts on the one we are selling

Has this happened to anyone else?

I have told them that its either sale agreed or not sale agreed. They cannot accept our offer and keep it on the market, so they need to decide. If they don't take it off the market prontio, then I am withdrawing our offer...

Advice pleese - can anyone advise as to tactics, as we don't want to lose the purchas?

I am not willing to play silly games...

OP posts:
dinkystinky · 02/09/2010 20:54

Has to be sale agreed and taken off the market or not - unfair of the vendor to try to keep it on the market to leave you as a stalking horse.

Wigeon · 02/09/2010 20:57

Being a stalwart viewer of all property programmes (Kirsty n Phil and Sarah Beeny are my best friends....) I know they would say that you should always make your offer conditional on the property being taken off the market. Or you will withdraw your offer. This is completely normal and they are being unreasonable / taking the piss. You are in a strong position as you have accepted an offer on the house you are selling and the estate agents will know it.

traceybath · 02/09/2010 20:58

I would tell them the offer will be withdrawn unless its removed from the market.

Honestly its not as though there are thousands of buyers out there and 3% under asking price is a very good price.

Dinghy · 02/09/2010 20:58

Your vendors are hedging their bets - they're still marketing the property which means they want to find a better buyer than you. And they might find one.

Keep looking yourselves, presumably you're in England/Wales/NI, and if you find something better then withdraw your offer. You know your vendor would do the same to you.

LauraNorder · 02/09/2010 20:59

That's unfair, how much do you want this house?

traceybath · 02/09/2010 20:59

I certainly wouldn't spend any money on solicitors/searches etc unless it was removed from the market.

Dinghy · 02/09/2010 21:00

Actually the more I think about it, the more I think I'd say nothing, find somewhere else to live and let the now ex-vendors find out in their own sweet time, cheeky fuckers.

FiveGoMadInDorset · 02/09/2010 21:00

Perhaps they are concerned that your sale will fall through and they don't want the hassle fo remarketing their porperty and going through all of this again.

ChequeredFlag · 02/09/2010 21:07

Definitely make your offer subject to them taking it off the market, including off whichever websites they use and putting an SSTC board instead of a for sale board up, and no more viewings, and follow through with your threat to withdraw offer if they won't - they'll come back to you for sure! This is assuming of course that you have all your finances in place and are ready to proceed, and your buyers and the chain below are all ready too, otherwise I can understand them keeping it on the market until you're in a position to proceed.

Original poster
dustythedolphin · 02/09/2010 21:21

Wow thanks for the response!

We are ready proceed in that we are sale agreed STC on the house we are selling. The ppl buying our house have cash buyers on their flat, so only two ppl below us in chain. The house we want to but is chain free.

We can borrow the money required on paper but cannot get a mortgage offer until a survey is done. Howevere, I would npot pay for the survey if the house is still on the market if that makes sense. Nor would I be able to instruct a solicitor for the purchase, as the bill would start to accrue as soon as I instruct.

I have never come across this before!

We are selling in Uk and buying in Ireland and I have been tipped off that some estate agents do play silly buggers with English buyers/don't like foreigners buying Irish property

The market where we are buying is depsperate - loads of empty luxury houses for sale and no buyers. The house we are trying to purchase has been on the market for 2.5 years and has been reduced in price by 70%, as the market has crashed here much worse than in the UK

We are good buyers, mortgage agreed in principle (subject to survey and usual checks) and ready to proceed..

I am Confused as to what game they are trying to play exactly, but I suspcet its the agent as much as the vendor, as the vendor is a businessman and just wants to shift the house

OP posts:
ChequeredFlag · 02/09/2010 21:27

Then in that case, as you sound like good, solid buyers, they should be happy to take it off the market. You can ask the agent if he is acting on instructions from his client to not withdraw it from the market.

PlumBumMum · 02/09/2010 21:39

dusty I'm in NI and this happened to us and we didn't even know, the sale on our house fell threw but we had new buyers within 2 weeks, but the cheeky feckers had accepted another offer the day after they were told our buyers had pulled out!
I asked the estate agent how is that possible so quick and she ashamedly told me oh those people viewed the house when it was sale agreed to youShock

I was furious we had paid £1000 for a survey might aswell have threw it in the bin!
I hated the whole experience and don't envy you at all!

Tell them to take it off the market!

If your moving to NI, tell me want you want I'll be your Kirsty I love a nosey on property newsGrin

elterwater · 02/09/2010 21:45

They must take it off or you pull out. Theres no two ways about it. Cheeky buggers.

Original poster
dustythedolphin · 02/09/2010 21:53

Grin Plum you can be our Kirsty anyday!That experience you had sounds horrible - what a bl**dy waste of your time and £££'s Angry

Chequered I think I will do as you suggest and e-mail them, confirming that our offer is:

"subject to them taking it off the market, including off whichever websites they use and putting an SSTC board instead of a for sale board up, and no more viewings"

The agent says he is acting on the instructions of the vendor, but I actually don't belive him, I think he is trying to be a clever fecker and get a better price, nowing the market will pick up in September and has probably advised the vendor to keep his options open

The agent tried to spin me some line about "if we take it off the market and your sale falls through, we would have to put it back onto the market as "tainted goods" Hmm (bollix)

I suspect is 'cos I is English and a female TBH and an unknown quantity in a very small village

They are probably arranging more viewings for this very weekend Angry

I am also going to ask them if they have had any previous offers over the past two years and if so, why those haven't proceeded to sale...Hmm

OP posts:
jumpingjackhash · 02/09/2010 21:53

Another one for telling them to take it off the market immediately or you'll withdraw your offer. This is pretty unusual and doesn't exactly instill faith in their intentions.

jumpingjackhash · 02/09/2010 21:56

Sounds like a good idea Dusty.

If it's been on the market for that long then something's not right - either the asking price has been too high or the agent isn't working hard enough. Recession or not, houses have still been selling during this time.

totalflotter · 02/09/2010 21:56

The Irish property market is a 100% buyer's market. The vendor should thank his/her lucky stars that they have found somebody charitable enough to buy their home at all.

I would tell them to take it off the market or you will just walk away. Frankly bidding 3% under the asking price seems a bit generous in a market where there are many forced sellers.

PlumBumMum · 02/09/2010 22:01

That is crap, when our sale fell through dh went straight out and screwed the sale agreed sign off, and its only a matter of changing a detail on their website, sounds like agent is trying toet more money if house has already been price reduced.

ChequeredFlag · 02/09/2010 22:05

Good luck!

hogshead · 02/09/2010 22:16

This happened to us two years ago and the vendor didn't want the house taken off the market. Luckily the estate agent thought this was a bit bonkers and managed to get the vendor to agree that no one else would be shown round Though the house was still marketed.

Being very suspicious I got my mate to phone up and try to arrange a viewing and she was politely told the house was sold. In the sellers defence the house had been sstc 3 times before we successfully purchased.

nameymcnamechange · 02/09/2010 22:20

There has been another thread on this same subject very recently, within the last month or so. Not saying this in an arsey way - just thought it might be helpful to you, OP.

Infact, I'll go and have a look for it now ...

PatriciaHolm · 02/09/2010 22:23

Well - we had several buyers let us down when we were selling (in two cases, just letting their solicitors tell our agents they were pulling out - one by having them just send all the papers back, no phone call, etc). So we said to our eventual buyer that we wouldn't be taking it off the market until they had had the survey done, i.e. proved they were serious by spending money. Just the other perspective...

Original poster
dustythedolphin · 02/09/2010 22:29

Patricia I understand what you are saying re. having the survey done.I won't take our buyers seriously until they have coughed up and arranged the survey.

However, we are being told that the vendor will only take it off the market once we have exchanged contracts on our sale, which could take 1-2 months realistically.I think they are taking the blinking piss to be honest

Total, you are totally correct about the Irish market being 100% a buyers market (hence the 70% reduction) which is why I am so flabbergasted!!

Namey it would be great of you could find that link - thanks

Hogs - what a good idea. If we proceed, I will get a phantom buyer to do make a call... Wink

OP posts:
nameymcnamechange · 02/09/2010 22:46

Its quite a short thread but I did find it.

Original poster
dustythedolphin · 02/09/2010 23:01

Thanks namey - oooh that thread has made me even more Angry

OP posts:
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