Estate Agent Tactics

[xabiuol]

So we (DH and I) put an offer on a house at £250,000 subject to contract which was accepted. The offer was accepted on the basis that we aimed to get to the point of exchange within 28 days.

So we had the survey done and some stuff came up on the survey that hadn't been apparent when we first looked round. We rang the EA and said that we were ready to exchange within the 28 days but as some significant stuff had come up on the survey asked to renegotiate the price downwards to the tune of £4000.

EA pretty much told me off... said that if we tried to negotiate he would tell his client to sell to another buyer who was waiting to buy the house if our sale fell through (apparently house had another offer at the same time as ours). EA also said that if we requested extra time to get some estimates done to make sure we could afford the work that was required he would also advise his client to go with the other buyer.

Annoyed but totally put in my place (houses are few and far between around here and desperate not to lose this one) we decided to forgo attempting to negotiate further and spoke to our solicitor and told them to exchange on day 28 (should have been yesterday) aiming to complete a week later. Got a phone call back telling me that seller isn't ready, hasn't even signed the contract yet and won't be able to do so until later this week! Grrr...

Am I being a mug or is this just normal in areas where supply is short and demand is high?

"The estate agent is Not Your Friend."

They are not even working for you. Their deal is with the vendor. Some gently bend the truth, some omit information or strategically don't hear it (so that they can genuinely reply "I don't know" when you ask them eg about neighbour issues, and I would not imply that some of them invent imaginary other buyers because that would be a mean thing to imply, and I'm not a mean person.

The act of buying a house is fraught, but do not be "put in your place". Pressure from an estate agent just shows they don't respect you as a genuine buyer (and without buyers they are stumped so frankly they should have more courtesy). If you want to renegociate the price after survey issues then do so. Even at this point you are perfectly allowed to reduce your offer (though only do so if you are prepared to lose the house, sometimes sellers resent being asked to pricedrop, and if there really IS another offer they may well take it). Remember the est agent makes marginally less money if the price drops!

So it boils down to how much you really want the house. If it doesn't work out, shrug and move on, and learn from this that you are a valuable commodity and worth respect! Personally I'd avoid that EA for any further viewings if possible, they just sound unpleasant....

I think you are absolutely right. And I really want the house. I'm just gonna have to suck it up aren't I?