estate agent is property developer-conflict of interest?

[pod3030]

JUst wondered if this breeches the code of conduct-
a house i have been waiting to view has been taken off the market before any viewings allowed, with an accepted offer. I know the estate agent in question creams off the best 'doer uppers' at a profit- is this just something that I'm just going to have to suck up?

There is potentially a conflict, yes. However the conflict of interest issue is between the agent and the vendor, not yourself unfortunately. The RICS have guidelines for their agents in what is known as the Blue Book which state that any possible and potential conflicts have to be declared to the vendor. There is a duty of care which includes having to conduct business in a professional, timely and transparent manner.

I haven't read through them all, I'm afraid, but I haven't seen anything yet which states that they owe potential purchasers a duty of care, just the standard ethics stuff mentioned above. And they 'could' cover that if they state to the vendor what the position is and they agree.

I agree it 'feels' wrong - do you know this is actually happening, or is it heresay?

Hi , thanks for answering. Yes, i know because I've viewed a few houses with this agent and he told me I'd be hard pushed to find the sort of property i want (a cheap doer upper) as he always gets them first. He told me very openly about his multi million pound other business, and about his porsche and how builders come into the agents and threaten him because he takes all the choice properties. He was a bit boastful but I thought, he's so open about it it must be ok.

It just feel it's so unfair, I'm not a property developer, just a mum looking for a family home and it feels impossible at the moment!

Unfortunately as pp said, estate agents don't have any kind of duty of care to potential purchasers - they work for the vendors, not for buyers. I don't think there is anything you can do about this agent, while you may feel he's 'in your way', he's not doing anything illegal or even improper.

If you know the area you're interested in, you could try leafleting to see whether you can contact any sellers before they instruct an agent, that may help.

thanks for your help :)

Leaflets are a good idea. If you want to take it further with this guy then you could find out the professional groups he's a member of and talk to them. Whilst it may not be a conflict of interest, his behaviour and attitude doesn't sound professional...

There must be other estate agents in the area getting the kind of properties on their books you are interested in? Make sure you make yourself known to them so you are the first person they call.

Also might be worth seeing if you can identify vendors and drop them a note about are they aware of other interested parties. If they come up through wills you can sometimes find the will and identify the solicitors acting for the sale and contact them. I know someone who did the latter after being messed about by estate agents, still didn't get the house but felt better.

Also letter to local paper, if you just want to expose home as it might be the venders might not know what is happening.