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Original poster

Have had offer accepted but the agent wants to keep the house on the market. Advice please

30 replies

Properguylondon · 21/04/2015 22:28

Hi there.
We are first time buyers and lucky enough we have had an offer on the property which we like accepted.

Haart is the agency that is selling the propert but they are saying that the corporate that owns/selling are not willing to take the property of the market until the contract have been signed over.

Now that leaves us in no man lands as they can withdraw/ cancel the sale at any time.

Above all, as well as us being out of pocket, we will be emotionally distraught if that was to happen as this is the property that we have been looking for ages.

What is that we are suppose to do?

Go for it and hope for the best or stay away from it?

Your advice is very much appreciated.

OP posts:
SquinkiesRule · 21/04/2015 22:35

Tell them you are a serious buyer, they are not acting like serious sellers, that it gets taken off the market or you will move on and look at other houses.
Be prepared to walk away or at least look at other stuff through same agent, so he knows you are looking.

tilder · 21/04/2015 22:36

What do they mean by keep it on the market? Will it say sold or stc on the sale board, websites etc but still pop up in searches? Or will they still do viewings? Is the market very active where you are?

Find out what they mean. You will need to commit financially to get to exchange, which can take time.

My instinct would be minimum of all adverts marked sold or stc plus no more viewings. Can you offer a timetable follow in return?

Bowlersarm · 21/04/2015 22:39

I'd say, it is taken off the market or we withdraw our offer.

FishWithABicycle · 21/04/2015 22:45

Like the above say, your offer should not stand if they are continuing to market the property. They have no right to expect you to gamble hundreds of pounds on surveys and legal fees with no show of good faith on their part.

JubileeStreet · 21/04/2015 23:34

I've had poor experiences with this agent. Not the same issue, but general incompetence! As others say, I would insist it is marked as SSTC or Under Offer or I would withdraw the offer. That is normal practice.

ItsADinosaur · 22/04/2015 03:23

If your offer has been accepted then the condition should be it's taken off the market and I would be telling them that. Else I would be withdrawing my offer.

ToBeeOrNot · 22/04/2015 08:05

Our you sure they meant until contracts are signed, rather than until we receive correspondance from your solicitor?

It's quite typical to have an offer accepted but for it to remain for sale until instruction received from your solicitor.

ToBeeOrNot · 22/04/2015 08:06

Are you sure they meant until contracts are signed, rather than until we receive correspondance from your solicitor?

It's quite typical to have an offer accepted but for it to remain for sale until instruction received from your solicitor.

Nolim · 22/04/2015 08:08

I have no advise but plenty of sympathy. Haart is a bunch of idiots in my experience.

bozo14 · 22/04/2015 08:09

Do you have a mortgage in principle?
Tell them your offer is on the condition the house is removed from the market .

ItsADinosaur · 22/04/2015 08:10

Really? I've only ever known it being taken off the market when the offer was accepted. Else they can just keep showing people round!

lottiegarbanzo · 22/04/2015 08:20

Remember the seller can change their mind at any time up to exchange, even if it's off the market. You need to toughen up a bit, stop investing so much emotionally so early and accept that no house is definitely yours until you have the keys.

What they're proposing is odd though. Sounds like they'd like to keep options open for a better offer, or a cash offer. Ask what their concern is about your offer, or you as buyers.

If you feel you can trust them, get on with your survey and solicitor's work ASAP and make sure the other side's solicitor and the agent are informed of progress.

I also have a low opinion of that agent based on experience as a seller and buyer. But on the plus side, unless things have changed and unlike others, they pay commission only, so the staff are very keen to make a sale.

Original poster
Properguylondon · 22/04/2015 08:31

Thanks for your response.
Yes we do have decision in principle which they took a copy of prior to excepting our offer together with bank statement and passports.
They bluntly told me that the property will stay on the market until contrast have been signed.
I did say to the agent that they should take it off the market once I have the valuation done, that way they know I mean business, but no joy.

I will ask the brunch manager today to see if we can come to some kind of agreement other wise I find it too dangerous to play with our hard earned money like this.

Will keep you posted but Haart until now seem as useless as hell..... Sleepless night.....Angry

OP posts:
Bakeoffcake · 22/04/2015 08:44

We were in this situation last year.

We offered on a lovely house where the lady was moving into a retirement property. She was in a rush to sell as she was pretty poorly.
So the agents (small, local, well regarded) promised they wouldn't show anyone else round, but would keep marketing the property as For Sale, inorder to take the names of people interested.

We agreed to this but did feel a bit uneasy. Anyway in the end it did come to bit them on the bum, as the chain callapsed, everyone else was willing to hang on but we knew "our house" could be sold to someone else quickly and we would be without a house.
We'd been having second thoughts anyway(we had had an awful experience with a potential buyer of our house, which was pretty traumatic- we ended up having to involve the police and found out later the man's wife was trying to get him sectioned!) so we decided we couldn't take anymore hassle and we withdrew our house off the market.

Infact the house we'd wanted didn't sell for a quite a while and they ended up dropping the price by 15%. If they had taken it off the market when we'd offered, we would have carried on with the sale.

So I do think things can work both ways, if they won't take it off the market, I think you're free to walk away if you want to. I'd keep looking for other houses if I were you.

worldgonecrazy · 22/04/2015 08:48

I would play hard ball and say that you are going to keep looking at other properties too, and then get several viewings booked in. There may be a better property somewhere nearby, or just about to come on the market.

House buying can be a heartbreaking and difficult process, and there is every chance that the sale will fall through for different reasons. As a pp said, a property is never really yours until the contracts have been exchanged. Either party can pull out for any reason before that point.

Wishful80smontage · 22/04/2015 08:51

Jubilee me too I will never use Haart in the future we had problem after problem. I would as others have said- tell them it comes off the market or you walk away.

SquinkiesRule · 22/04/2015 18:23

So have you called and told them anything yet OP?

JubileeStreet · 22/04/2015 22:04

Buying a house is very stressful without all this to contend with. It shouldn't be allowed and makes me so cross! We were gazumped on a property about a year and a half back (I am still not over it and it has had lasting effects on our life in many ways). However, that was when the property was supposedly off the market and marked as under offer on Rightmove. Someone knocked on the door (allegedly) and offered them more money and the sellers took it. So even when a property is apparently off the market things can still go wrong. You just need to tread carefully and as others have said, keep looking.

Our experience with Haart was dreadful. We out offers in on a property that were never even passed on to the sellers we found out later. The property later sold for slightly less than we had offered 3 months earlier. Idiots.

TremoloGreen · 22/04/2015 23:01

As someone who has had three (yes, three! And I have only ever bought one property) house purchases fall through, there is no way I would touch this with a barge pole.

Maybe, if you love it, insist they take it off the market as a condition of your offer. Then, have a friend ring up and ask to view it before you commit any money whatsoever.

Acer77 · 23/04/2015 09:23

Don't spend any money on a survey until they take it off the market!! If they refuse then withdraw your offer. They will have you over a barrel otherwise up until the point of competition. What if another buyer puts in a higher offer after you've shelled out on surveys and solicitors fees?
I agree with other posters - tell them to take it off the market or you pull out!

BlackbirdOnTheWire · 23/04/2015 10:15

Yep, off the market or it's no go (and YY to getting a friend to ring up - I'd bet they'd happily show her round, at which point you withdraw your offer). Or you drop your offer by 10% to allow for the uncertainty and continue to view other houses yourself. Ask them what else they've got you can look at and express disappointment they don't have as many interesting houses as other local agents you've spoken to. They want to play games, that much is clear, so either you have to stop the game now or you have to play harder...

Tbh, that attitude rings loud warning bells for me and I would walk away. It's not the perfect house if it comes with so much hassle and stress that it will affect your health, relationship, work and feelings about the house. But then, I am very unsentimental about houses and am of the opinion that as long as I could make it work, it's worth considering, so will always be of the "fine, next one please" mindset.

SolomanDaisy · 23/04/2015 12:32

Is the property a repossession being sold on behalf of the mortgage company? If so I don't think the estate agent will have much influence, as it is standard practice to leave it on the market until exchange.

Spickle · 23/04/2015 12:48

they are saying that the corporate that owns/selling are not willing to take the property of the market until the contract have been signed over.

Is this a repossession property? If so, the company selling needs to secure the best price possible to offset the debt and will continue to advertise it until contracts have been exchanged.

Sorry just seen SolomanDaisy's post.

EnriqueTheRingBearingLizard · 23/04/2015 12:55

Is the reason perhaps that your offer was significantly below the marketing price? If so are you likely to be gazumped? If you have offered a fair market price then try not to worry too much as it's not so likely they'll find another purchaser who could move forward any swifter than you can.

I have only ever made an offer which was conditional upon the house being withdrawn from marketing and not met with any resistance to that. Like you I'd be hesitant to spend on surveys and legal fees whilst the property was being actively advertised for sale.

It's a nervy time though if you have set your heart on the property. My only advice would be to try and toughen up a bit, but also if you're 100% set on this particular place, then take a long term view. Sometimes you have to compromise your principles or pay a little over the odds, but it turns out to be worth it in the longer term. Only you will know where to draw your lines.

Have a chat with your Solicitor and explain the situation and make it clear you'd like to expedite proceedings within the correct and full legal necessities.
Also be aware that there is a national Code of Conduct for Estate Agents and an Ombudsman to turn to if you're not satisfied
Link Read Section 9 regarding Offers, an Agent is legally obliged to pass on any and all offers up to the point of contract exchange.

Although it's not helping your situation, you do have to remember that an Agent works for the Vendor and not the Purchaser. However, you are in a position of strength as a first time buyer with mortgage approval so don't be pushed around. It's your money, your choices.

Good Luck.

fernella · 23/04/2015 14:25

We are currently in the buying process, and our property is still marketed online as "for sale", not even "under offer" or "sold STC".
It does feel slightly like they're begging for us to be gazumped, however, it hasn't affected out sales process so far (just about to exchange - and it's been listed since Feb), and fingers crossed it doesn't cause a problem at all.
When prev. enquiring about a property from the same estate agents, they took a long time to respond, just to tell me that it's under offer.
In my experience, once they've found a buyer, they're not bothered about chasing up when other people enquire, so if you feel you're happy you've offered a fair price (and unlikely to get someone else offering more), then I wouldn't let it worry you :)