selling woes-advice appreciated regarding agent and buyers survey.

[happymum47]

Hi, firstly i apologise for the long windedness of my post. I'm currently in the process of selling my house and would really appreciate any advice as im finding the whole process extremely stressful. I accepted an offer on my house from a ftb at the beginning of may. Since the offer was accepted the communication from the person in the agents office who has been dealing with it has been really poor, no updates whatsoever regarding contact with the buyer regarding their mortgage confirmation/survey despite me regularly phoning and emailing. Anyway I heard directly from the surveyor last week and the survey - basic valuation was carried out last week. A couple of days ago the agent contacted me to say that the buyer had said that the lender wouldnt put a value on the property until a further damp survey had been carried out as there was damp found in the cellar. I strongly suspect that this is in the one room which is not tanked and is currently used as a utility room/store with washer dryer etc as thd other two rooms are very sound, tanked etc. I also think that there is a strong possibility that the valuation is actually fine and the aspect mentioned is the standard statement regarding damp, its a victorian terrace (and is probably is in the one room in the cellar which isnt tanked and the surveyor saying get further inspection regarding this which is pretty standard as far as I understand but I feel the first time buyer is misinterpreting the wording on the valuation. I dont feel the agent is doing anything to clarify this with the buyer, she also says she can only communicate with him via email and not phone. I am really worried about losing this sale as I have had the offer accepted on the place I want to buy. Sorry this post is so long winded, I would really appreciate any advice.

Let the buyer go ahead with whatever they want to do at their cost. Tbh they would be foolish to only have a valuation survey on an older property. If you try to resist they will probably walk away anyway.

Separate the issue with the EA - it's Saturday and hopefully the office is open and it's possible your contact is in. Go into the EA's office and have a pleasant chat about how things are going, etc, etc and make it clear you need the agent to be in regular contact to keep up to date. They work for you so tell them you are concerned not to lose your purchase. They need everything to go through to get their commission.

If you don't feel you have got any further forward, have a word with the branch manager.

Thanks wowfudge for your reply, that makes a lot of sense, im just finding it hard to keep a clear head as the whole process is so stressful. Thanks for taking the time to respond I think what youve advised is the best way forward for me.

We had 2 offers on ours, one a FTB. The FTB had full survey and then
3 visits incl going up in the loft EA explained they were FTB and so more
wary. I do agree with EA can seem daunting for FTB

There would be a few red flags for me there. I've never yet had any form of survey where a valuation wasn't given.
Sure, there are always all sorts of recommended further actions/inspections - but always a valuation - so the buyer is playing games there.

On the other issue of the EA... I'm sure everyone's had stuff like this off agents... how did the buyer contact them initially without a telephone (number)? That's just well out of order - to not pressure the buyer for a number, huh!

But they've had a survey so they must be interested.

Have they given the EA their solicitor's details yet? Can the EA contact them that way? Can your solicitor?

If there's no phone number at this stage - exchange and completion could be nightmarish.

Personally, at the point where an EA has hacked me off so much that I have to visit in person to get the truth, then our relationship has already gone down the pan.
Frankly, if they wouldn't respond on the telephone, I wouldn't struggle not to lose my cool in person if they try and front me out and they will.

The best you'll get from them is an undertaking to send the buyer an email - because at this stage the buyer is more important to them than you are - as their commission is riding on this specific buyer - they would rather offend you than the buyer at this point - because they know you also don't want to lose the buyer.

Good luck - I wouldn't vist the EA in person unless you are a very calm person even when confronted with inaction.

There's nothing to suggest the EA doesn't have the buyer's number, just that she is only getting a response to emails. The buyer might be a shift worker or could work in an environment where personal calls are not allowed or tricky, such as a call centre. English may not be the buyer's first language and they are more confident replying to emails - who knows.

I suggested calling in to the EA's office because what you want to achieve is a better working relationship - what would losing your cool achieve? Probably the opposite.

A phone number that can't be used is as good as...?

Nobody said go in to the EA and lose your cool - because that would achieve...?

I said I wouldn't do it because I would struggle not to lose my cool.

I have the same issue with pedants, literalists and other pokeys

Good luck OP!