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Original poster

Selling property with same agent as buying from?

31 replies

Mybabystolemysanity · 16/01/2018 12:56

Looking for advice/experiences if anyone has put their house on the market with the same agent marketing the property you want to buy?

We are going to view a house we think we want to buy but we are not on the market yet (we're confident we'd sell quickly and don't want to sell until we have something we definitely want to buy so we don't end up homeless/renting). House we are looking at has been on the market two years with a couple of different agents.

We'd only be selling in order to buy that particular property and wondering about pros and cons of going to market with the selling agent.

Don't think the vendor is terribly motivated, so wondering if selling with the same agent might ease the process.

Or maybe it's a recipe for disaster? The agent is quite small and also a solicitor, so we think there might be a need to have a different solicitor for conveyancing to avoid conflict of interest. We're also not sure what their pool of interested buyers would be like.

All opinions gratefully received!

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UnusuallyIndecisive · 16/01/2018 13:00

we did this with one move and it was fine; certainly gives the EA an added incentive to make sure it all goes through.

plasticcheese · 16/01/2018 14:07

Several times; makes communication a whole lot easier plus they have a massive incentive to get the whole chain completed.

prampushingdownthehighst · 16/01/2018 14:12

We did and it worked really well...They got two lots of commission easily and we knew they wanted it to complete as quickly as possible.

suckonthatmaureen · 16/01/2018 14:50

We did and it went well. They were heavily motivated to get the sale completed. They went above and beyond to find our sellers a bungalow too, as they're a rare commodity round here and were struggling.

ThroughThickAndThin01 · 16/01/2018 14:51

Do it, it's in their interest to get a quick sale as they get two sales out of it.

scrabbler3 · 16/01/2018 16:17

It's a great idea, I think.

Original poster
Mybabystolemysanity · 16/01/2018 17:17

Gosh, thanks all. I hadn't expected such a universally positive response to the question. I thought it might help grease the wheels and show we were serious about the whole thing. Viewing tomorrow, so I guess if it's a goer we can get a valuation from the agent.

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Mosaic123 · 16/01/2018 17:45

We are looking to buy a bungalow and I've been going into agents saying that they can sell my house (I'm lucky that it is in an easy to sell area) if they find me a bungalow and let me see it first.

Sometimes they get quite excited, but so far I haven't found one that fits the criteria. Bungalows are a rare beast around here.

Good luck OP.

Original poster
Mybabystolemysanity · 16/01/2018 19:03

Mosaic it's a bungalow we're selling!

I'd love for a buyer in your situation to come along. Seems they are few and far between up here too.

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Mosaic123 · 17/01/2018 00:13

The bungalow isn't near an East London Central Line Tube station do you OP? That's what we want to buy.

Mosaic123 · 17/01/2018 00:16

We've leafleted suitable properties too, around 100! So if any one wants to sell a large bungalow close to an East London Central Line Tube station please send me a private message!

Original poster
Mybabystolemysanity · 17/01/2018 08:08

Aaw, mosaic I'm sorry. East of Scotland is lovely if you ever feel like a change. You could probably buy about three of what you're looking for up here and have change for your season ticket on the train!

Viewing today. Very exciting.

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MrsFezziwig · 17/01/2018 08:30

Yes I did it. I hadn’t even put mine up for sale when I put in an offer (they let you do that round here) so I figured the EA would have an incentive to shift mine quickly as obviously until I had an offer for mine the vendors wouldn’t take the property off the market. All worked pretty well, and the EA was good at keeping tabs on the chain (of 8) Shock

belhamwalk · 17/01/2018 08:42

we did it recently (used the same agent to buy a particular property) and it went really well. just don't use an online solicitor. almost lost us the whole deal they were so shite. x

Original poster
Mybabystolemysanity · 17/01/2018 08:45

Chain of 8! That's like my worst nightmare.

DH thinks it's not a good idea (not much faith in the small town estate agent). Can anyone tell me how your conveyancing worked when you were with the same agent? He thinks they can't do for both sides as they are supposed to be working to get the best price for seller and buyer.

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Mosaic123 · 17/01/2018 10:19

I'm sure it's extremely beautiful in the East of Scotland, much more than round here. Too many things that we can't leave. Good luck with it all. Big sigh....

Original poster
Mybabystolemysanity · 17/01/2018 18:50

Well... We went and we looked and we love it! How annoying when another lot of viewers turned up while we were still there! Wish I hadn't seen that. Two years it's 🐝 on, FGS. Why now?!?

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Original poster
Mybabystolemysanity · 17/01/2018 18:50

*been, not 🐝

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Mosaic123 · 17/01/2018 19:03

The presence of other viewers doesn't mean that you won't get it OP. Don't let other viewers put you off. Sometimes, people look at houses they are very unlikely to buy but think they'll just have a look in case. Or they look at places that they can't afford to make a low offer or all sorts of other reasons. Or a tricky estate agent wants you to think others want it.....

Ignore them and just offer what you want to pay for it. Sending good vibes.

PookieSnackenberger · 17/01/2018 19:07

We have done this and it worked brilliantly - as pp have said it is a huge incentive to your agent to sell you house quickly.

We were in a similar position to you. We weren't really looking but I fell in love with a house. We ended up in a precarious chain but I do think our agents held it all together and probably because they had two sales to protect.

Original poster
Mybabystolemysanity · 17/01/2018 19:08

Thanks Mosaic, that's very kind.

I have a good feeling about this particular house. Like it's been waiting for me. Nothing worth having was ever easy to get and I'm a great believer in the adage

"What's for you won't go by you..."

Wishing you the same in your bungalow hunting!

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kingjofferyworksintescos · 17/01/2018 19:15

Make sure you get several valuations in before you market it , so that you know it's on at the correct price

Mosaic123 · 17/01/2018 19:18

Thank you. We are not in a rush at all so I'm being patient.

Tons more properties have been on Rightmove and Zoopla this week in our chosen area which is encouraging.

SingingSands · 17/01/2018 19:22

We are selling and buying with the same agent. Unfortunately our buyers pulled out on us at a very late stage. The agents have been brilliant as they have negotiated with the vendor of the house we are buying to give us a month’s grace to find a new buyer. They are also working hard to find us a new buyer, otherwise they will lose out on 2 lots of commission!

Original poster
Mybabystolemysanity · 17/01/2018 19:29

kingjoffery yes we will! Have had two out already and they are £15k different in their valuations. Going to try and get another two sorted tomorrow. There's not much on up here just now and what is on the market is on the high side of the valuation with less outdoor storage, parking, F ratings for energy efficiency (we're a B) and no NHBC.

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