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Original poster

Nightmare buyers and estate agent

167 replies

Thanksforthememory · 26/01/2021 00:00

We are currently selling my mum in-laws house as she died last year, we've had a few people round but no offers so we reduced to offers over £180.
We've spend £13k doing it up before we put it on the market new kitchen, bathroom, all newly carpeted and blinds so basically inside is like new.
We reduced last Monday and by teatime had our first viewing they offered £170k on Tuesday then upped it to £175k which my husband reluctantly agreed but I said to keep on the market because you never know what may happen.
On Thursday it went sold on Rightmove but being busy didn't have time to query it.
The buyers asked for a second viewing on Friday which I agreed only to find out when they arrived that the woman had brought a family member who was a architect who went round with his clipboard and pen and proceeded to tell me everything that was wrong with the house, while I just sat there in shock, there was nothing he told me that we didn't know anyway as if you walk round outside it's quite obvious to anyone what needs doing.
I told my husband what had happened and I was furious by this time as I thought they were just coming for a second viewing and not to rip the house apart especially when offers over 180 meant just that but with the covid who knows what may happen hence taking the low offer but then to slate the house which to means they are going to be horrendous to deal with as I can see they are wanting it even cheaper as the last house to sell on that road is £20k higher than their offer.
Now we are waiting for then to sort a survey out which doesn't seem to be forthcoming so my husband rung the estate agent and asked to put it back on the market till at least they've had there survey done and was told by agent that it's illegal to have it up for sale when they've signed a contract which I found out this is a complete lie.
I would like to pull the deal and sack the estate agent. What would you do in this situation.
Thanks.

OP posts:
LadyWhistledown · 26/01/2021 10:52

I think you may struggle to sell with the stipulation that your EA keeps the house on the market even once you have accepted an offer. I certainly wouldn't make an offer under that condition.
If and when you do take on a new EA, you should make it clear before listing with them that this is what you intend to do. It's not usual practice in any way.

Bluntness100 · 26/01/2021 10:53

This makes no sense, the mortgage wouldn’t habe been in place at this stage. That is normally the last thing to fall into place and occurs after the survey.

Also it makes no sense, if the agent just wished their money they they need to sell it to do this.

Honestly at this rate you’re never going to sell.

Bluntness100 · 26/01/2021 10:57

Honestly can’t believe you’ve walked away from a good close to asking price offer because you didn’t like what the architect said, wanted to keep marketing it after accepting the offer and don’t know how mortgages work.

You shouldn’t be involved in this process op.

Chumleymouse · 26/01/2021 11:04

It’s your house op , if you don’t like the buyers or ea you can pull out. We’ve had buyers like this before , just pulled out and put it back on the market. There’s a lot of idiots out there !!!!

Bluntness100 · 26/01/2021 11:06

@Chumleymouse

It’s your house op , if you don’t like the buyers or ea you can pull out. We’ve had buyers like this before , just pulled out and put it back on the market. There’s a lot of idiots out there !!!!
Buyers like what? They have done nothing incorrectly.
ComtesseDeSpair · 26/01/2021 11:13

Your strategy of not putting all your eggs in one basket is likely to backfire: as a previous poster said, it’s against the EA code of conduct to continue to show a property which is already under offer, without making it clear to anyone who requests a viewing that it’s already under offer and to the person who made the offer that viewings are continuing. Unless the property is extremely desirable or something that rarely comes onto the market, nobody in their right mind is going to want the hassle of fighting for a property which has already sold and where it’s clear you as the seller is behaving badly. They’ll walk away and any buyer you have secured is likely to do the same.

Lochroy · 26/01/2021 11:14

Oh well 🤷‍♀️
Good luck!

Throughhistory · 26/01/2021 11:17

@Chumleymouse

It’s your house op , if you don’t like the buyers or ea you can pull out. We’ve had buyers like this before , just pulled out and put it back on the market. There’s a lot of idiots out there !!!!
The buyers aren't idiots, they sound eminently sensible. I can't think of anything they've actually done wrong.
gorillasinthemist · 26/01/2021 11:18

@Chumleymouse

It’s your house op , if you don’t like the buyers or ea you can pull out. We’ve had buyers like this before , just pulled out and put it back on the market. There’s a lot of idiots out there !!!!
Indeed there are!
Itsokthanks · 26/01/2021 11:19

Apart from not letting you know an additional person was coming they've not done anything wrong. Have you sold a house before? Don't take it personally.

JabbyMcJabface · 26/01/2021 11:30

@LadyWhistledown

I think you may struggle to sell with the stipulation that your EA keeps the house on the market even once you have accepted an offer. I certainly wouldn't make an offer under that condition. If and when you do take on a new EA, you should make it clear before listing with them that this is what you intend to do. It's not usual practice in any way.
I disagree under the circumstances the OP has set out. I wouldn’t be taking the house off the market until the buyer had at least a mortgage agreement in principle. It’s part of the EAs job to ensure they are serious buyers/in a position to move quickly. Although it’s not beyond the realms of possibility that the buyer lied to the EA.
Bluntness100 · 26/01/2021 11:34

An offer in principe you get within an hour or so. I’m sure they had it, because you can get one easily. The mortgage offer it’s self takes weeks and weeks, as does usually booking a solicitor. I think thr op is referring to the mortgage itself.

And the agent was right, if you agree to a sale and say you’ll take it off the market you can’t then put it on, well you can but it’s shit.

The only thing the agent has done wrong is use the word illegal. But they did say a contract has been signed.

The buyers have also done nothing wrong. It is only the op who has done things incorrectly.

And she’s going to face the same thing with any agent. I suspect this one is glad to get rid of them

Bluntness100 · 26/01/2021 11:34

Sorry as does booking a surveyor.

Original poster
Thanksforthememory · 26/01/2021 11:39

If you've put a low offer in that's has been accepted surely it's in your interest to move fast which they've had over a week to sort a mortgage out not waiting until it suits them in fact why go looking when you don't even know if you can borrow. When I bought my current house there was a lot of interest so when it was accepted I was at the estate agent 9.30 the next morning with everything in place ready to go because I knew that if I didn't move fast we would of lost it and I wasn't prepared to do that. Maybe they wouldn't of lost out if they had but that's their loss and I've no doubt that when it goes back up for sale it will sell as it's now at a price that will generate a lot of interest, the housing market around here is quite bouyant if you price your house right so I've no worries on that score but under no circumstances will I not find out how quick they can move as I'm certainly not taking any chances that we will have the same thing happen again. I have already found a estate agent that takes a deposit so that should get rid of the timewasters, he was appalled at the way they led us to believe that everything was in place.
The way it's set up now I could go round and have 20 houses all sold and some poor seller will think I'm legit when I'm not in a position to buy any of them it needs a complete overhaul. I've read on this site all the horror stories and I can bet that those people are the ones that think what we've done is right until it happens to you then you've really got no idea how you would feel not everyone treats you as you would treat them. I was extremely fair with these buyers, they could come round whenever they chose I threw in all the white goods for nothing so please don't tell me I was unreasonable that only happened when we realised we were being taken for mugs.

OP posts:
wowfudge · 26/01/2021 11:46

Blimey. You sound like a nightmare seller. I'm hopeful that you're not, just that there's a lot emotionally invested in this house.

If you don't like an offer don't accept it. However if you're not inundated with offers you have to accept that it's worth what someone is prepared to pay for it. If you're holding our for an offer over £180k it's probably going to take a while.

Contrary to what a lot of pps on this thread have posted, when we were buying our house it didn't get marked as "under offer" until a mortgage valuation survey was booked. We were fine with that - our offer was accepted subject to survey.

What anyone selling a house needs to realise is that it's a business deal. The buyer wants the house and you as seller want their money. That's the end of it. Only in a situation where you have more than one offer can you be choosy about specifics relating to the potential buyers. Even then you go for the best deal. You wouldn't accept £10k less because someone told you they loved the colour you painted the bathroom would you?

Yes the architect sounds as though they may have been insensitive, but come on. If you really want to sell just get on with it.

ComtesseDeSpair · 26/01/2021 11:47

“Sorting a mortgage out” means that they have to tell their mortgage broker or chosen lender that they’ve had an offer accepted, and the lender then arranges a date for their surveyor to come to the property and agree (or disagree) that it’s worth the offer price and that it’s a suitable property for them to lend against. Even before Covid that was likely to take a couple of weeks; right now, many buyers are reporting having to wait several weeks or even months to get a valuation date. Expecting them to have their mortgage in place on Monday when you only accepted the offer on Thursday is entirely unrealistic at the best of times!

wowfudge · 26/01/2021 11:50

As a buyer there's no way I'd pay a deposit to secure my offer. How is that even legal? Of course this other EA is going to tell you what you want to hear: he wants to profit from your sale instead of his competitor.

I do hope you haven't agreed to sell using the "modern method of auction" which basically makes a buyer pay the seller's fees. It's a massive con, will make you look desperate to sell and, if you do get an offer, it's likely to be for less than you want due to the additional fees the buyer will have to pay.

user86386427 · 26/01/2021 11:51

OP for heaven sake it wasn't a low offer, you're making it sound like they low balled you, they offered about 5% under and you settled on around 2% reduction on a property that's been on a while, that isn't a huge amount! Also, what kind of buyer has a mortgage in place before finding a property? Do you mean an AIP? That takes minutes, honestly you sound like nightmare sellers and more fool you for cutting off your nose to spite your face.

SpiderinaWingMirror · 26/01/2021 11:52

When ever I have moved I expect the Estate Agent to have confirmed how they are going to pay for it ( agreement in principle if nothing else?) before accepting an offer. Then 3 working days to instruct a solicitor and a survey. Else it goes back on the market.
I'm kinda with you OP. But this time round be very clear with the agent and you and dp be very clear what your strategy is.

ComtesseDeSpair · 26/01/2021 11:54

All an AIP is is an algorithm-generated statement from a lender which states “if you have this much a deposit, and this much as income, and are being honest about your outgoings and debts, in theory we would be prepared to lend you £xxx.” They’re a useful calculator of affordability and a statement of intent from a buyer but they don’t actually mean or promise anything else. I could get one in minutes from any highstreet lender and use it to “prove” to an agent that I was serious, if I entered inaccurate information.

GU24Mum · 26/01/2021 12:01

OP, what "deposit" is the new agent going to take?

It certainly won't be the contractual deposit as that goes via solicitors - and later in the process. It's not a new-build reservation fee as it's not a new-build - if it's some sort of money which is going to be tied up with an exclusivity agreement then you're very likely to have the solicitors spend hours negotiating that rather than get on with the deal.

TedMullins · 26/01/2021 12:05

Eh??? You’re bonkers. How would they have a mortgage ready when the survey hadn’t have been done? As everyone else says, you can get an AIP in minutes but a firm mortgage offer would only ever come after a survey. Even if they booked the survey that day it could be weeks before a surveyor is actually available. They haven’t done anything wrong and neither has the estate agent - again, echoing what others have said but if a seller continued to market the property after accepting my offer I’d withdraw it.

TedMullins · 26/01/2021 12:06

@GU24Mum

OP, what "deposit" is the new agent going to take?

It certainly won't be the contractual deposit as that goes via solicitors - and later in the process. It's not a new-build reservation fee as it's not a new-build - if it's some sort of money which is going to be tied up with an exclusivity agreement then you're very likely to have the solicitors spend hours negotiating that rather than get on with the deal.

Oh, and I simply would not buy a house from an estate agent that demanded a deposit. Even if it was my absolute dream home there is no way I’d do that.
Littlepaws18 · 26/01/2021 12:11

You are messing these buyers around you can't accept a deal then carry on trying to sell it. Your estate agent is right. The nightmare is you, if you don't like their offer reject it, but don't say one thing and do another.

Chumleymouse · 26/01/2021 12:11

The buyers were idiots , who goes around offering on houses without even a mortgage offer in place ? You bet your bottom dollar they would have tried to lower the price even further ( survey). I wouldn’t accept an offer from anybody without ( at least ) a mortgage offer in place. You get a definite amount you can borrow then you start looking/ offering.

Mortgage in principle is sometimes a bit dodgy as some people will be a bit flexible with the truth.

Good luck op with the sale 😃👍