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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:
Ffsnosexallowed · 26/01/2021 18:38

A few more full stops wouldn't go amiss.

Fleurty · 26/01/2021 18:44

Also, of course they haven't got a mortgage offer in place. You can't apply for a mortgage until you have a property you have made an offer on because you're applying for a mortgage for that property.

You sound like you need to read a guide on buying and selling house because you're clueless about the process. Those poor buyers, although it sounds like they've had a lucky escape with having you as a vendor.

Bouledeneige · 26/01/2021 20:34

In the last stages of my house sale/purchase. Of course my EA was insistent that they only showed my house to buyers who had an offer and a mortgage in principle. But it's taken weeks to get surveys and follow up investigations and I still don't have my mortgage offer. My buyers came back with an architect and I stayed well out of the way. In fact they came for two more viewings and I was out of the house for both. Up to them to understand the state of the property and it's potential for expansion/improvement. Normally architects are there to look at that potential for renovation/improvement not so much on condition. I've lived here 20 years but don't take it personally that they will completely re-model.

I wouldn't go any where near an estate agent who demands deposits - I've never heard of such a thing and I've done about 20 viewings with multiple estate agents. OP I'm not sure you have a clue what you're up to.

RainingBatsAndFrogs · 26/01/2021 20:57

OP: would you be prepared to commission a survey (£600+) if the vendors were still showing people round?

IMO and IME good vendor and EA practice is to stop active marketing (viewings) as soon as an offer is accepted, and agree to a deadline by which your survey is commissioned and solicitor instructed.

Don’t get involved in any emotional reactions.

RainingBatsAndFrogs · 26/01/2021 21:11

Hindsight is a wonderful thing but it might have been better to have put it in the market earlier in the pre-done up state. Lots of people want to put their own stamp on. Also, in September and October, even Nov, houses were flying off the shelves as people wanted to beat the deadline for the stamp duty holiday.

The fact that you got a viewing and an offer as soon as you reduced the price tells you something. And as the market is slowing now, there’s no way I would offer full asking price, even if it said ‘offers over...’. £175k on an offers over price of £180k is good! In any case you accepted it.

I can’t begin to see what the estate agents have done wrong.

Bouledeneige · 26/01/2021 21:34

Agree RainingBatAndFrogs I wouldn't pay for a full survey (which is what I preferred and costs over £1K) if the vendor was still offering viewings to others. Pretty wanky practice in my view.

Newnamefor2021 · 26/01/2021 21:46

Bloody hell OP your exhausting!

You wanted them to get a mortgage done and dusted in a week? There is a post in her of someone wanting to reduce their mortgage by 10k and they are told that could take 4 weeks. You are being totally unrealistic.

They didn't lowball you at all. If you don't want to sell at 175 then you don't have to buy that they offered 5k under asking , which you chose to accept.

EdgeOfACoin · 26/01/2021 22:00

A good estate agent won't continue to show the property once an offer has been accepted.

toughluck · 26/01/2021 22:07

Ridiculous op. Even the most straight forward of mortgage applications are taking weeks at the moment. Ours did and that was without a survey, just a basic desktop valuation by the bank.

Newnamefor2021 · 26/01/2021 22:36

@EdgeOfACoin

A good estate agent won't continue to show the property once an offer has been accepted.
I saw a sign the other day saying under offer but still open to offers! I was shocked!
Pugliandreamer · 26/01/2021 22:51

Is this when we get drip fed OP isn't in UK...

lalafafa · 26/01/2021 22:58

You’re mad paying 13k on a re furb before selling.

Dogonahottinroof · 26/01/2021 23:04

I saw a sign the other day saying under offer but still open to offers! I was shocked!

Common with probate- the duty is to get the best possible price.

Newnamefor2021 · 26/01/2021 23:08

@Dogonahottinroof

I saw a sign the other day saying under offer but still open to offers! I was shocked!

Common with probate- the duty is to get the best possible price.

Ah that makes sense. I really annoyed me but that makes sense now.
kirktonhouse · 26/01/2021 23:11

Well this is all a bit bloody weird isn't it?

And when the OP asks what she/he should do in this situation?

I suggest that you chill the fuck out and get your dh to deal with selling the house, you don't seem to have a clue.

Bluntness100 · 26/01/2021 23:21

This is one of the odder threads I’ve seen on here. Even if you simply don’t understand the process or timing associated with selling, there are plenty of sites on line snd the agent could have, and likely tried to, advise.

There is no way any agent should be requesting a deposit on offering, that’s proper dodgey shit, I can’t believe people do that, and if they don’t then the op is making it up . That’s the sort of thing you do with new builds, not the normal buying selling process.

ballsdeep · 26/01/2021 23:25

@LooseMooseHoose

If a seller continued to market a property after I had had my offer accepted, I would be withdrawing my offer sharpish. There is enough uncertainty for a buyer in the process that I couldn't stomach the sellers playing silly buggers before the hard stuff even started.
This with bells on Tbh op you seem a bit of a nightmare seller
rwalker · 26/01/2021 23:29

For the life of me I can't see what they have done wrong .

unbotheredbutbewildered · 26/01/2021 23:40

I’m assuming you mean an AIP rather than an actual mortgage...otherwise that’s completely bonkers

However, even an AIP is bullshit. I could say I have a deposit of £170K to get a AIP on a house worth £700,000- who’s going to prove I do/don’t at that stage?! The bank won’t. The estate agent won’t. The vendor definitely won’t! It’s In Principle. Which means it’s not reality.

OP. The housing market is going to crash. The stamp duty holiday is coming to an end and a tonne of people are losing their jobs. People will not be taking risks on buying new houses. You need to calm down and accept the reality; you probably just lost the best offer you’re going to get with people who were genuinely serious.

MrDarcysMa · 26/01/2021 23:40

Hate to break this to you op but my survey took 3 weeks as there was a backlog Wink

Original poster
Thanksforthememory · 27/01/2021 00:04

To reply to comments.
Yes I am in the UK
Yes without a doubt in hindsight I wouldn't do the house up but what made us decide was that at the time with high deposits so less cash to spend on the house it made it more sellable which would of worked if it had been priced right.
As with the estate agent it's law to ask either verbally or in writing if you wish to keep the house on the market after the offer has been accepted unfortunately the agent took it upon his self to remove it without informing us that is a breach of contract.
I can assure you all I wouldn't of kept it on the market once they had organised a survey and we had a date but as a lot of you have said it can takes weeks to organise a mortgage and survey so once they were in place with a date for the survey I would of quite happily taken it off the market and if up to that point we had no more viewings then obviously that price reflected the market, I'm not out to see anyone lose money.
A lot of you seem to think that I should take that offer and thank my lucky star's but unfortunately I've had all this before with my late father's house as we put it up with a estate agent who my friend worked for only to be told by her that he was in cahoots with a builder and the offer that was on the table was well under what you would expect for that kind of house so we removed it and sold for 10k extra with another estate agent, the house was left to his grandchildren so we wasn't being greedy as we did the best for them.
I'm sure there's plenty of honest agents about but I think when it comes to inheritance the agents seem to think their entitled to a slice hence why it was probably taken off the market but we'll see how much it sells for now.
I did think it was strange at the time why the estate agent wanted a key when we said we would do the viewings but if my gut instinct tells me this was a dodgy deal as with my father's house then it probably was but we'll never find that out.

OP posts:
snowliving · 27/01/2021 00:22

You can't keep a house on the market after you have accepted an offer on it.
It is the accepting of the offer that means you take it off the market not getting a date for the mortgage survey.
There are also all the searches that need to be completed etc buying a house in England takes months.

I would withdraw my offer as a buyer from any seller that after agreeing to my offer didn't take the property off the market.

RainingBatsAndFrogs · 27/01/2021 02:52

Round here all the EAs are doing viewings, not vendors, due to COVID. Vendors go out during the viewing.

The EA I am buying through gives a time period during which you need to show proof of commitment and affordability, book the survey, but not have had it done.

What is the point in accepting an offer if you are still marketing? It has no status whatsoever.

Have you read the small print on the T&C?

You sound like a nightmare vendor OP.

Lochroy · 27/01/2021 04:24

I don't understand your comment

"Yes without a doubt in hindsight I wouldn't do the house up but what made us decide was that at the time with high deposits so less cash to spend on the house"

Are you implying buyers with high deposits? Then of course they could choose to do up the house how they wanted instead.

Also you DO take the house off the market after accepting an offer whilst the buyer goes through the process of making the formal mortgage application (which they cannot do until they know the exact property and price). The valuation survey is organised by the lender, the buyer will have no control over its timing. They may choose to have their own survey separately but will have to wait until a surveyor is available.

You're a terrible vendor and I really pity whoever comes along next for the house.

user86386427 · 27/01/2021 08:07

I can assure you all I wouldn't of kept it on the market once they had organised a survey and we had a date but as a lot of you have said it can takes weeks to organise a mortgage and survey so once they were in place with a date for the survey I would of quite happily taken it off the market

No that's not how it works, you take the house off the market (SSTC) when an offer is agreed, when your EA did it, they obviously assumed you knew what you were doing though yes it should have been confirmed but you were moronic for thinking it should stay on the market after accepting an offer, even getting to the point of organising a survey can take time but that is the risk with the British system.

Who is going to be happy to put an offer in on a house and pay their solicitors' deposit while in the meantime you are still allowing viewings whilst they wait for a full mortgage appointment? That is taking weeks at the moment.

I suggest with your next EA you sit down with them and learn how the process works before you mess anyone else around.