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Original poster

EA favouring buyer

17 replies

fedupwithhouse · 07/07/2021 14:01

Firstly I must say that this is only a hunch but I'm wondering how common this really might be.

We've just put the family home of my DH on the market this week. His DF was very old when he passed away and the house is very, very dated. In fact it needs everything doing to it!
We're had four valuations and went with the mid priced EA.
It was decided to put it on at a very competitive price and the EA said that this would be a great starting price and would probably go to sealed bids as it's a desirable area and not many properties of this style currently on the market!
It's been on a four days with a visiting booked on the first day but not the interest that the EA anticipated.
Now the person who viewed was very interested and took her builder with her to the viewing and has asked for until the weekend to get back to EA. EA said that this was a good sign.
But there's been no other interest or any that DH know about. I'm wondering if the EA are holding back other viewings until they've made a decision.
I might be totally off the mark but it got me thinking 🤔
Can anyone enlighten me as to whether this is possible?

OP posts:
ChicChaos · 07/07/2021 14:07

How would the EA benefit from that scenario? It doesn't really make sense. It's the end of the stamp duty holiday so a lot of people who wanted to move will have done so already. Hopefully the right buyer for the property will come along very soon for you.

Mountaingoatling · 07/07/2021 14:10

It's hugely unlikely.

Fiddliestofsticks · 07/07/2021 14:11

@ChicChaos

Estate agents have been known to sell houses to their mates for renovation at a cheap price by telling the buyer there is no other interest, and the estate agent gets a kick back from their mate for getting them cheap projects. There was a woman on here who was sure her estate agent was messing due to many clues so she got a friend to call up and ask about her house, and the estate agent fobbed them off and continued telling the OP that there was no interest.

OP, get a friend to call up and ask for a viewing just to see if they are putting people off.

Oblahdeeoblahdoe · 07/07/2021 14:11

Well, this sort of thing does happen because the potential buyer could be a friend or relation to the EA. You don't have to accept any offer they come back with unless you're totally happy. Is the EA marketing the house sufficiently?

catfunk · 07/07/2021 14:14

Well it's up to you which offer you accept at the end of the day. Can you still see it advertised online?

LawnFever · 07/07/2021 14:16

[quote Fiddliestofsticks]@ChicChaos

Estate agents have been known to sell houses to their mates for renovation at a cheap price by telling the buyer there is no other interest, and the estate agent gets a kick back from their mate for getting them cheap projects. There was a woman on here who was sure her estate agent was messing due to many clues so she got a friend to call up and ask about her house, and the estate agent fobbed them off and continued telling the OP that there was no interest.

OP, get a friend to call up and ask for a viewing just to see if they are putting people off.[/quote]
Really good suggestion and simple way to find out what they’re saying!

Do this - then come back and tell us what happens. Even if they are waiting on the other buyer they should still be following up other interest and booking in viewings until you’ve accepted an offer.

Original poster
fedupwithhouse · 07/07/2021 14:18

[quote Fiddliestofsticks]@ChicChaos

Estate agents have been known to sell houses to their mates for renovation at a cheap price by telling the buyer there is no other interest, and the estate agent gets a kick back from their mate for getting them cheap projects. There was a woman on here who was sure her estate agent was messing due to many clues so she got a friend to call up and ask about her house, and the estate agent fobbed them off and continued telling the OP that there was no interest.

OP, get a friend to call up and ask for a viewing just to see if they are putting people off.[/quote]
This did cross DHs mind to get a mate to call up EA! He we might be being a bit suspicious but the house is still within the 250k SD break until September so the family thought that there would be sufficient interest.

OP posts:
TryingtoBuy2021 · 07/07/2021 14:30

Get a friend to call, definitely. EA may also just be prioritising other properties that don’t have as interested a buyer rather than anything particularly sinister - if they see a chance to wrap this one up with just one viewer that’s the easiest situation for them.

Itscoldouthere · 07/07/2021 14:39

Is it on Rightmove, Zoopla etc, interested buyers would be looking and calling up EA to book viewings if it is.
I’d do as suggested and get someone to ring, you can also send an email request to the EA via Zoopla, get someone to do that and see how long it takes for the EA to contact (I was looking about 8 weeks ago sometimes if I emailed via Rightmove nobody came back to me).

fedupwithhouse · 07/07/2021 14:50

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Mildura · 07/07/2021 15:31

@Fiddliestofsticks

Estate agents have been known to sell houses to their mates for renovation at a cheap price

Whilst I am sure there have been instances of this taking place, it is astonishingly rare.

Fiddliestofsticks · 07/07/2021 15:33

@Mildura

Well, yeah, obviously. What's your point?
The OP has doubts. It's an easy check; just get someone to call and enquire. If all is well then she knows there is little interest. If the estate agents chased them off and doesnt tell OP about the enquiry then she can switch agents.
It'll take 10 minutes and get the answer she needs, so what's the problem?

Flowers500 · 07/07/2021 15:37

If you have doubts it is very easy to check.

I think most likely the agent will speak to a lot of people about the house and present to you the most serious leads. If the house has only been on a few days, people working might not have a proper look at the sites until the weekend. Ask if he has any other clients on the books who he could send it to.

But unless he's outright taking a payment from the viewer, no he would not be waiting on them.

GETTINGLIKEMYMOTHER · 07/07/2021 22:04

I agree with getting a friend or relative to phone. Preferably more than one!

It’s hardly unknown for EAs to put off other viewers because a mate, or someone they have a ‘brown envelope’ arrangement with, wants to get a doer-upper cheaply. I have known someone who openly boasted of such arrangements with EAs.
Plus I have personal experience of a very good offer being turned down for what seemed a very odd reason - only to find out 3 months later that the place had sold for way below my offer.

Apologies to any straight ones reading this, but some EAs are up to all sorts.

WinterIsGone · 07/07/2021 22:29

That happened to a house in our road. It went for a really low price. The old owner's children lived some way away. The EA's relative lives there now!

Original poster
fedupwithhouse · 08/07/2021 16:36

Sorry for the delay in replying! One family member, who has much more experience in marketing properties than DH or his siblings, feels that the house has been very poorly marketed and the advert plays down it's strengths.
There's also been no more interest!

OP posts:
LawnFever · 09/07/2021 08:03

Switch to a new estate agent, it’s easy enough - just get a couple round and see what they say, you don’t have to accept any offers that do come through the original one.

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