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Offer accepted on house but... Please tell me if this is dodgy?

52 replies

daniellaella · 09/03/2022 15:56

Hi, we offered on a house back in Dec. After putting in an offer, at asking price, and speaking at the estate agent's request to their mortgage advisors, to confirm we could borrow the amount required, which was confirmed, we heard nothing. Eventually, I contacted the estate agent, who told me that they'd discovered that the 'vendor' didn't actually own the property as he had sold the house, together with the next door house and plot of land behind, to a developer. Confused

Then in Jan, the same house came on with a different estate agent. By the time I spotted it, they said it had already gone under offer with another buyer. They said the first estate agent was lying, and the vendor had owned it for years. The house disappeared very quickly from Rightmove.

Then last week, I was contacted by the first estate agent. They said the house had been sold and the person selling it was now the legal owner. They said the second estate agent was lying. Confused

They said it was not yet back on the market but they were coming first to us and the other interested buyer, with the property at the same asking price as before - were we still interested? We said yes. They then said the owner was looking for 15K more and it would be going to best and final offers. We offered 15K more. They said our offer was accepted and put this in writing.

Today, I see the property has been relisted on Rightmove at 10K more! I called up and asked WTF was going on! The estate agent's claimed it has been on Rightmove for a week, which I'm pretty sure is not the case. Also claimed the reason it's on for more than we offered is if it was on for less, than any surveyor would downvalue it. They've also said they can't remove it from sale until they have our solicitor details (we're FTBs and so don't have a solicitor we've used before, plus given the dodgy history with this house, we want to make sure we are using a good solicitor; so we haven't provided these yet).

In addition, they've just sprung it on us, we must complete within 28 days! Which seems unlikely to be feasible for a straightforward purchase, which this one isn't. We're not cash buyers and doubt we could get a mortgage that quick if we wanted to - and they never mentioned this previously.

We are in a good position to buy, with no chain and mortgage agreed in principle. So unless they have a cash buyer waiting, don't think their 28 days is likely to happen. But now unsure what else buyer may spring on us - thought we'd agreed a price and no reference to completion date, now it appears they are still marketing the house and want more money and are now suddenly demanding an unachievable completion date. The estate agent also (coincidentally?) sent me details this morning of another property they have for sale, even though they are supposed to be selling us this one!

Any thoughts? Rereading this, it looks like they clearly don't want to sell this property to us. Or is it normal behaviour for vendors?

OP posts:
daniellaella · 09/03/2022 17:49

@SirGawain

More red flags than a Communist Party meeting!!
Grin
OP posts:
OpheliaThrupps · 09/03/2022 17:51

The 28 days might be because they want to complete within this tax year. (There could be many reasons for that, for example setting a chargeable gain for CGT purposes against a loss that can't be carried forward.)

Porfre · 09/03/2022 17:59

@Byefornow

Weird and/or dodgy. I would walk away now personally.
Same.

I'd walk away

Plinkyplonkyplonk · 09/03/2022 18:06

Drop it and run.

Hopefully, you'll find a better property soon

amillionrosepetals · 09/03/2022 18:14

You may not be able to get a mortgage anyway. www.foxdavidson.co.uk/6-month-mortgage-rule/#:~:text=The%206%20month%20mortgage%20rule,for%20less%20than%206%20months.

takeaflight · 09/03/2022 18:21

Here’s my thoughts, the houses and land were bought By a developer, check planning applications. The developer now requires the funds off the house sale, either to complete on his purchase, to finance the build and or to pay of a chunk of loan that’s he’s paying interest on.
Check for rights of ways and actually what’s being developed in, in effect your back garden, may have impact if values. Solicitor wise don’t use any recommended by the estate agents, you could get a recondition off your lender or mortgage advisor.

GETTINGLIKEMYMOTHER · 09/03/2022 18:24

Sounds to me as if they’ve already agreed on a brown envelope deal to sell it to a mate, but are going through the motions of having it on the open market, since that’s what they’re (legally IIRC) supposed to do.

I have proven personal experience of this, and once met someone (a developer) who openly boasted of such arrangements with EAs.

QweenBea · 09/03/2022 18:27

They are banking on you being desparate for the house. I would leave it

Georgeskitchen · 09/03/2022 18:30

I wouldn't touch it with a ten foot barge pole. If it smells dodgy that means it probably is. Pull out and tell the agents you don't want to hear from any of them again

Chloemol · 09/03/2022 18:37

Red flags all over

Searches are unlikely to be completed in 28 days, never mind getting surveys ( which I certainly would do and a full in depth one because of the messing)

Personally it sounds really dodgy and i would be walking

TheHoptimist · 09/03/2022 18:40

I have completed in 21 and 28 days in the past

No longer possible with a mortgage as systems have changed
Offer accepted 9th nov and completed 15th feb on last one with everyone amazed at how quick it was. No linked sale.

daniellaella · 09/03/2022 18:40

@takeaflight - good points. That may be why they are so keen to sell quickly now. Doubt they'll be successful though as given this is the third time it's been on in about 3 months with 2 different agents, imagine other potential buyers will be wary too.

OP posts:
daniellaella · 09/03/2022 18:41

@TheHoptimist

I have completed in 21 and 28 days in the past

No longer possible with a mortgage as systems have changed
Offer accepted 9th nov and completed 15th feb on last one with everyone amazed at how quick it was. No linked sale.

Thanks, that's what I thought.
OP posts:
TheHoptimist · 09/03/2022 18:41

Ps we had asked for 18th December

NeedAHoliday2021 · 09/03/2022 18:41

I wonder is the 28 day thing is in the hope you’ll skip searches and survey etc and something underlying will be missed.

M0RVEN · 09/03/2022 18:42

@titchy

Withdraw your offer and don't buy anything through either estate agent - they're both dodgy as fuck.
This.
daniellaella · 09/03/2022 18:45

[quote amillionrosepetals]You may not be able to get a mortgage anyway. www.foxdavidson.co.uk/6-month-mortgage-rule/#:~:text=The%206%20month%20mortgage%20rule,for%20less%20than%206%20months.[/quote]
Didn't know that - thanks. Good to be aware of should I ever come up against this again.

OP posts:
daniellaella · 09/03/2022 18:45

@NeedAHoliday2021

I wonder is the 28 day thing is in the hope you’ll skip searches and survey etc and something underlying will be missed.
Good point!!!
OP posts:
berksandbeyond · 09/03/2022 18:45

Buying a house is stressful enough when it isn’t dodgy as fuck, I wouldn’t touch this

daniellaella · 09/03/2022 18:49

Thanks all. I was getting very bad vibes from all this - as the person in the family who manages all financial stuff. My dh - who leaves financial stuff to me - loves the house so has been pressurising me to go ahead despite my worries.

Have shared the thread with him and the dcs so they can all understand why this is a bad idea!

OP posts:
BasiliskStare · 10/03/2022 01:28

@daniellaella - as I said up thread - some years ago I gave up on a property which I thought would be fantastic - down the line Oh how happy I am it did not happen

I hope you find your house - if this is not it - then so be it there will be another one - best wishes Flowers

KloppsTeeth · 10/03/2022 01:35

I agree with those saying run. To satisfy my own curiosity, I would be very tempted to spend £3 on getting the ownership info from the Land Registry, only because I would want to know who was lying in this situation

Wafflesnsniffles · 10/03/2022 01:40

Run away........... quickly! Sounds like a wild crazy mess.

Hawkins001 · 10/03/2022 01:42

All the best op

HogDogKetchup · 10/03/2022 01:49

The first thing the sellers solicitor sends is contract papers and evident of title - this will quickly clear up who the house belongs to and in what capacity the vendor is selling (ie on behalf of themselves as the owner or as some sort of agent for the owner/or a developers back to back transaction (purchase and sale happen at the same time). If you use a no move no fee solicitor you can clear the query of ownership up with no cost to you.

But… they sound like they’re messing you around generally, with no plausible explanation and also like they might have an agenda they’re not sharing. So that’s not ideal as a starting point in a transaction.

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