EA telling people not to make an offerl

[Highho]

We viewed a house yesterday that ticked a lot of boxes for our family. It needs a lot of work but has potential and we would move there with a view to living there for the foreseeable.

Our current home is not on the market. We've had it valued and are finishing off the garden and then it will be advertised. When we explained this to the agent yesterday, he told us to not bother making an offer as we would be overlooked having not sold ours yet.

I've never known an estate agent try to dissuade a potential buyer before and when I arranged the viewing in the first place, I had to explain our current situation. Why didn't they say don't bother then!

Is this really how the market is now? Would you still try to put an offer in?

Our house turned out to be popular with viewings and on day two the estate agents went through and cancelled viewings with anyone who wasn't proceedable (i.e. cash buyers or who had an offer on their house already, just being on the market wasn't enough). As they said, it's just a waste of everyone's time to let people in who are in a much weaker position. They filled the viewings, it went to b&f within a week, and they still had a waiting list of people who were proceedable should anything fall through. We're not in a city or particularly well-known and popular area, so it's not confined to hotspots anymore.

As a seller you'd be livid if the EA didn't tell you about an offer from someone who hasn't put their house on the market?

Why?

The OP isn't in a position to buy even if she offers 20% over asking

You can't make an offer that's serious without selling yours first. Since covid most estate agents won't even let you view without an offer on yours first.

You aren't in a position to make an offer, you need to stop looking and wait until yours is sold.

@Highho

It’s the afternoon of the next day now; would it be safe to assume that you’ve got your house on the market now?

If not, do you understand why the EA was right to have you down as a bit of a time-waster?

We’ve bought out new house without selling our old one yet. We also put on the highest bid, so a little silly to just rule out people if their house isn’t on the market. We had contracts signed within 10 days and were ready to complete per vendor requirements

I doubt that they are excluding people who don’t need to sell though, only those who do.

Because the EA would be breaking the law, for a start. EAs are legally obliged to pass on all offers.

The EA didn't break the law or refuse to pass on an offer though @BlueMongoose. He told the OP not bother making an offer as we would be overlooked having not sold ours yet.

Which is perfectly sound advice.

Can you not get yours on the market quickly and see if you can make a quick sale, then you are proceedable?

Get yours on the market quickly! The markets are not as good for sellers as they were but you need to at least be trying ...

We moved last year, we would not entertain viewers that were not in a position to move, let alone an offer, quite normal in a fast moving, sellers market.

The vendor can say they're not interested in offers from someone who isn't in a proceedable situation yet. I did.

We weren't even allowed to view properties in the area we were hoping to move to without having ours on the market! Luckily ours sold to the first viewers which put us in a great position to then offer as we were already sstc. Guess it avoids lots of disappointment and wasted phonecalls if they know there's going to be lots of other offers from people who are already in the process of selling. Just get yours on the market asap op.