Help - I suspect estate agent hasn't told seller of our offer

[barking]

Hi - just wondering what to do....
We've been looking for 6 months and a house we missed has just come back on the market after previous buyers dropping out.

When we viewed, agent said seller is really keen to sell, (it's empty), our first offer was refused, I put in second offer 9am this morning 5k below asking price, and the people buying ours are cash buyers. I've checked our mortgage is portable so just need valuation to get banks approval.

Phoned estate agent 5 times and he keeps stalling, saying he can't get hold of seller, then later said he would try phoning, then said he knows what the seller will say - which is they want to wait a while to let there be other viewings.

Arghhh! I really don't want to lose this house, what are they waiting for? Can I report them? Should I go in in person to get a better response? Feel like this is psychogical warfare and I don't know the rules - don't want to p*ss estate agent off, but feel like he's hiding something.

Is there a way I can contact seller directly?
Help help help

I'm so upset - I also phoned the agents about 2 months ago to say if the sale falls through we want it. they never did.
I feel like it's a done deal and I'm so desperate to get out of here. Its the only one we have seriously wanted after looking for 6 months.

...oooh Barking I don't like the sound of this.

Is the property on at less than reasonable market price? just generally I don't want exact figures. Say for example on at £500k when should/would expect it to be on at £575k for example? If Vendor is out of area he might not be familar with what property goes for there and Estate Agents are trying to get it cheap for favoured developer in return for later sweetner.

I would go in and see xxxx in the morning with your written offer and details and find out what the lay of the land is. Any more viewings lined up?, Open Viewing planned at weekend?, date for best and final offers etc just get a general feeling as to what is going on.

Might be worth popping into any other agents where you are who may have had dealings with the property and seeing if they know what is going on....agents do talk to each other in the pub. They might let slip a name or a clue as to wherabouts of vendor.

Don't let Mr Horrid Pants scare you off. If he is the boss he should want to practice good, honest agency not what appears to be going on here. In his defence he may have been out all day on valuations and not be up to speed with offers etc....but he shouldn't be so rude to you.

Keep positive...it is not a dead duck until it exchanges and much will happen before then.....I am available for shouting at him if needs be

He is waiting for you to crack and offer full asking price, which by the sounds of it you are about to do by the end of the week. If I had 6 calls in a day telling how eager you are, there is no way you would get a discount.

Oh thank you for your kind words Smurf

You may think me bonkers but the property in question is woolaway with a block built extension surrounding it, so in effect most of the woolaway is now internal hence low asking price of £250k (was originally 300, but reduced it about 10 weeks ago).

I've checked with mortgage company they will lend on it and told agent we aren't phased by it having bought other houses that were not standard construction. It's in a desirable area so I imagine the plot alone is nearly worth that. I did ask the agent in one of the phone calls is the seller waiting for a developer to buy it and they said no.

I just want to live in a quiet place and this is the only one that fits the bill for our price range - council houses go for more so wondering if they have given a low price to start a bidding war (none of this was mentioned when we looked at it - infact the agent let slip the previous buyers had offered in the low £200's and it had been accepted so I am really baffled. Like you say - do they want the money or to leave it empty? Who are they waiting for?

I'm going to try and gear up for tomorrow, I feel like I should have lied and told them we were a cash buyer.

How do you know he has actually been able to speak to the vendor?

Details say 'In excess of 250k'

Hi Blu - I don't. But I thought in this day and age he would have a mobile. I asked the senior partner tonight and he just dismissed me and said he will pass the message on.

My brother was the contact when selling my mum's house and he is IMPOSSIBLE to get hold of. No pc, no mobile, often doesn't even answer home phone. I would chill.

The fact that it is not a standard construction should be in your favour - many purchasers would be scared away from anything other than the typical construction. So thus it does reduce the number of people who would be interested. What you are up against is the developers/speculators. Might be worth having a look at the Local Councils Website in the planning permission section to see if anything has been submitted and what. You will probably just need the post code. If for example there is an application to knock and rebuild it starts to look like you have a mountain to climb. Hopefully there is nothing of any significance.

It could also be that the agent is just trying to generate interest in a tough market by having an artifically low price - we viewed a house/wreck on at offers in region of £475k we would have gone to about £550K actually went for £726k the world and his dog were after it.

Keep me posted and chin up

I very rarely answer my mobile when I am at work!

Thanks Blu - the voice of reason, I know I'm feeling a little paranoid, it is so hard to trust them. I just want a simple life!
Smurf - thanks for that, I have just checked and nothing is coming up, so I have to guess they are stalling me in the hope of waiting for a cash buyer to come along, we have 190k as deposit and the person buying ours is selling hers to a cash buyer, so things may still happen.

Huge sympathies, Barking - our summer hol 2 years ago was ruined spent desparately trying to get a signal from a beach and worrying just as you are now!
I do hope you DO get a response today - and a favourable one. Fngers crossed for you.

Barking - have you actually asked them whether they have reported your offer ? Or are they claiming they have tried but can't get hold of him ? Just remind them that, whilst they might think the vendor would be foolish to accept an offer under the asking price, they are bound by the Estate Agents Act (1979 I think but need to check) to report it and you would appreciate them confirming that they have done so. If they can't speak to him, you want a letter out to his contact address first class tonight

They sound like real a*seholes..

Hope you get it sorted

Hmmmm I smell a rat. Proceed with caution!

I am hoping that as we speak Barking is giving them what for so they have put her offer forward and Mr Vendor has said yes! I am keeping my fingers crossed and will check back for progress report after braving the supermarket

I'm on tenterhooks now!

Any news?

......well is it a done deal yet?

Hi all - sorry only just got all 3 children in bed. Thanks for posting all your lovely kind words.

Well, I went there and they insist they have told him of my offer and he still wants to wait as there is so much interest. They said he will probably decide next week. I am really pxssed off as its now in the local paper and they haven't mentioned in the ad its a woolaway - I guess to get people to fall in love with it and quickly mention it at the end of the viewing.

They have now had another offer in - a higher one, but the people interested have only just put their house on the market.

They asked me to get proof that our mortgage company will lend on non-standard construction, which I got onto immediately and they faxed this in writing straight to estate agents.

But the worst thing of all is, as I was picking my children up from school, I got chatting to one of the mums who I've been friends with for a year or so, and well you can guess the rest! They are off to see this very house tomorrow and are in no chain, I began to nod enthusiastically as I know they are desperate to get out of their (rented) place, but in the end I told her we had put an offer in, as sods law she would have seen me lurking around the place anyway and may have thought I went after it once she told me about it.

I am now thinking how we should have put in an offer over asking price at the very beginning to secure the house and make it conditional that it comes off the market - though does this happen in real life? Don't want to lose a friend over this, but really really want this place.

I am quietly mortified.

Barking, firstly well done to you for going into the office it is much easier to hide behind the phone and I think it will demonstrate you are very serious about the house. Good move getting all paperwork back to them so quickly.

re the other offer the Estate Agent would be crazy to recommend that is accepted as there is an incomplete chain below and there is no way of telling when all those links would be in a position to proceed. I wouldn't worry about them. You are in a much stronger position, being under offer, mortgage agreed etc.

The issue of the friend is more difficult: I would try to resist the temptation to bounce up to her tomorrow at school asking what she thought....realistically the only way I could do this would be to sew my mouth firmly closed! If she announces that she adores it then it will be time to come up with a strategy to put her off

Don't torment yourself thinking you should have gone in over the asking price. You can if needs be increase at a later date. It is much harder to get them to agree to a reduction than to agreeing to take an increased offer!

Everybody on here is willing you to get this property

Hi Barking. You have my sympathy: we moved house last summer and I still bear the emotional scars. It was all worth it in the end though

You probably know this but as nobody else has mentioned it yet, I'd just point out that the £250K figure is pretty significant as stamp duty jumps from 1% to 3% at that point.

I was going to type some more thoughts on this but being yelled at to come downstairs. Basically my thoughts are that £250K may well be the figure that the vendor is hanging out for.

Good luck!

Thanks Smurf

I know they have viewings tomorrow as my friend is one of them, but have said (so far), they have no viewings booked for next week.

The big issue for the vendor is trust, he wants to sell at the best price to someone who can be quick and is committed. I can't guarantee this sale but I'm damn well trying my best. Is there anything else I can do? The agent wanted to know whether solicitors have been instructed on our side, but everyone is waiting for us to get this house before they start spending money and commit.

Do I put in a higher offer tomorrow to try and secure it or pretend (very very badly) that I will think about it and wait until next week?

In the meantime I would also keep looking at other property just in case you see anything else come up, don't put all your hopes into this one property. Always handy to have a plan B, good luck though.

BarbaraWoodlouse - Oh hell! Thank you for pointing that out as I wasn't sure what that percentage was.

Does the use of fixtures and fittings still work in this instance? In this case, as the house needs loads of work and is empty I can't work out how we could do this.

Is it bang on £250,000 or £249,999?

If it comes to it, I'm not willing to lose it though over 7500.

Thanks Biggitdad - the thing is the plan b is emmigrating as there is absolutely nothing out there - we have been looking for nearly 6 months and this is the first one.