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

Oh dear - link 2 was too brave and the argument ended with link 1 pulling out on saturday over what he was willing to pay in his words 'a jittery market'

She has said she will put it on with an agent, but couldn't guarantee the time limit to get a buyer to secure the place we want.

I haven't told agents yet, hoping that through word of mouth we will still get a buyer. Someone else came round yesterday pm and really likes it, no chain! though hasn't phoned back.....Do I phone her with slight price reduction to try and tempt her?

Do I continue with survey, searches etc. in the hope we still sell privately? (its a very sought after street) or do I tell agents who we are buying from and ask them to market the house? - though the gamble would be they would say no and drop us as the buyers of the place we want.

Good Morning barking,

will have a proper look this morning

Don't worry

Sorry for the delay barking

I think that your best chance is both you and link 2 to put your property on with the agent that is selling Dream house for the following reasons;

1. they will have complete control of the chain and be able to negotiate any problems that arise much more easily as they know all the parties involved.

2. they will have a vested interested in making sure that you get to buy Dream House because if you don't you are not moving to anything else and therefore your buyer will also not be moving - so potentially they stand to lose 2 sets of commission and probably lose the instruction from the Vendor as he may well take the attitude well you have had 2 attempts to sell the property and you didn't manage it, I have lost faith in you as Agents I am off to 'Grin A Lot & Co' down the road to see how they fair.

That is as far as I can see it your best shot. I would contact the Estate Agents this morning. You say it is a saleable property, the Estate Agents will probably have people registered looking for your precise road. When I was an agent I certainly did and when we were buying here there were only 2 other Roads in the area that I would have considered. Many people are like that.

Don't panic about doom mongers in the newspapers and the news you may be selling at lower than you may have this time 2 years ago however you are also buying at less. If your property is priced correctly it will sell even in a sticky market.

Chin up you have no time for being worried you have got to do everything to get Dream House. Look back over this thread and see how many people are willing you to get this house!

Smurfs

bumping for barking

Hi Smurfs - thanks for sticking with me!

My previous buyer wasn't from the area. The family that saw it yesterday still haven't phoned, but I have been busy putting notices up at local post office, school etc.

I will give this one more day before I contact agents. I feel like jack bauer, the clock is ticking.......

I have another viewing this afternoon, a cash buyer in no chain - oh swoon

Hello barking, I do really know how you feel every viewing we had I was like an eager Labrador jumping up to great them and almost rolling over to have my tummy tickled I was just so eager to get an offer, so after about 3 viewings I knocked it on the head and made the Agent do all the viewings instead. I do think that potential buyers are a lot more honest with an Estate Agent than with the Vendor as they don't want to offend to your face....but a lot are very happy to have a good moan via the Estate Agent - we had one viewer who said that she felt that if she had another child it would be cruel to only have 4 bedrooms well I had 2 children when we sold it and didn't feel cruel!

I digress, I would contact the Estate Agent selling Dream House tomorrow and repeat your committment to buying it - survey booked, solicitor instructed etc etc. Then get them round to value and if you feel happy with them instruct them. Obviously in an ideal world you would get 3 valuations done and pick the middle one but clock is ticking and all that....Also they should still be very committed to you buying it as they will get another fee out of it - nothing focuses the mind like a commission walking out the door to another Estate Agent!

I have everything crossed for the viewing today - go charm, charm, charm!

Good luck barking.

Must be all so stressful.

Fingers still crossed here.

Evening all

Barking, how was this afternoon's viewing? It does sound as though you have a very saleable house so don't give up.

Remeber, if you do appoint an agent make sure you haggle on the fee. And give them a list of the people who have already viewed/offered and make sure that those people are excluded from the sole agency contract so that if the do come through with an offer/new buyer you won't have to pay commission.

You have a lot of people willing this deal to go through.......

Right off to bed.

Good evening barking, BWL and mymam

any progress barking?

.

We are 9 hours ahead of you so almost bed time here.

Is no news good news?

......the tension is killing us barking, we need an update please, even if not good news

barking, where are you?

...offers to put the kettle on for BWL and mymama, finds a couple of jammy dodgers/gingernuts and prepares to wait for barking to return............................

Hi Smurfs, mymama and BARKING

A cup of tea would go down a treat thanks Smurfs.

Glad to see you put the shout out for barking on the village life thread. Hope she hasn't wandered off too far, we need news..........

Hi Smurfs, BWL and Barking.

Thanks for the offer of tea.

Didn't have any jammy dodgers whilst in your neck of the woods but loved jaffa cakes and choccie hobnobs.

Have found the hobnobs here in Aus but not sourced any jaffa cakes yet.

Coooeeee Barking!!!

Hello! I'm back. All this bloomin house cleaning is taking up my precious computer time

No real news to report. We have 2 people interested, but with this 3 week deadline hanging over us we are having to ask any potential buyer to do the same. I think it's actually putting them off (too much pressure) or making them suspicious - ('why the need for a quick sale?')

One doesn't want to commit to a price until she has a survey and doesn't want to be rushed (gnashes teeth!). Another one said she will come back to us in the next 24 hours.

We have put our cards on the table by saying the first serious offer will secure a sale but also added we can't go under a certain amount as it will make buying dream house impossible financially.

Haven't told agents yet but solicitor is aware and explained the 3 week deadliine is on receipt of legal papers which very luckily she hasn't recieved. She told me not to tell them as could lose house to other buyers.

Dh and I are very worried we have been too honest and we will end up selling under what house is worth.
I'm so tired my resolve is flagging and I'm questioning the whole thing

Thank goodness you are back I was asking for you on the Village thread yesterday and even started a have you seen barking thread?!

I do find that sometimes when you are so involved in the situation you cannot see the wood for the trees. As an interested bystander my view of it would be that you are doing everything possible to get your property sold.

I think you have to balance this with the information that you give to potential buyers and always keep in the back of your mind the figure that you know that you cannot go below. Don't beat yourself up by thinking that you may have told the 2 viewings too much - at least they know what hymn sheet you are singing from! There would be nothing worse than agreeing a deal and then for it to all fall apart at the 11th hour because they thought that you were not in a hurry!

At this stage I would keep the agent for Dream House, sweet - you may well be calling upon them to sell your house in the not too distant future. So common sense really but return their calls, respond to letters etc, etc. Nothing irrates or concerns an Estate Agent more than a buyer who suddenly goes to ground. I wouldn't lie to them but there is nothing to say that you can't be selective with the truth It might also be worth fromulating answers in your head so that if they call you, you are not caught off guard.

For example I would suggest that they will/should call you in the next few days/week to see how things are going for a chain update - they may well ask if there is any news back on the survey date? or has your solicitor received the paperwork yet? or have your buyers booked their survey? I would probably reply that you would need to double check but will do so and get back to them in the next day or so. Buys you a bit of time and doesn't sound like you have gone off the boil!

Your solicitor sounds good - I think she sounds like she will not take any nonsense from the other parties involved.

At the end of the day you and DH will decide the figure to accept and at that stage you may well have to go back to the Vendor of Dream House, sell your position to him in terms of speed that this can all complete at and look at a reduction in the agreed price. We did exactly that when we accepted an offer that was lower than we wanted to accept but knew that our buyer was good and we could all run it and all get moving. So we gave them the option to reduce by £20k as we were doing and we would exchange shortly afterwards which we did rather than them having to go back on the market and start from scratch. Seems risky with hindsight but sometimes difficult times call for a little inventive thinking.

Draw some plans of what you hope to do to Dream House, drive past it and think of your neighbour you want to leave!

Oh and remember there is a MNeter in Australia who is willing you on as well as BWL and myself here. I am sure there are also people watching this and wishing you well

Yay your back Barking.

Hi Smurfs and BWL.

Thanks for the honorary Hob Nobs and cup of tea. Have any of you discovered Tim Tams yet. Aussie biscuit that we saw everywhere over there. yumm.

Don't know anything about the workings of the property market so can't advise you there.

Have bought and sold a few houses in my time and know how much it affects your life when you are trying to sell. The endless cleaning, tidying up and hoping every phone call/knock at the door might be a potential buyer.

Really wishing you luck, fingers tightly crossed and positive vibes winging their way from Australia.

YOU WILL GET YOUR DREAM HOUSE.

Morning barking and hello BWL and mymama

Any movements, have you instructed an Estate Agent yet? I understand that you are waiting for the 2 viewers of last week to show their hand however time is marching on and you would be able to instruct the E/A on the basis that any of the people that you 'introduced' to the property would not provide them with commission. In order for an E/A to be able to charge a fee there has to be 'an effective introduction' i.e potential buyer given details, told about property on the phone, see details in newspaper or on internet site. I hope you are feeling positive about it all

Mymama - I was in Sainsburys doing the shopping the other day and I spied Tim Tams - i don't think I have ever noticed them before! I resisted the temptation to buy any as I have to be in a bikini in just over 2 weeks time however they looked like Penguins that we can buy here which are fab! Spookily there was a dog barking and my DD said "Mummy why is that dog barking?" so I immediately though of this thread thankfully the checkout lady didn't say have a lovely day my name is BarbaraWoodLouse otherwise I would have run screaming from the store after being possessed by a Mumsnet thread!!

where oh where has barking gone....?

Don't worry too much about the deadline - we had one for last place we bought: the solicitor insisted we exchange by middle of May but then didn't send paperwork to end of July. Whole thing took six months (hope that cheers you up rather than depresses you ).

Hi
We briefly had another buyer and she pulled out over the weekend as it was too fast for her. I also think the speed that was required was making her suspicious and she also talked about the market crashing.

Mortgage people have been in contact today and the surveyor has asked that we have a full structural engineers report and has recommended a full retention on all of the £95k that we were borrowing (its a woolaway construction).

They said the market is very nervous at the moment and they have tightned their lending criteria. The survey will cost between £750 - £1000 depending on how long it takes. We would have eventually knocked old place down and built a kit house - but can't do this for a good few years yet until I'm back at work.

Looks like we have no buyer and no mortgage so we are going to have to admit defeat and will be phoning agents in the morning

A massive thank you Smurfs, Mymama, Barbarawoodlouse, Blu, Freckle and Lalalonglegs for holding my hand through all this - you are all so lovely!

Hello barking glad you are in one piece and it is time to stop this talk of defeat

Well heres my thoughts for what they are worth;

Full Structural Engineers report - I can understand the need for this given the construction. Woolaways are a worry for a lender due to the potentail problems real and imagined such a construction presents over time. It is a git as you will eventually raize it to the ground but theres a hoop so jump!

The retention is draconian. Could you approach a lender that would take a more enlightened view of a non-traditional construction? I am thinking of lenders that are involved in the self-build market for example who are happy to think away from the 3 bed-semi little or no risk market. There was an article in The Sunday Times this weekend which detailed Specialist Mortgage advice - www.buildstore.co.uk and www.afsbm.co.uk. worth a look I feel

From memory many moons ago in Pre-DC land Barclays would take a 'risk' on a mortgage, might be worth having a look at their website. Are you using a broker or arranging the mortgage yourself. Again might be worth speaking to a broker as they will be able to make some calls and give you a definative yes or no. It won't cost you anything to speak to one.

I personally would speak to a broker before I would call the agent to say you cannot proceed and the deal is off.

Hello. This thread fell off "threads I'm on" and I had to come searching for you all.

Barking, agree with Smurfs, don't give up hope. If your lender is giving you these problems then so will any other buyer's lender and the vendor must know that. You are still a committed buyer, even though you may not be able to make the tight timelines originally proposed.

Right, must go to bed. I have to be on the checkout nice and early. Sainsburys doesn't run itself you know

I had to come searching too.

Agree with others re mortgage. If banks are uncertain with you then they will be the same with other potential buyers. Seller must know this.

Can understand if the pressure is getting to you. As hard as it is to jump through all the hoops it will be worth it in the end.

This is your DREAM house.