Estate agent representing buyer and seller - a problem?

[friendlyflicka]

My house was sold to a buyer who is only interested in my house. It is the only reason he put his house on the market. I accepted a low offer (my financial situation means I desperately need to sell) and then after survey lowered again on the advice of agent although I saw no evidence of the issues raised. I just rolled over for the same reason as before.

The potential buyer of my house went on with same estate agents. Obviously if he doesn't get my house, he will take his house off the market.

His buyer pulled out 14 days ago. I said I would give him time to find another buyer. There has been little interest in his house. And yet I feel that the estate agent is really overhyping viewings to me which are not positive at all when I enquire further. They are advising me not to relist. I have said that the original buyer will be my priority, but I have nothing to lose by relisting if he has not sold after a period of time. The agent keeps discouraging me and telling me to wait for this buyer to sell because he is committed to my house.

I don't know if I am being overly suspicious, but I wonder if I would get different advice if it were not the case that he will take his house off the market if he can't buy mine, and the agent will lose the fee.

I would rather sell to him for reasons of speed because any new buyer will be able to use his searches etc and my solicitor has answered enquiries from him. I just need a back plan if nothing happens soon.

How long have other people waited before relisting? And has anyone else had a feeling that their agent is not wholly representing them in a house sale?

Sort of similar - our house was ready to go on the market, for personal reasons had delayed, then needed to move. Estate agent had people who had sold who wanted our house, sold to them slightly above asking. It has not been the easiest but it has been relatively straightforward. He did hype up their chain which in retrospect I’m not happy with.

however we threatened to pull out at one stage and he was supportive. I think this sort of thing is pretty tight for them - can you get any info about whether the EA is regulated? When does your contract with them run out?

You are the one in the driving seat. Think for yourself and take no notice of the EA. The buyer might take a long time to sell if there isn't much interest in his house.

It is not a length of time contract. I could pull out and go to another estate agent but would lose the potential buyer. They are a perfectly respectable and well established estate agent - it just that they seem so against me relisting - it is making me feel confused.

And it is a fairly a-typical situation that the seller will take his house off the market if he can not buy mine

@Dillydollydingdong Thank you. I am so stressed and in need of sale that is hard for me to judge the situation objectively.

Why would you lose this potential buyer by relisting with the current agent or a new agent?
You need to look after your own interests which seem to be to sell your house ASAP, get it back on the market.

In a similar situation - not sure how long to wait for buyer to go under offer. What did you do in the end @friendlyflicka?

Agent contracts are normally around 3months so you can probably change, which I’d suggest. Don’t be bullied. Do what’s right for you.

The EA cannot serve both of your interests without conflict, given the specifics of your situation. I also wouldn't trust them not to share your personal financial situation ( ie need to sell quickly) with your buyer.
You lowered your price for a quick sale and that's not happening due to your buyer, so I'd relish and put the price back up, personally. Get what it's worth, you owe nothing to the buyer - different if he was offering the full asking price!

I realise the OP posted a few weeks ago but I'm in a similar position with an estate agent acting for us, the sellers, and for our potential buyers in their sale to first time buyers. Have you resolved anything OP?

Our potential buyers have also said they want only our house & will take theirs off the market rather than buy a different house.

Our problem is, now that the potential buyers have had their survey done, they have reduced their offer by £18k. Who is the estate agent acting for now? Is he really trying to get us a fair price for our house or does he simply want us to accept a lower offer so that both sales go through & he gets both sets of fees?

I sent an email recently asking the agent quite clearly "Who is your client in these circumstances?" and he has not answered that question but just said "happy to discuss the survey when you're ready" and waffled about how we can do that on the phone or in person.

I just don't feel I can trust the agent but should I? Is this a common situation that crops up a lot & I should get over?

When we moved house we had the same estate agent as our seller, it really was helpful. The agent was very motivated

@Gotback we have had this exact situation with slightly less money. £18k is a lot! My husband accepted about £5k reduction in the end as a reduction.

in general here you have to do everything you can anyway as the estate agent wants the deal to go through. Say you need the survey and itemised quotes shared. And then consider what you want. Would you easily get another buyer? Can you afford a discount? Meeting in the middle is usual - we offered £15k off our purchase and there was some pushback for things they thought about doing, but there was £40k of work in the survey so in the end the £15k we proposed was accepted.

this is all so messy unfortunately.

This sounds like a situation that could drag on indefinitely. I would make it clear to the agent that you will be re-listing if your buyer hasn't secured an offer in another couple of weeks. He should take that info back to the buyer - and you will find out how serious they are pretty promptly. It sounds like you have decided you need to sell so better you take control.

@Gotbackyou can't rely on the EA to prioritise your sale at the best possible price, if they are acting for your buyer as well - too many vested interests imo.
Depending on what the survey threw up, it may be fair to reduce the price. But not necessarily and maybe not by 18K. It could be that if you re listed you could still get asking price from an alternative buyer or your original buyer (if dead set on your house specifically) is trying it on and would still pay.
None of us can tell you that because it all depends on the specifics, but the EA is not an impartial advisor - you need to do your own research re costs for fixing what the survey discovered and make the decision yourself.