Been 'dumped' by the seller of the house I'm buying

[KatyMac]

I just found the house I'm buying being re-marketed on RightMove by a different estate agent

A few weeks ago the seller's told us they had split from their estate agent but it wouldn't affect the sale - we have paid for searches, survey etc all going OK - a bit slow maybe, but houses aren't fast & the purchase depends on 2 sales (both progressing ok but i lost my first sale and had to get a new one, which I did within a week)

Then a friend said they saw 'my' house online and I checked - the estate agent didn't know it had an offer on it (or that it had been on before) & my solicitor is bemused and ringing round to find out what is going on

I think I've been dumped! 😟

Your not dumped yet but I think they are playing a game to see if they can get a better offer then you will be 😒

How long since yiu made the offer ?

it may be more they have lost faith in you as a buyer

It’s likely they’re fishing for a better offer - so are willing to proceed with you, but if they do get a better offer they’ll dump you.

You have to question whether you want to spend more time/energy/money on this one, the seller’s behavior is very poor and you’ll never know if they’re about to pull out.

In your shoes I’d say you’re pulling out entirely unless it’s removed from the market immediately.

How far apart is the amount you've offered and what it's being marketed for? It definitely sounds like they think you're still a risk of a collapsed chain (2 sales to fund the purchase will lengthen the time and increase risk that one will not complete.) It's not good behaviour - given the new EA didn't even know - they will just be thinking about themselves and how to ensure their new agent doesn't get a slice of the fees for their pending sale. Be careful, they're the kind of seller who will really screw you over if not watched like a hawk.

If it's under off it should be off the market.

Terrible behaviour from the seller. If the house is under offer which it must have been as you paid for searches then you need to let the seller know that you are pulling out immediately if not removed today from the market. I would actually be very tempted to pull out now and cut your losses. They sound like awful people to engage with. If you bought the house then they would have to pay their old estate agent their sellers fees as that agent is the one marketed it to you. I would also be very surprised if the new EA didnt know it had been on the market - they would know that info - it's part of their job. Obviously the new EA will be doing everything in their power to encourage the sellers to dump your offer too. You have to act and make a decision, you cannot accept this passively.

I’d be worried even if the sale did go through it might have a load of agro attached. Seller sounds a nightmare. As others have said, if the previous estate agent or their advertising was responsible for introducing you to the property and you complete, I think the seller would have to pay their commission. Or at least the original EA could make a claim. The new EA could find themselves in the middle of a right old mess too. Many years ago we missed out on a house because of the seller. They were messing around and we walked. Good job we did as over 10 years later, they’re still there so had no intention of moving.

Tell them you know and will.only proceed if they take it off the market!

Call them and let them know. They might not have been told

I do wish the whole process of house buying was made less stressful. It stops people moving. The horror of it all. I have had people lie during it.
Estate agents are not properly overseen either.

In Scotland I notice once an offer is accepted, that is it ( at least I think that is how it goes). No messing about. We could do worse than introduce that here. No lies. No nonsense.

To be fair, splitting from your EA as a sale is halfway through and saying it wont effect the purchase is utterly insane. If it was doable without any financial liability to original EA, we’d all be doing that and saving ourselves thousands. People usually only change EA when there’s absolutely no interest in a property via the first EA. Also as others have said, once offer is accepted , property is withdrawn from the market and acting EA purely acts within the conveyancing chain of communications.

What absolute areseholes. Sadly, I think you need to officially pull out. It's clear they are not to be trusted.

It is pretty much and initial survey is already done so you are not going in blind and then discovering theres rot in the timbers, damp in a wall hidden by furniture etc.....

Our solicitor can't get in touch with their solicitor

The new agent knows nothing and was i think shocked

We are looking again for our new home

Karma will catch them

Fingers crossed they can’t sell, then you can go back with a £k lower offer

One can but hope and I would do exactly that.

If they want to be shady then they get shady back.

I get that it likely isn’t personal and is merely for financial gain but if OP’s offer wasn’t enough then the seller should have turned it down.

What a pain for you. Hope you find something even better.

Perhaps the seller told the previous EA but it hasn’t been passed on ?

Why not make an offer with the new estate agent

Make a much lower offer and watch the stuff fly.

Perhaps and then the seller can pay two sets of fees if they have no other offers.

As they have a buyer with the old agents then they do realise they will have to pay BOTH agents fees when it sells don’t they?

Wow, that's awful! Hopefully the new EA can figure things out for you but I would also start looking elsewhere.

I can only assume the seller thought you weren’t going to proceed for some reason or have decided they weren’t happy with the price. Hopefully it gets sorted.

I would be tempted to go to their old estate agents & ask what's happening as we are the buyer & we have already started the process & what usually happens in this situation?

We had a really aggressive letter from them via their solicitor

She is spitting feathers and questioned the other solicitor about it and he said i was told to copy the words and send it

I do not think we will be buying this house

She threatened me with legal action if I spoke to her estate agent again!