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! 😟

Did you instruct your solicitor to write a terse letter to them? Or just try to find out what was going on? I’d be intrigued to know what was said to provoke a reaction.

Is it the seller or seller’s solicitor spitting feathers?

I’d also be making it clear that your offer is now withdrawn.

If I’m honest? I think you’ve dodged a bullet.

Oh gosh please put some of it here because I'm DESPERATE to know how batshit she is. What legal action is this, exactly?

Sorry about your house. Hope you find something sane quickly.

Wait so she moved agents even though you were already in the chain? And now shes pissed off because you spoke to new EA? And she just wasnt going to tell you??? That is weird.....

And dying to know what letter said!

And I would be claiming whatever costs back, they have breached the contract. House insurance should cover it.

Legal action for contacting an estate agent?

She’s speaking out of her vestibule.

Legal action because you called to find out of the house you are buying has gone back on the market??

Deranged.
On the bright side, you've likely dodged a bullet.

Shes off her bloody rocker

Well she's a lunatic. Honestly what a way to behave. Definitely don't buy the house, you don't want your money in her pocket, nor do you want to deal with any further from this point on. Your dream house is out there - this is a nightmare house. Hope you find something amazing soon and hers stays on the market for a billion years or she sells at a loss...

Sorry to hear this, you must be so disappointed

I wish her a nightmare house sale that falls through at the last minute!

I’d call the agent back in the morning. Tell them exactly what’s going on and tell them to watch out. They may want to avoid…

Sorry but until they have exchanged there is no contract and the seller’s behaviour , whilst shitty and immoral, is not illegal.

Well i'd give it a shot anyway.

So glad I live in Scotland

Our solicitor is spitting feathers she is furious at the letter and says the other solicitor should have blocked it and ut makes him look unprofessional as it's all wrong/inaccurate

The other solicitor shrugged and said they were instructed to send it verbatim

We are the 3rd set of buyers....I think we know why now

I'd ask my solicitor if there's any way of pursuing them for costs through small claims court because surely this comes under fraudulent behaviour? They seemingly had no intention of selling to you.
I'd definitely forward a copy of that letter to their new and old EA and I would make a point of monitoring whether they ever try to put it on the market elsewhere and then advise their new agents to contact the old ones.
Estate Agents will spread the word amongst themselves locally, not to touch these 'sellers' with a 10 ft pole!

Could you report the other solicitor to their professional body?

Wow. I'm sorry that you've been caught up with this crazy woman and her totally unprofessional solicitor. I think you should definitely let the new EA know what has been going on.

Sorry to hear what has happened, OP! 💐 Do you know why the seller has done it? Did you put in a low offer, ask for additional things, or been taking a long time to do searches etc? It could also be that they are worried the chain will collapse for some reason. Just curious because I’ve never heard of this happening before! I hope you manage to find your dream home!

3rd set! Seems like they dont want to sell

There is no way I would be buying a house from that woman. She sounds unhinged.

Agreed I think you’ve dodged a bullet.

Had something similar but not quite the same and contacted the sellers solicitor myself with a rather scathing (but very polite) email pointing out all the various failings/bad behaviour of the seller.
Copied my solicitor in who thought they jolly well deserved it. The seller was apparently furious.
So was I at the amount of my time and money they had wasted.

If OP was their third set of buyers I seriously doubt it was anything she had done but even IF she had there was still no need for the sellers to do any of this, a simple phone call between solicitors or ea would have achieved the same result. Running off to another EA in the middle of a sale is batshit territory.

OP, I hope you find a better house soon.

Waste of time.

I don't see how she can stop you talking to an EA if you are trying to buy a house. And if you saw the house you thought you were buying in another EAs shop you would be sure to ask what's going on. She may well have fallen out with the original EA over the sale and moved to another one without saying anything, but she may find she still owes them fees.

This is why the house buying procedure needs a massive regulation body. It shouldn’t be allowed that sellers can mess around like this. Once a sale is agreed, it should be binding apart from exceptional circumstances.