Pushy Estate Agent

[Alwaysannoye]

We had an offer accepted on a property mid July. The estate agents where not clear on if we could proceed with mortgage application etc to the point we emailed them on July 27th to see If there was any issues. They told us to start the process…
Since then we have had the EA aggressively chase us for updates. So far we have had a mortgage offered (they did a desktop survey) whilst we here on a two week holiday. We had the EA email every other day whilst we were away asking for progress when we told her we cannot physically sent documents we so do not have access to. As of today the solicitor has everything they need from us and have told the EA this. She emailed is to say the seller is frustrated the sale is not progressing and we need to chase the solicitor. I’m really annoyed, I think it’s really inprofessional. Do you think our time scales are really out? We have brought many houses before and never had this issue

How did you make an offer without already having an agreement in principle? Or am I missing something.

It seems you've been a bit slow off the mark here. What were you waiting for?

So you offered on a house with no mortgage offer in place and didn’t start any application until a couple of weeks after offer? No wonder they are chasing.

What do you mean the EA was not clear if you could proceed with mortgage application? Why did you need the all clear from them to start the process? It has nothing to do with them. If you waited weeks before applying g for a mortgage and then couldn’t progress anything because you were on holiday for two weeks you have delayed a month so I’m not surprised they are getting edgy.
Email the EA with clarity about timelines. You waited (not sure why) then were delayed due to a holiday but they have all documents now and things are progressing but only as of today. You estimate you will hear back in x weeks and you will keep them updated.

Surely you get the mortgage agreed in principle before making your offer? This avoids delays and enables you to get the ball rolling.

Sounds like you hadn't done that so I'm not surprised you are being chased.

Are you a first time buyer, OP?

Never forget that the EA is working for the sellers; your EA should be able to get updates from your solicitor or conveyencer - if they are crap (many of the cheap conveyancing houses are) then you need to chase. Often when the EA gets aggressive, it's because the legal side are slow and unhelpful (I generally have little sympathy for most EAs, but can see that this is a huge issue). Overcommunicate with the EA.

It's worth your while familiarising yourself with the process, and asking your solicitor to talk you through it. This is a simple guide:
https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/mortgages/buying-a-home-timeline/

If the EA has your solicitor's details, then they should be chasing them for the updates. I assume you had a mortgage in principle agreed before making your offer, so they knew you could afford to buy the house, otherwise I'm not sure why they would have accepted the offer?

Searches are the most time consuming part, so as long as the solicitor has ordered them early on, I don't see the issue. A mortgage application is almost certainly going to be fully approved weeks before all the searches come back, unless you have a complicated case or are buying an unusual property.

the EA told us because it was probate they needed to check something - it was not clear to is. We had to chase them due to silence for 2 weeks and we have email trails showing this. We already had a mortgage in principle, our solicitors onboarding pack wanted a mortgage offer. So we waited approx 2 weeks for the application and final offer. So the solicitor now has everything they need.

we have brought many houses and have never had constant emails chasing unrealistic timelines before (ie me telling her I am on holiday and won’t be back for a week then being chased again 2 days later when I am still abroad)

I would forward back the emails of you chasing them with no response and lay out the facts that:
— You said the sellers needed to check something relating to probate. As you did not advise how long this may take and given mortgage offers expire, we did not pursue one at that time.
-Per attached, we chased you numerous times so that we could progress the sale from our end without response.
-As soon as you confirmed to us we should proceed we started the ball rolling. Progress since this date has not been delayed from our end, our solicitor has everything they currently need

We have progressed quickly on our end as soon as we were given the go ahead from you. It would be appreciated if you could relay this to the seller and we will provide a further update when we have one.

May be a bit too direct for you, but I hate it when someone starts chasing me for a delay that they caused.

The fact it's probate probably changes things a bit. Highly likely that those selling want the sale to be fast so they aren't paying charges for the time it is unoccupied, and having to look after maintenance. They could be putting pressure on the agent.

I think they are in a rush - but this house has been on the market for 18 months because of the unrealistic price they expected. They even had an offer £30k more than ours they rejected; when they realised 8 months later with no other offers the person had already brought a house. This house is totally dilapidated - it basically needs to be knocked down

Very much sounds like a story that happens often. Because they were unrealistic on price, they are now in a more precarious financial situation. Explains why yhe agent has been so aggressive- they are being pressured by the vendors to oush the sale through.

As other have said, ask the agent to speak to your solicitor for updates. They are used to dealing with pushy agents.

In the meantime, you need to get cracking with everything that needs to be done to show you are serious.