can Estate agents fake 'buyers'???

[vannah]

we lost our buyer a couple of days ago, she changed her mind after a few weeks of dithering and not really doing anything after putting in an offer..
we had just found the perfect property 2 days ago, so were devastated, asked our agent if we could go multi-agent, to get another buyer asap they refused to allow it according to the contract we signed,

but within 20 mins they had organised another viewing (a couple who had seen our flat before) and the following morning an offer.
DH and I simply cannot believe this because when we asked what they were doing about continuing to market our property they said they had pretty much exhausted their 'list' a few weeks ago.

Is it possible that they can pull in friends to do this kind of thing? It seems absurd, but we dont really believe that an offer could come in less than 12 hours after one is withdrawn...our flat isnt that great!

any clues?
thanks

No reason it shouldnt' be just coincidence - the house we just bought was on the market for a year and then had two offers, one on the Friday and one on the Monday.

There is at least one London agency that is fairly notorious for this sort of thing. It does happen and I would be highly suspicious if the buyers do not contact your solicitor/set up a survey etc pretty sharpish.

Be proactive and ask the estate agents to provide the buyers' solicitor's details as your solicitor has already drawn up a lot of the paperwork on the basis of the last sale and send it over immediately. If they cannot provide this quickly, I would ask to see an offer in writing and say that, until you have one, you will be continuing to market the house. I would also think about giving written notice to the estate agency and, if no proof of the other offer emerges, complaining to the Ombudsman or NAEA.

I think the market is so dire an estate agent could be tempted but what would be the point in your situation? You were trapped by your contract anyway. It's not like this offer is the factor in keeping you with this agent. What would their motivation be?
They may just have made a bit more effort as they realized you had found your next home and it could go through quickly (i.e. quicker commission for them).
I would give them a short window to start paying for surveys etc but that is standard London practice anyway.
I would assume it probably is genuine.

thankyou all.
Lalalonglegs - thats all very useful. Will start off with your first suggestion saying our solicitor has already drawn up a lot of paperwork..then move on.
samjamsmum - thats exactly what dh and I were wondering ; what would be their point??
but its just the timescale - offer within hours...when theyve 'exhausted' their list?

The point is that estate agents think in the short term: they know that you are unhappy about the last offer falling through and are looking at other agencies so this way they can keep you tied in for a couple more weeks. They can play for time, drum up a bit more interest in your flat and then - when they have a few viewings lined up - mysteriously the offer will fall through but, hey! there are several people who might be interested.

I'm not saying that they are doing this but it does happen. It makes them look busy and successful and keeps you quiet - the same thought process that means they drag people who have no interest in your style of property and location around your home because the more viewings they have, the better it makes them look.

You could try getting a friend to phone up and say that she recently saw your house on their website and is it available. If they say yes, then you have your answer.

thats an excellent idea. Going to do it tomorrow morning! Well you have worded our thoughts really well lalalonglegs. That theyre keeping us quiet whilst lining up some more viewings...hmm.
thankyou

we sold our house last year and every time I expressed a willingness to consider multi agency, take it off the market for a while, we had loads of viewings arranged, all of which came to nothing. We had three offers that did not go to completion. The only time our agent really seemed to push the sale of our house was when she was pushing another house at us!

Of course, it may just be coincidence, I hope it goes well for you

Yeah, fingers crossed it's just coincidence and the sale goes through.

If I was being really cynical and in your shoes i'd wonder if the 2nd buyers are making a lower offer and you are feelign arm-twisted into accepting it?

If yes, then there is your motivation for making up the 1st buyers!

solicitors details have now been exchanged..we received a 'memorandum' with all the details from the estate agents the other day. Our solicitor has received details too.

But so far, no survery has been booked in. Its been 8 days since the offer was made/accepted.
They know our situation, that we are expecting fast action due to no action from our last buyer, but it doesnt seem to be prompting them to book a survey. So we remain suspicious.

Also, saw the couple (our 'buyers') walking along our road last night at about 8ish, they walked past dh and they looked the other way, pretending not to notice him. Odd. Not sure what to make of that...

I would be hassling the agents. Phone call after phone call. I really would. Although in fairness, 8 days to get their mortgage application in and a surveyor coming out might be pushing it a bit in these times. But phone the agents! Make a nuisance of yourself. They can find out what the position is with the mortgage company.

As for them walking past, maybe they are checking the area out in the evening?

Get onto those agents now!

I used to work for an EA - Not all lenders do a survey at the beginning of the mortgage process. 8 days is early into the process. Ask your EA to chain chase to see if the searches have been requested and call your solicitor to see if they have sent out the draft contracts. If drafts have been sent inform your EA so they can start pushing the buyer's solicitor.

Give a date that you want to exchange by if at all possible to you solicitor and EA so they both know you want a fast exchange. The fastest exchange I know of was 27 days - which was my house but it was empty and we weren't in a chain. It also helped that the solicitor was one of my mates from the school gate.

Communication is the key issue in fall throughs - keep calling and keeping everyone informed at every stage of the process and it makes it much smoother.

Speaking as a potential buyer - I would definitely be checking the area out after dark, so that isn't strange to me. I would also do all the cheap/free stuff to check before I got a survey done - they are so expensive! I know that it's worth it for a proper check of a property that we will spend a lot of money to get, but we certainly will have the survey done after we have satisfied ourselves that everything else is OK. At £800 to £900 a pop, we can't afford to have many surveys done without seriously eating into our budget.

many thanks, calling EA but theyre not returning my calls...
will check with solicitor but he is away for a week (at this crucial time of course) so I am dealing with a young girl there- not very helpful.

argh this is maddening!
thanks for the reassurances

vannah is this your original thread or did you post the same one on a different topic?
Just wondering because I know I'd posted on your thread but can't see it and can't think it would have been deleted...?
I came onto the thread again to see how you were getting on. Good luck.

thanks frankmustard, i also posted in legal- which is where you posted i think...

Ah right, thanks vannah - I couldn't find t'other thread....
sorry 'bout that!
Hope things go through ok for you.....