Buying direct from vendor

CP26 · 5 September 2017 at 5:57PM

Hello, forgive me if this is a naive question but this is only the second time either of us have bought a property and the last time was a good number of years ago...

About 5 months ago we spotted a property we really liked the look of - ticked every box we had on paper. Unfortunately just as we rang up to view the vendor decided to take it off the market. We dont know why.

We have continued our search but nothing has really caught our eye and I keep thinking about the one we just missed.

I think we should pop a note through the door and try our luck, but I'm not sure how the selling process works if there is no estate agent on the vendors end. I assume it's not that much different, except it probably works out cheaper for the vendor? What happens if the vendor gets awkward after accepting for example, and there is nobody after their commission to weigh in?

Any pearls of wisdom?

AdrianC · 5 September 2017 at 6:00PM

If you found the place through the agent, and go on to buy it, then the agent will almost certainly be due their commission - after all, they did the job they were hired for...

CP26 · 5 September 2017 at 6:04PM

That is a possibility and I have no idea what type of contract they would have had with their EA or whether there would be an expiration date that would mean no commission would be due after a certain time off the market. Definitely worth keeping in mind though thank you!

ETA - just thought, I dont recall giving the EA any details when I rang up for the viewing - they went straight to the listing and then said that it was off the market. That was the end of the call I think. Not sure if that makes any difference whatsoever if there was a commision clause.

eddddy · 5 September 2017 at 9:10PM

CP26 wrote: »

That is a possibility and I have no idea what type of contract they would have had with their EA or whether there would be an expiration date that would mean no commission would be due after a certain time off the market.

If the EA introduced you - the EA can claim commission if you buy privately within 2 years (assuming the EA follows the Property Ombudsman's code of practice).

CP26 wrote: »

I dont recall giving the EA any details when I rang up for the viewing - they went straight to the listing and then said that it was off the market. That was the end of the call I think.

So that probably wouldn't count as an 'introduction' - especially if they didn't take your name.

eddddy · 5 September 2017 at 9:21PM

... And going back to the main question...

I recently watched a transaction with no EA fall apart because neither buyer or seller really understood what they had to do and how the process worked.

They ended up blaming each other for the lack of progress, and shouting at each other over the phone.

(FWIW, I think the problems started because the seller didn't qualify the buyer properly, and didn't realise that there was an incomplete chain below the buyer.)

But if both buyer are sensible, rational, knowledgable etc... hopefully it should be ok.

G_M · 5 September 2017 at 9:23PM

The process is exactly the same except that you discuss price, access for viewings/survey etc, renegotiation, dates etc with the vendor and cut out the Chinese whispers operated by an estate agent...

Pumpkim · 5 September 2017 at 9:38PM

We sold our last house direct. It was easy, once a price was agreed I instructed a solicitor and they did all the usual leg work. Didn't regret having no EA at any point. The EA for my current purchase hasn't been of any help in moving the sale on any quicker, she rings to ask if things are happening, I tell her they are or aren't and everything continues at the same pace as if she had never called at all. I'm sure she feels she's earning her fee by doing it though

CP26 · 5 September 2017 at 9:53PM

Thanks for the replies.

I am wary of doing it without an EA but its good to know that it can be successful if both parties work together well.

hazyjo · 6 September 2017 at 5:43PM

In a similar same boat. Wrote to the vendor a year or so ago and she agreed to get in touch when she was ready to sell. I told her to check her contract and she said she was okay to sell privately. Turns out the house she's buying is through the same agent and they want their fee which she's now had to find.

Trouble is, it seems you've not even looked at the property.

I would prob turn you down for that reason, but you never know. Luck may be on your side.

Cardinal-Red · 8 September 2017 at 3:04PM

We're in the middle of a no-EA purchase.
Going swimmingly so far. The vendors are great.

But at the same time, the house we bought back in 2005 the estate agents were worth their weight in gold (not least because we didn't pay them).

So I guess this is a long winded way of saying, it's more down to the seller and purchaser (and their solicitors) than the EA I think.

ReadingTim · 8 September 2017 at 5:13PM

There are a few reasons I can think of why they took the place off the market:

1 - change of circumstances means they're not looking to move at all
2 - couldn't find anywhere they liked/wanted to move to
3 - no-one offered them the sort of price they were looking for

By all means drop a note through the door but don't hold out too many hopes:

Reason 1 is self-explanatory
Reason 2 means they won't be in any hurry to proceed, which is a problem if you are
Reason 3 means they're unlikely to negotiate, so if you were thinking of making a offer much lower than the previous asking price, it's likely to fall on deaf ears.

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Buying direct from vendor

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