Do I have any rights here

camhav

Hi, I posted a couple of months back regarding a repossession that I had been trying to purchase in Scotland but owned by bank in England.

We had all sorts of problem over a period of 8/9 weeks whereby the bank refused to accept or decline our offer on the property and ultimately upon receipt of a marginally higher offer than ours a couple of weeks ago advised the estate agent marketing the property that they would no longer be selling the house and would do the work themselves (allegedly!!).

We had sold our house at knock down price to move quickly on this (our decision I know), and then had to move into rented accommodation with short term lease while they were still making up their mind.

Having been dealt the blow they were no longer prepared to sell the property, we were then given a £460 bill from our lawyer for the calls he had made re this transaction.

The final straw came yesterday when the estate agent left a message on my phone saying that they have now sold it after all to the higher bidder!! I had intimated to the estate agent we would be able to go higher so it is really annoying that he did not give us the opportunity to do so - I don't even know if this is legal.

In essence I believe they contravened several statutory obligations;-

Marketed property without home report for several weeks

Upon home report being done wouldn't allow us to see it (or agent) for several weeks and when they did it did not have the value of property.

Refused to disclose value of survey

Most annoyingly led us to incur costs on a house that they then advised they were not prepared to sell

Can anyone advise if I have any recourse at all on any above points

Thanks

theartfullodger

Please let us know how the court case goes & what the Sheriff says.

Probably best to try & make sure you don't sound whiny & whinging in front of him..

Cheers!

Lodger

SplanK

i very much doubt it in England - there is no legally binding contract untill Exchange of contracts so its always a bit of a "gamble" as to what could happen before then - what ever action you take, or monies paid for services (such as solicitors) are on your own head untill Exchange

the seller could have even said yes to both buyers and let them "race" it out so who ever exchanges first wins - does not happen that often, but ive seen a few posts on here about it!

DVardysShadow

In essence I believe they contravened several statutory obligations;-

• Marketed property without home report for several weeks
• Upon home report being done wouldn't allow us to see it (or agent) for several weeks and when they did it did not have the value of property.
• Refused to disclose value of survey
• Most annoyingly led us to incur costs on a house that they then advised they were not prepared to sell

Can anyone advise if I have any recourse at all on any above points

Although marketing without a home report [= HIP?] is not right, ultimately you did see it. As for disclosing the 'value', is this a requirement? Even if it is, it looks like a useless piece of information, because the value is what the highest bidder will pay. [On that definition, they have not got full value]

The only angle on this which has any mileage is that the bank has a duty to obtain the best price for the property. They can and will pursue the former borrower for the difference, if the sale does not cover the mortgage and costs, and must pay over any surplus.

So, by not seeking a higher offer, they are defrauding the former owner. If it has not gone to contract [missives?], it might be worth going back with an increased offer in writing? And certainly, if you are ignored after that, it would be only right to let the former owner know, as they will be the loser from this.

googler

DVardysShadow wrote: »

Although marketing without a home report [= HIP?] is not right, ultimately you did see it. As for disclosing the 'value', is this a requirement? Even if it is, it looks like a useless piece of information, because the value is what the highest bidder will pay. [On that definition, they have not got full value]

Marketing without a Home Report is an offence, punishable with a fine for the marketing agent if found guilty. Trading Standards may be interested.

The Home Report, once available, must be complete; and an HR without a mortgage valuation from the surveyor carrying out the report is incomplete; again, trading standards may be interested. Disclosing this 'value' is most definitely a requirement.

camhav

Thanks for taking time with responses -think just feeling bit annoyed that we have been acting in good faith and feels as though just shafted at end of road, that plus being out of pocket- wouldn't have minded so much if they had played fair & square. Might bang off a letter to them re my out of pocket expenses & suggest I may involve trading standards - nothing ventured and all that! Thanks again