Help - Expert advice needed re: lazy, uncontactable vendors!

astroming

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jamie304

I would have paid for the survey myself, and done the repairs after completion, negotiating a suitable discount on the selling price. I would have thought it would be much quicker and easier that way.

jooles5a

Hi
The sad fact is that, although the EA is earning a fee, you always seem to have to do the leg work yourself. This could be due to them being so arrogant in believing that every single one of their properties will sell with or without you, I don't know.
I would ring the EA and explain that, given the lack of progress to date that hasn't required you badgering the life out of them, you are reluctant to hand in your notice. Ask them what sort of assurances they can give you and, ultimately, are they prepared to find you temporary accommodation if the worst happens. I'd explain that you don't want to be worried about becoming homeless whilst on holiday and you would rather look on the 2 week break as a chance for themselves and the vendor to further matters along to the point where you can employ a solicitor. If they can do that, then they won't also have your solicitor constantly on the phone, chasing up their lack of progress. If you can afford it, tell them you would rather have an overlap of a few weeks with mortgage and rent than a blinking great gap !!! As a finishing touch, I'd even consider going round to the vendors to discuss - you never know, they might be just as hacked off with things and the EA could be saying it's down to you !!!

Good Luck

Ems*Honie

I would have instructed a sol by now myself, as they can then deal with these things and get your searches done, what if something turns up on one of those that then causes a delay, which could have sorted at the same time as the currant delays?

Work needed doing on the house we're buying and we were told its hard to get exchange when the vendor is doing the work because they could just pay a mate a fiver to do it and it may not be sound. I would go with Jamie304, its exactly what we have done

mandi

Personally I wouldnt advise you to give notice until you have exchanged contracts..

How about exchanging contracts, with a completion date 4 weeks later.. This gives you time to give notice to your landlord, and means you will not incur any extra costs..




Mandi

mandi

jamie304 wrote:

I would have paid for the survey myself, and done the repairs after completion, negotiating a suitable discount on the selling price. I would have thought it would be much quicker and easier that way.

Problem with that Jamie is that there would more than likely have been a retention on the OP s mortgage offer, making it difficult to buy unless they had the spare cash

Mandi

xela_17

If you instruct your solicitor in 2 weeks then I would be very very surprised if you were ready to exchange by the end of Sept. I would say it would more likely be the mid to end of Oct. If you want to shave off time, then isntruct now. If you're more interested in reassurances to do with building work, then wait. However, you also have no guarantee that the EA/vendor will have moved anything along by the time you get back from hols so...it's a toss up, I'm afraid.

astroming

Thanks everyone, i have decided to wait until i get back off my holiday, i would rather have assurances than rush things along.

Im not in that much of a hurry that i'd forgoe standards, i want to see the reports and the building work.

Now i can go on my holiday knowing that hopefully when i get things may have moved on........a little bit!

I appreciate your help.

natwill_3

astroming wrote:

This is kind of a long one, but im at the end of my tether and dont know where else to turn for advice.

Im a first time buyer renting at the moment. Saw a few houses and then one me and my boyf liked so we put an offer in which was accepted that day. £99,000 against their £102,000 asking price.

The couple seemed really nice and genuine, young with two children one of which was due to start primary school in sept.

So that was a saturday, put the offer in and was accepted so on the monday i ring up the estate agents to ask them to ask the vendor for exclusivity etc and take it off the market as we were keen to get the ball rolling in regrds to survey etc.

Anyway the vendor is uncontactable for a week, they have either unplugged their phone or not paid the bill.

Meanwhile the EA is saying to me get your survey and mortgage application in so they think you are serious, and im thinking, but they obviosuly arent serious as theyve not been answering their phone!

Anyway, the EA sends a letter to them which obvioulsy they get and respond by saying they will take it off the market which is obvisouly a relief for me.

Apparently their phone wasnt working for some inexplicable reason and the mobile number the EA had was the vendors old one, hmmm....

Anyway, survey carried out, valuation says maybe signs of subsidence/settlement and damp, cannot proceed until its verified by a structural engineer, so luckily the EA knows one and they carry out the survey on the part of the house that the settlement is supposed to have occured, ie the front left corner.

The survey report lands on the EA desk and cannot be sent to me to send on to my mortgage company until the vendors have paid for it, but unluckily for us their phone isnt working again and they cannot get in touch with them to tell them they need to come in and pay for it so it can be released to me.

Eventually i get mad and send a letter to the vendors saying the report is there (in a nice way) and so they get that and go in to pay it (not on the day they said they would tho....)

So the survey and says its not settlement the bricks have fallen above the door (the archway) and its dropped so it looks like settlement, but its an easy job, they need to be taken out, replaced and repointed.

So, the EA says to me that the vendor says he will get a brickie in to give hm a quote for the work and will get the work carried out and he will get the damp people who did the damp proof course for them 9 years ago in to see what damage has occured - the HB report said that the floors are springy which may mean that the samp has rotted them.


So, every week i have chase up the EA asking what is going on, i get the same answer for 3 weeks, the bricklayer didnt turn up and they are getting the damp people in to look at it,........eventually the EA tells me they have had a quote (finally) but he's going to get another one to make sure......and the damp people have been in and will send their report in which will in turn get sent to us to send on the the mortgage company again.

So, its been 8 weeks since the offer and 5 weeks since the report saying what work should be carried out.

Apparently the vendors were grumbling saying they shouldnt have to pay for the structural survey and the repairs (even tho they said they would) then the EA told me the work would only be carried out between exchange and completion, then the EA said last week that the vendor was going to get the work done before exchange no........well i havent even instructed my solicitor yet due to the delays, im not going to spend more money when the house repairs might throw a spanner in the works.

And, the EA seems to think we could complete by the end of sept (how!) so wants me to hand my notice into my landlord next week giving one months notice so it will all move swiftly for the vendors! Im going on hol now for two weeks and do not want to come back having handed my notice in to find its all fallen through and have no where to live!

With their uncontactable-ness, their delay in getting the building quotes done, saying they wanted to exchange asap which quite clearly they dont as they ahve dragged their feet through all the way and the fact that if this falls though i only have 3 weeks left to get another valuation done on the Northern Rock pay half the fees towards it deal if the second survey is carried out within 3 months of the first one im beginning to think i should look for somewhere else.

Please can anyone advise whether how they are behaving is normal and i have to put up with it or whether i should jump ship.

I hardly know anything about this house buying lark.

Im about to go on holiday and am seriously thinking of telling the EA that when i come back i want there to have been serious work done or we are outta there.

The fact is, im sick of ringing, i ring ever week, the EA never rings me to let me know what is going on and im tired of being the one to chase.

Help please!

Do not trust EA and do not give notice on where you are living until you have exchanged...now I will read the rest of this thread!!

clairehi

Why havent you got a solicitor yet? If I was your vendor I would not do anything until you had a solicitor. I dont think their estate agent are doing their job if they have let you proceed this far without one.

robwend

i would be well !!!!!! if you was my buyer, you seem very distrustin which inturn will leave your buyers wondering about your comintment<just my opinion though> dont all eat me:D