Repossession Property & An Obstructive Estate Agent

pusscat

princeofpounds wrote: »

Pusscat is right, in a sense.

The agent is NOT regulated by the FSA. But they work for a bank that IS regulated by the FSA, so the threat here is that a dodgy EA can give the bank a liability for a regulatory investigation/penalty. That's why you can/should complain to the bank as well as the agent.

Their mortgage man might be regulated too, which is another lever if he gets too heavy.

Sorry, my post was not clear - I was trying to simplify a pretty complex process and in trying to do so I have posted something that could be read in 2 very different ways.

We are in agreement, just my post was not as clear and to the point :-)

Puss

LisaLou1982

DVardysShadow wrote: »

What is at issue is the obstacles to viewings put up by some agents. And the suspicion that some property developers/chancers/spivs are putting in a low offer, which they are safeguading by offering a backhander to the decision maker within the EA office.

Id love to know how many "developers/chancers/spivs" you know that are putting in these backhanders and how many agents you know that take them. I've never come across any. Neither have I ever been asked.

That is thoroughly scary. It means that there is no effective scrutiny of the overall process nor of the probity of individual sales. While you are trying to deflect criticism of the process, you have effectively admitted it is wide open to corruption. How do you figure that?!

The repossessed have probably made unwise financial choices. But if there is corruption and repo properties are being sold at less than market value, it is the repossessed who will be chased by the banks for the shortfall - or who will not receive any remaining surplus. It is not the banks being defrauded, it is individuals. If the banks are not monitoring the process, then they are facilitating the fraud .

At what point did i say that repossessed properties are sold below market value?!


Of course there is scrutiny and a duty to obtain the previous owner the best price. At the end of the day the bank still want to get back as much money as they can. Try speaking to the many agents who complain that the house prices of repos are too high due to the amount of debt outstanding on the house. Im sure many will be happy to enlighten you on that particular battle.

When a house is sent to the Repo company, the debts etc are established and the repo team have an amount that they want to achieve. If it were as simple and unregulated as you seem to think then all properties would be on for O/O £10,000 and they would accept the first offer.

DVardysShadow

LisaLou1982 wrote: »

What is at issue is the obstacles to viewings put up by some agents. And the suspicion that some property developers/chancers/spivs are putting in a low offer, which they are safeguading by offering a backhander to the decision maker within the EA office.

Id love to know how many "developers/chancers/spivs" you know that are putting in these backhanders and how many agents you know that take them. I've never come across any. Neither have I ever been asked.

That is thoroughly scary. It means that there is no effective scrutiny of the overall process nor of the probity of individual sales. While you are trying to deflect criticism of the process, you have effectively admitted it is wide open to corruption. How do you figure that?!

The repossessed have probably made unwise financial choices. But if there is corruption and repo properties are being sold at less than market value, it is the repossessed who will be chased by the banks for the shortfall - or who will not receive any remaining surplus. It is not the banks being defrauded, it is individuals. If the banks are not monitoring the process, then they are facilitating the fraud .

At what point did i say that repossessed properties are sold below market value?!


Of course there is scrutiny and a duty to obtain the previous owner the best price. At the end of the day the bank still want to get back as much money as they can. Try speaking to the many agents who complain that the house prices of repos are too high due to the amount of debt outstanding on the house. Im sure many will be happy to enlighten you on that particular battle.

When a house is sent to the Repo company, the debts etc are established and the repo team have an amount that they want to achieve. If it were as simple and unregulated as you seem to think then all properties would be on for O/O £10,000 and they would accept the first offer.

So why are so many people coming on here wanting to view repos and being knocked back by the agent????

In the last housing crash it was generally known that a portion of the repo market was being dealt with under the counter. I don't see what is different now.

The market is not transparent. You yourself said

Theres no point in writing to the bank like Timmyt says - this will get you nowhere as it is now not being dealt with by them. Im not entirely sure why you have such an issue with corporate agents Timmyt. They provide a massive amount of business to many people. Yourself included. I imagine many of your clients buy properties through corporate agents do they not?

You are declaring that the banks won't deal with individual would be purchasers. I can sort of understand that. But I also read it as you trying to put people off trying this route. Effectively, you are saying the market is not transparent and Agents are not open to meaningful scrutiny.

Perhaps what is needed is a website in the manner of Rightmove, where the repossessed advertise their repossessed properties and their contact details, so that anyone who is knocked back by an agent buying a repo can contact the repossessed owner who can then make representations to the bank. After all the repo'd owner will be chased for the shortfall, so they would have good reason to make sure that there were no under the counter deals.

tbaines71

jockosjungle wrote: »

I'm going to stick my neck out and make a guess, is it one of the countrywide chain?

How badly do you want this house, if others are interested chances are you are going to get muscled out anyway.

The FA is basically to force you to do a mortgage through them, that they can get you a better offer. You should not have to be credit checked.

If I were you, I'd forget about the house but consider seriously about making a formal complaint to the company in question

R

:T:T:T:T:T:T:T:T:T:T:T

Yes its Bairstow Eves Countrywide!!

tbaines71

Sorry I hadn't replied to this tread, but I have been extremely busy.

Anyway spoke to a regional area manager of Bairstow Eves on 12th July, he promised he would do something about it. He apparently called the office manager of the branch and she called me back. I told her her my offer which was £5000 more than the current offer. She told me that she would call Countrywide (the agent acting for Northern Rock) but couldn't promise anything. I had absolutely no confidence that my offer would even be put to the agent.

On 13th July She came back to me, and told me that countrywide had gone back to Northern Rock and NR had told them that they would go with the original offer as it was due to complete any day.

Today I decided to call Northern rock to see if they could confirm that they did receive my offer, they confirmed that they did but when looking on the system they could not understand why my offer had not been excepted, the lady seemed very surprised by this, it was like she was saying that I had retracted my offer!! She said she would have to make some enquires.

Anyway she called me back to advise me there is nothing that NR could do, as contracts have been exchanged today, ( I'm gutted) but she is going to investigate what happened, she has asked countrywide to get the full version of events from Bairstow Eves regarding my offer.

Once this investigation has been completed, I shall report BE to their regulators, I know this type of stuff must go on all the time, so their regulators may choose to do nothing at all.

Any further advice will be appreciated.

Bananamana

tbaines71 wrote: »

Sorry I hadn't replied to this tread, but I have been extremely busy.

Anyway spoke to a regional area manager of Bairstow Eves on 12th July, he promised he would do something about it. He apparently called the office manager of the branch and she called me back. I told her her my offer which was £5000 more than the current offer. She told me that she would call Countrywide (the agent acting for Northern Rock) but couldn't promise anything. I had absolutely no confidence that my offer would even be put to the agent.

On 13th July She came back to me, and told me that countrywide had gone back to Northern Rock and NR had told them that they would go with the original offer as it was due to complete any day.

Today I decided to call Northern rock to see if they could confirm that they did receive my offer, they confirmed that they did but when looking on the system they could not understand why my offer had not been excepted, the lady seemed very surprised by this, it was like she was saying that I had retracted my offer!! She said she would have to make some enquires.

Anyway she called me back to advise me there is nothing that NR could do, as contracts have been exchanged today, ( I'm gutted) but she is going to investigate what happened, she has asked countrywide to get the full version of events from Bairstow Eves regarding my offer.

Once this investigation has been completed, I shall report BE to their regulators, I know this type of stuff must go on all the time, so their regulators may choose to do nothing at all.

Any further advice will be appreciated.

If only they were properly regulated...

as a plus it may lose BE some repo business or make NR think twice next time

Trollfever

Id love to know how many "developers/chancers/spivs" you know that are putting in these backhanders and how many agents you know that take them. I've never come across any. Neither have I ever been asked.

Why do I get daily emails offering me repos at below RICS valuations?

DVardysShadow

LisaLou1982 wrote: »

Id love to know how many "developers/chancers/spivs" you know that are putting in these backhanders and how many agents you know that take them. I've never come across any. Neither have I ever been asked.

OK LisaLou, you think this market is honest? I think we have an indication here

tbaines71 wrote: »

Today I decided to call Northern rock to see if they could confirm that they did receive my offer, they confirmed that they did but when looking on the system they could not understand why my offer had not been excepted, the lady seemed very surprised by this, it was like she was saying that I had retracted my offer!! She said she would have to make some enquires.

Anyway she called me back to advise me there is nothing that NR could do, as contracts have been exchanged today, ( I'm gutted) but she is going to investigate what happened, she has asked countrywide to get the full version of events from Bairstow Eves regarding my offer.

tbaines, please do follow through with this. You have been cheated - the Agent appears almost certainly to have put your offer in and then withdrawn it for you. And the repo'd person will be chased for another £5000.

I think that there is enough here that the exchanged contract was fraudulent on the part of the buyer - and might possibly be reversible on those grounds. I think both NR and the repo'd person would have the standing to legally stop the sale if evidence can be found. Did you make your offer in writing?

I do hope you will follow through and hopefully be able to contact the repo'd person to let them know what has happened.

LisaLou1982 wrote: »

Some people on here dont half talk a load of carp.

...
Theres no point in writing to the bank like Timmyt says - this will get you nowhere as it is now not being dealt with by them. Im not entirely sure why you have such an issue with corporate agents Timmyt. They provide a massive amount of business to many people. Yourself included. I imagine many of your clients buy properties through corporate agents do they not?

Looks like there is very much a point in writing to the repo'ing lender. Hopefully this will cause NR to get more involved in the sale of repo's and take registrations of offers directly.

LisaLou, please don't call carp, it does not become one to both call carp and spout it.

tbaines71

My offer was verbal but NR have confirmed to me that my offer was received by them on the day I made it, but some how it was retracted by somebody I guess that was up to no good!!

Don't worry DVardysShadow I know I've lost out on the property but do not think for one minuet that I will not follow through with this. If NR decide to brush me under the carpet, I have already started to trace the lady who owned the property because as you and others have rightly said the former owner will be chased for the remaining £5000 as the property was on the market for £115,000 but sold for £110,000.

I was thinking the same thing about the exchange of contract being fraudulent, I will seek some legal advice to see where I stand. I guess I'll have to wait to hear what NR say first.

DVardysShadow

tbaines71 wrote: »

My offer was verbal but NR have confirmed to me that my offer was received by them on the day I made it, but some how it was retracted by somebody I guess that was up to no good!!

Don't worry DVardysShadow I know I've lost out on the property but do not think for one minuet that I will not follow through with this. If NR decide to brush me under the carpet, I have already started to trace the lady who owned the property because as you and others have rightly said the former owner will be chased for the remaining £5000 as the property was on the market for £115,000 but sold for £110,000.

I was thinking the same thing about the exchange of contract being fraudulent, I will seek some legal advice to see where I stand. I guess I'll have to wait to hear what NR say first.

On the exchange of contract, you have no standing to get the contract stopped because you have not lost out on something or some right which is yours - only NR or the original owner have that standing - you have ony lost out on a good deal which you don't have a right to.

Concerning being 'brushed under the carpet', I don't think that NR would actually want to do that - I think at a management level, they would be concerned about the integrity of the process to sell after repo. However, I can imagine that at a purely clerical level, there would be some reluctance to face up to any challenge orreview of individual repo cases.

The Agent may be a different kettle of fish - up to a very senior level they will be in a complete dilemma as to whether to acknowledge serious shortcomings or to cover them up. Assuming there was any impropriety, of course.

But your repo'd owner should be very interested. I wish you every success in locating her.