Can you approach the vendor directly?

andyb_sv

Hi all,

We had a mortgage approved yesterday and had a few viewings of which one house we really liked. We are fist time buyers and the seller is an older gentleman who is moving into sheltered type accomodation so the chain would possibly be just the two of us.

He said yesterday that he has had a half offer (theyre undecided between his house and the on opposite) for the same as we would want ot offer but obviously we have no chain and can move to accomodate his timings.

I want to approach the gentleman directly to explain that we can time our moving to accomodate him as we're in no rush, we have no chain etc as I'm wary that the details could be lost if we do it through the EA.

I'm not thinking of bypassing the EA just a chat with him 1st then putting in a formal offer through the EA if fall goes well, is this allowed/acceptable?

Thanks,
Andy

m_13

We're buying from a couple in their mid-eighties at the moment who are moving into sheltered accommodation. They've got their interview to buy the sheltered accommodation (has to be approved by the scheme) on Monday.

Our sellers haven't sold or bought a house since 1992 and are quite frail. They are using an agent to sort everything out for them and to guide them through the process. We've made sure that everything we do goes through both the agents and then is confirmed to our solicitor. It's not that we don't trust either but want to make sure they both know what is going on. Your seller isn't an experienced seller if he's discussing other offers and telling you about other viewer's positions. How would you feel if he starts telling the next viewer about you!

I think at this early stage if you go to the seller and completely bypass the agent when they haven't done anything wrong will ostracise the agent when really you want them on your side! We were number nine in a chain and through being charming and amenable and really understanding the chain up to number seven (the people buying our buyer's house) have all exchanged and number seven is moving into rented until eight (our buyer), nine (us) and ten (our sellers) are all ready to complete. We're in a local triangle where we're selling through one agent, buying through another and our seller is selling through the same agent who is selling our buyer's property!

The older gentleman may not be the decision maker here, it could be his family. I'd make sure that you use the agent at this point. Try to build a relationship with a particular person there and get them to understand what a good position you are in.

paint

I'd put everything through the estate agent.

If you're unsure that all the factors will be explained to the vendor, then send the EA an email, briefly oulining your offer and circumstances, to follow up your phone call (or go in to the office and make the offer in person, with a letter of confirmation).

If I were a Vendor, I'd actually be quite irritated if a potential buyer approached me directly. After all, I'm paying the Estate Agent a fair whack so that I don't have to be bothered dealing directly with buyers, viewings and negotiations.

It's what they're there for, and it's in their interests to broker a deal and get the property sold as soon as possible, so they should pass all of the pertinent information on.

andyb_sv

Thanks for the quick replies, I'll put an offer in via the EA and follow it up in writing. The gentleman has been in the house for 42 years so definately isn't used to selling houses, its our 1st so neither are we!

m_13

We already had suspicions that our sellers didn't know what they were doing and they insisted on doing all viewings themselves. This is house number 11 for us so we're a little more experienced.

During the second viewing the lady was rabbiting on about the terrible burglary they'd had and how their wardrobe doors had been smashed off. Precisely why estate agents should do viewings!

Good luck with your offer. The waiting is horrible how ever many times you do it.

andyb_sv

m_13 wrote: »

During the second viewing the lady was rabbiting on about the terrible burglary they'd had and how their wardrobe doors had been smashed off. Precisely why estate agents should do viewings!
QUOTE]

This gentleman showed us around the house (with EA present) and told about what room he uses to sleep in, where he grows his runner beans etc! He's completely with it though, so nothing to worry about there.

80schild

Our buyers were introduced by the estate agents but the then approached us directly as they wanted to put in a very low offer and didn't want to offend us so wanted to explain the situation to us directly. That they were cash buyers and could move fast-exactly what we wanted. I did insist they put the offer in to the estate agents though as didn't want to get in any trouble with them. But yes I think its fine to approach the vendor. We exchanged numbers with our buyer and its making it much easier (unlike the prvious buyer who didn't even visit the house-just said he would have it from the pictures and then disappeared when it was time to exchange!

Davesnave

m_13 wrote: »

During the second viewing the lady was rabbiting on about the terrible burglary they'd had and how their wardrobe doors had been smashed off. Precisely why estate agents should do viewings!.

We had "Could you move your car forward another foot or two? The neighbour's a bit funny about things like that!" :rotfl: