How long does it take an agent to take a property off the market?

bestace

Hi all,

I had an offer verbally accepted on Wednesday and I asked the agent if the seller would take the property off the market. He apparently agreed to this but the property is still up on Rightmove as well as the agent's website.

Should I be worried? I know there were others interested in the property, I'm wondering if the seller/agent are deliberately dragging their heels hoping for a competing offer. Do I have any right as a buyer to insist the property comes off the market now that my offer has been accepted?

oceanscape

bestace wrote: »

Do I have any right as a buyer to insist the property comes off the market now that my offer has been accepted?

No, you don't. The seller can continue to market the property right up until contracts have been exchanged.

nomoneytoday

There is no right, but if that's the agreement that you both make then it should only take the agent a short period to change the status

Have you instructed a survey, got Mortgage offer, got a solicitor in place to proceed?
That may be the key to removing the house from Rightmvoe?

Doshwaster

In my offer letter I said that I required that marketing stopped immediately. The agent removed it from their shop window and their website that day, from Rightmove the following day and the Sold (subject to contract) sign went up within a few days. I was happy with that.

Riq

They wont do it, they may agree and say yes we'll do it, but they wont until they are sure it's going through, often at exchange stage.

spook

The property we're buying was marked as 'under offer' on the agent's site and RM after about 24 hours. Our property was marked as "sold STC" after about the same time.

I would go back to them and ask why it's still on the market. Point out that it was a condition of your offer that the property be removed from the market.

BlueC

Depends on the agent and the situation. The agent we bought from recently refused to put it "Sold STC" until they were very confident that we were proceeding with the purchase - i.e. after survey and full mortgage offer. However, they did refuse to allow other viewing or offers to be put forward as soon as our offer was accepted - but they still marketed it and took names of any interested parties.

If the EA knows you are in a good position to proceed and are a serious buyer, and the vendor is happy with the price, then there is nothing in it for the EA to allow another party to interrupt the process - they may lose a good buyer.

Pottymouth_2

It should not take long (a day) to change the status on the propoerty to "sold STC" and they should do this if you have it as a condition. If you are worried that they are still marketing the property and taking viewins, then get a friend to phone the agent and say they'd like to see the property - and see how the estate agents handle the call...

Good luck with the housebuying - exciting time!

phoebe1989seb

On the house we are selling, the 'sold' sign went up the very next day after we had accepted the offer, but even though we exchanged contracts on Friday, they haven't altered the RM listing or their own website to reflect this......it's not even marked as 'sstc'. I assume they're using the advert to lure prospective buyers to their other properties

superbabe612

When I last bought a house (in 1999, just before the boom) the estate agent refused to put the sold sign up until contracts were exchanged.
When I was looking to buy a house in 2011 I saw one that was 'under offer' (literally the same day as I'd seen it 'for sale') and when I phoned the estate agent I was told I couldn't view it. A couple of days later it was 'sold' and after another week it became 'available' again.
In the meantime I found another house I liked, and when I had my offer accepted 2 weeks ago, the estate agent's website marked the house as 'sold' within a day and on Rightmove the following day. The 'sold' sign was up outside the house after another couple of days.

I think in today's market estate agents want to show other vendors that they are selling houses!

BabyBoots

I know this can be an anxious time for you.The agent won't be in too much of a hurry to change the status, unless it's worth a "SSTC in 24 hrs!" brag on their adverts.

Rather than get a friend to enquire about the particular house you are buying (which may indicate there's more interest and the seller could do better than your offer), I would suggest havinga friend enquire about similar properties, e.g. x beds in price range y to z, that part of town, and see if that property is mentioned.