Really need help!!

Plutoisnotaplanet

Last week we thought it would be good to move to a house with a bigger garden; we'd forego our fourth bedroom in favour of a bigger garden. What I must add is that, internally, our house is absolutely amazing, top quality/spec throughout, every storage solution thought of and made by hand by my husband, who is a carpenter. The house was extended a few years ago, by us.

It was between two agents, both of whom valued our property. We chose agent A, and a day later this agent contacted us saying one of their vendors had just secured a sale and they liked the look of our house (done a drive-by) and wanted to come and view that day. He said I'd have to go up to his office to sign the contract before a viewing could take place, so off I went. The last thing I read in the contract was that there was a 7 day cooling off period. They came on Saturday afternoon and an hour later made a full asking price offer, which, in the heat of it all we obviously accepted. They are in a position to proceed really quickly.

We have looked sooooooo hard for a house in the price bracket we can afford (we can't afford to go up the ladder, hence we will happily lose a room for a bigger garden). There is nothing. Absolutely nothing. We have seen two houses twice, and tried to see how they can work for us, but they just can't.

We are now 3 days into the cooling off period. I read most of the contract but have to say we were chatting at the same time, and having read this forum I am concerned I may have missed a clause stating we would be liable for the estate agency fee if they introduced a willing/able buyer. I don't remember seeing one, and I do remember seeing that there is a 7 day cooling off period.

What I would like to know is, if we let the agent know in writing tomorrow, that we are pulling out because of lack of viable options for us, does the cooling off period apply to this clause if it applies? So they introduced a willing/able buyer who made an offer which was accepted, within the cooling off period. Two days later (today), the agent came out to take photos, particulars etc.

We really feel we need to pull out now, and that we have at the very best been foolish thinking that a bigger garden might compensate a not so nice house. This area is not bad - sports centre, country walks etc all on the doorstep, town a mile away and we have decent neighbours, it's quiet. The house, as I said, is amazing, spacious etc. The ONLY drawback is the garden (for a child), but there is a park a 2 minute walk away and it's surrounded by fields, and it has never been an issue to us before now - we just had this discussion where we thought it 'would be nice'.

I am scared we are now going to be liable for the 2.4k fee... we want to inform them now, before the potential buyer sorts surveyor or mortgage etc. We have been stupid, so please don't tell me what I already know, but I guess you don't really appreciate what you have until you start looking at the alternatives, and I know we'd regret it forever if we gave up our home...:(:(:(

Help please. Many thanks in advance. Also like to add, I have posted here before but not for a long time and for the life of me I could not remember by username etc. So I know you are all really helpful.

go_cat

Have you spoken to EA's locally to see if they have anything pending to go on their books which may fit your criteria ?

EDIT - have you not been given a copy of your contract if not you need to get a copy tomorrow

Plutoisnotaplanet

Hi,
No we don't have a copy of the contract!

I intend to give written notification tonight, with the 7 day cooling off period in mind, and before the buyers start getting the wheels in motion, so to speak. I just wondered whether, even if there is a clause in the contract stating that if they find us a buyer and we pull out we still pay the fee, because we are in the cooling off period, it wouldn't apply? I just thought the cooling off period is for a few reasons (high pressure selling I know being the main one), such as if you change your mind... and we changed our mind but unfortunately achieved an asking price offer before the agent had even put it on the market!! I'm so confused, worried, anxious.

All agents know what we are looking for; we've trawled all newspapers and websites. There's just nothing, and I think we've realised the garden actually is not that bad, and it's made us appreciate what a wonderful family home we have and that perhaps that is more important that outdoor space.

Thank you so much for your post. Sorry if there are typos, I am so anxious that I am shaking when I write this!!

ruggedtoast

So just to summarise that.

• You instructed an estate agent
• They introduced a buyer
• The buyer made an offer you accepted
• You now want to turn down the offer after all because you're not sure why you put your house on the market in the first place
• You are within a 7 day cooling off period for the EA contract

As long as you don't then go and sell to the buyer you should be ok, if you were to, the agent will chase you for the commission.

Even if you were in your commitment period for the contract they can't make you accept an offer, or have viewings, or do anything else other than stop you going to another agent.

This is why I always recommend when buying to give your potential vendors a light grilling as to where they are actually going. It saves you being mucked about by people who haven't found anywhere to go and are nowhere near to being ready to move out.

go_cat

If you can cancel you can just say there as been a change in personal circumstances which means you cannot continue with the sale

Plutoisnotaplanet

Thanks ruggedroast. Yes that's a fair summary of our situation.

Our vendors knew/know our situation... ie, nowhere to go. We had two houses to consider, but neither is actually suitable. Even if you do have somewhere to go I guess changing your mind is possible when you actually realise what you might be losing. Also, I think house buying/selling is difficult because it's hard to commit to looking for somewhere else and get your hopes up about somewhere when you haven't got yours for sale or sold. That's pretty much what our buyers did - sold theirs and then looked at a few houses on Saturday. It was between this and another and the finish of this place won it for them.

I do feel guilty, as I tried to get across in my post, but rather now, 3 days after the event, than next week, next month, in three months when it's all done. I just have this overwhelming gut feeling of regret and dread and a new appreciation for my home.

Skinto_7

I think ruggedtoast has nailed it. If you dont accept an offer then its more than likley that you wont have to pay any fee's regardless of fault etc.

Of course this will be defined by the contract you have signed, so i would suggest asking for a copy just to check you havent signed up to any unusual clauses that could cause you problems.

I know you feel guilty, however although it might not be great for the people who have made an offer on your home, and even the EA who has secured you a sale, you are doing the right thing and pulling out before it gets any further down the line, which would cause even more hassles to people or lead to you selling a house you done want to lose.

jjlandlord

IMHO, the estate agent would still have a reasonable claim to charge for the work they did re. marketing and conduct of viewing.

Plutoisnotaplanet

Thank you.

I suppose it depends what the contract says and how the cooling off period works, really.

However, just wanted to highlight that the agent hadn't actually done anything. We had only just decided to go with them and they made an appt to come out yesterday to take photos (which he still did as he has to by law), and they sold this person's house last week; she wanted a house of this stamp and so they sent her to look and she loved it and made an offer. So no marketing had been done, no particulars had been done, no boards up, no website/newspaper inclusions, nothing has been written/made up yet. My husband and I did laugh on Saturday that this could be the easiest 2.5k the agent has ever made!!!

I have asked them to scan across the contract as we can't get there today, and it hasn't arrived in the post, but they are yet to do that. Once they have, it will be clearer. I have asked a few people and opinions on the cooling off period seems to vary (ie, whether it would apply here).

Agents, like all businesses, work to their own ends, so I feel no guilt towards them. Any guilt I do feel would be towards the people who fell in love with it the moment they walked through the door, subsequently showing us what we are losing, and my husband and I have spoken of reimbursing them for any money they may have lost by instructing a solicitor to start working on it.

We are not at that stage yet, though. We are seeing house two again tonight, and really want to make it work for us. My husband was diagnosed with a severe form of arthritis at the age of 37, in October, so we really don't want to have to be doing work, but because of the home we currently live in, we do have higher expectations than perhaps we should have.

Plutoisnotaplanet

PS If they did want to charge for the viewing and coming out to take photos of the house, I'd be happy to pay that. It's a small price to pay for keeping our home if that's what we feel we now have to do (we didn't really realise how little choice there is - naive as well I suppose as this was our first home, he's lived here 13 years and I've been here 10 years). I wouldn't be happy to pay the 2.5k commission, though.

Plutoisnotaplanet

Just to update you all that at this stage, we have decided to proceed and have made an offer on another property, with a renewed enthusiasm for moving. It's just nerves I guess: this is the first time we have done this, and we have worked very hard to make this home what it is; seeing someone else appreciate it in the way they did (the way they fell in love with it the moment they walked in), just made me think it was the wrong thing to move.

The place we have offered on, is slightly smaller and has no garage (but a secure, electric-fitted shed of almost workshop proportions) but it has a huge garden which is the reason we are moving. It needs a lot of work, even to bring it up to a standard the average person would be happy with, and we wanted to avoid work, but my husband thinks we can get it up to standard without too much of his involvement. It's more in the country and is one of a row of only 6 houses on a country lane, surrounded by fields that can never be built on for one reason and another. So all in all it's going to be fine. This place is a 25 year old semi with no soul; the new place has fire places and is solid. So it's a going to work out I think.

Fingers crossed. Nothing formal has been arranged yet, but the new buyer wants to come measuring for furniture this afternoon!! It feels a little too pushy - this is still my home and I work from home, so things need to slow up a bit!!