Please help (estate agent issue)

dantheram

Im trying to place an offer on a house i've not viewed which is currently 'under offer'.

the estate agent has to pass on my offer but they wont accept it as i have not viewed the house, they are saying this is the law.

Is it law that you must view a property before bidding?

Please help,

thanks

Dan

nomoneytoday

Why not view it - should only take 5 mins to walk around it

McKneff

Because there is always the likelyhood of you changing your mind, which is fair enough.

Unless your hundreds of miles away, why cant you view itl

haras_nosirrah

it is probably if a sale is going through they don't want to disrupt a sale with someone else to replace with you when you may go and look at it and decide you don't like it.

dantheram

ive been round and viewed it from the outside (its empty)

the estate agent wont let me view it but have said they will ask the seller to consider letting me view it.

they have also told me its illegal to bid on a house without viewing it.

betmunch

Load of rubbish, you can offer on it what you want when you want. whether or not the offer is accepted is up to the vendor.

However, they may have had instructions from the Vendor not to accept any further offers, in which case you are stuck.

No real need to make rubbish up about the law though, muppets!

dantheram

thats exactly what i thought, ive checked the law.

how can i work round them, if they say they will ask the vendor i feel they wont.

i just want to make an offer and thats it!

betmunch

I think you need to write to them with your offer.

If you feel it hasnt been passed on you should contact the NAEA, assuming they are a member, or any other faux regulators they pay lip service to. Also report them to your local trading standards office as they might be interested.

No guarentees anything will work as they are unregulated. If you are lucky one of the EA that posts here will spot this thread and advise you better

DVardysShadow

Agree with the above. Polite letter through the door to the vendor advising that the agent has refused a viewing and has refused to take an offer - and please get in touch - give a phone number. Don't get involved in describing Agent's muppetry or in expressing any feeling about it - it may work against you if the Agent is doing as told - but leaving it neutral might give you a look in if there is an opportunity.

hazyjo

Do you know how much the other offer is for?

When you say 'empty', what is the position of the vendors? (eg moved away, deceased, probate...).

You'll probably find a fair number of sellers would decline your offer on principle/loyalty to their current buyer. I certainly wouldn't let you view unless the current sale fell through, and I wouldn't accept another offer, even if higher. Karma would probably come and bit me on the rear!

If it was a repo, that's another matter entirely...

Jx

peahenrose

I thought it was the law that estate agents HAD to pass on offers to the vendor (though I'm not sure that's the case if the property is under offer).