Estate agents are bullying us! HELP!

eastlondongal

Hello everyone, I'm wondering if anyone can advise:

My boyfriend and I are in the process of buying our first place and we're now at the stage where we're ready to exchange contracts. We went to see the solicitor today and signed all the papers and I'm going to transfer the deposit and legal fees by CHAPS tomorrow.
According to the solicitor, we'll exchange this week. We have agreed on a completion date just after Easter.

Now the vendor's Estate Agents have been hassling us every single day for the past two weeks, trying to get us to complete sooner (i.e. before the tax year ends!).

Today they told us that the vendors wanted to exchange AND complete this week - which is way too soon for us because we have to give notice on our rented flat!
Basically they told us that the vendors might put the flat back on the market and increase the price by £25K!!! We're in London but I doubt the flat would have gone up by THIS much in the last couple of months!!

I know that the EA just want their commission and want to put pressure on us, but I'm soooo worried and panicky that we might lose the flat. what can I do???

sleepymans

Firstly - dont panic or allow yourselves to be bullied.
If the vendor put the place on the market again it would take a lot longer to complete the sale than it will with you able to complete in a couple of weeks.
Its a buyers market.

I dont know if the end of f/y is relevant to the sellor or to the agent?

If its so the Agent gets better sales figures then have a word with the vendor and say their agents are behaving unacceptably and putting you off.

If its the vendors then just completely ignore the agents calls and just carry on in your own timeframe. If you have to speak to them just patronise them saying you'll do what you can but are in the hands of your solicitors....

Hang on in there - your nearly there.

Any vendor pulling out at this stage would be insane!!

All the best of luck

Voyager2002

How much would you lose by completing in this tax year?

Work out a figure, double it, then tell the vendor that you could only complete early if they were able to cover the costs that this would impose on you. And give them your (doubled) figure. If it is really so important for them to sell this tax year, then let them have it their way but ensure that you cover your own costs and get a slice of the action as well.

courtjester

Agreed. Sounds like pointless hollow threats made for no reasonable purpose. If they had an issue with completion prior to the tax date, they should have advised you earlier.

Try advising the agents that you would be happy to meet their 'clients request' and exchange and complete this week, but the price would have to be £25k less... :cool:

eastlondongal

thank you so much for your quick replies!

I don't really know why the EA is so keen getting this pushed through to be honest, as it was the vendors who were dragging their heels (our offer was accepted in November!). The vendor's solicitor took a long time to reply to all the queries as well.

It seems the EAs are just trying to play a game with us! I suppose the vendors aren't even aware that their EAs have been ringing us every single day, and are incredibly rude to us.

Earlier they actually said I shouldn't transfer the deposit by CHAPS because it's too slow?! I thought CHAPS was the quickest way!

I'll be so glad once all this malarkey is over!

many thanks again for your opinions!

benood

You need to be flexible in a chain if you can be, but the sellers need to let you understand why it is so important that they move pre Easter - generally tax would make no difference but there are circumstances where it might.

If you are going to lose out monetarily then ask for a contribution but try to keep an even head at this stage which is the most nerve racking phase (we were once gazumped on the day of exchange!)

nollag2006

Contrary to what an earlier poster says, in large swathes of London and the SE there is a vibrant sellers market.

How much do you want this flat ? How much would it hurt you to lose it?

Are you prepared to move out of your flat early, even if you have to a portion of a month’s rent?

Have you spoken with your own landlord to see if he might release you from your lease early ?

Its very easy to antagonise vendors in the London market - so be careful of throwing ultimatums back at them

danm

could it be the EA want's it in before the end of their tax year??

not sure what tax advantage they would gain, but you never know

Nenen

I LOVE Voyagers idea of getting them to contribute towards your early moving costs and I definitely think you should try and find out whether it is the vendor or the EA who is actually pushing for this. How about doing as Voyager suggests and then offering to comlpete next Tuesday (2 days before end of tax year)?

nollag2006

eastlondongal wrote: »

...our offer was accepted in November...

Crikey !! What ever you do, don't lose this one !

The London market has moved hugely over the past 5 months, so you may find yourself paying a lot more for a similar property if you wait until after the end of the tax year.

It might be that the vendor has more than one investment property that he’s trying to sell, and so wants to make the most of their CGT allowance in the current tax year.
If you defer until next year , I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see the asking price rise by £4k (the tax due).

courtjester

End of year sales targets - which sounds like exactly what this is about. It is the agent negotiator that wants the sale to go through before 5 April to maximise his or her bonus.

It would definitely be worth speaking calmly to the vendor directly to try and understand what is actually going on.

If it is the agent that is causing all the fuss all of a sudden, you can stop worrying as their targets are irrelevant to you or the vendor. And just because they are not working for you, you don't have to put up with any rudeness from an agent. If you get this, tell them you want to complain about their attitude to the branch manager and /or further up the branch chain.

You are entitled politeness in business transactions.