Estate Agent Duties - Buyers perspective?

wheldcj

We sold our property back in August after many months on the market and quickly found a lovely house. After a short period of haggling our offer was accepted. HOORAY

Like most sellers at the moment you are desperate to keep your buyer happy so we were eager to ensure our vendors found a property quickly and the chain wasn't too long.

Our estate agent told us on 14th September that not only had our seller had an offer accepted on a house but that this house has had no chain, RESULT! So over the last month or so we have been tootling around setting up homebuyers surveys etc etc.

Then last week when we re-engaged with the vendors estate agent regarding some quotes we wanted to arrange for post homebuyers report building work, after much pushing they admitted that the vendor hadn't had an offer accepted and neither had they had a mortgage agreed (the two may have come hand in hand).

For various reasons including the above we are now faced with a decision to either wait for our vendor to decide whether they rent or buy somewhere else or cut our losses and look elsewhere. In the meantime we face our buyer getting fed up and losing our sale.

Now I know the estate agent represents the buyer and not us but I wondered at what point, if ever, the estate agent should reveal material facts to us as I argue that had we known pre-survey that they were a flakey seller we would have pulled out.

Help..

maninthestreet

The EA works for the seller, not the buyer.

wheldcj

Thanks. I know that the EA works for the seller I just wondered to what point the EA could conceal information to the buyer before it was unethical. i.e. I work as an insurance broker and we are an agent of the insured but we would still be required to disclose material facts to the other party i.e. the insurer.

Fire_Fox

There is no contractual relationship between you and the estate agent. Did you ask these questions in writing and the estate agent mislead you in writing? Did the vendor mislead the estate agent or the estate agent deliberately lie to you? Why can't you move into rented if your purchase doesn't work out?

A big loophole with estate agents is a huge amount is done verbally, how would you go about proving whether there is or is not another offer on the table or what position they intimated the other party to be in? If you have questions or conditions of the sale put them into writing.

wheldcj

We are in a good position in that our sale, our purchase and the alleged offer by our purchaser are all with the same agent so information and misinformation has come from various sources.

I agree however that proving it is another thing given all of this is verbal. I know at the end of the day it is not worth fighting and it is more of matter of interest (and future dealings) as to how much an estate agent can mislead a buyer.

As far renting, big redemption penalty I am afraid, although preferable than losing our buyer.

G_M

Unless you have something in writing and can prove the agent knew it to be false at the time writing, I'm afraid you have little come back.

Now I know the estate agent represents the buyer and not us but I wondered
....

hence maninthestreet in post 2 above!

our purchase and the alleged offer by our purchaser are all with the same agent
so information and misinformation has come from various sources.

seems a bit counter-intuitive!

Fire_Fox

I don't understand.

maninthestreet

wheldcj wrote: »

We are in a good position in that our sale, our purchase and the alleged offer by our purchaser are all with the same agent so information and misinformation has come from various sources.

As far renting, big redemption penalty I am afraid, although preferable than losing our buyer.

So there is only one estate agent involved, used by both you and your vendor and you are not even sure your buyer's offer is genuine now?

mystic_trev

maninthestreet wrote: »

The EA works for the seller, not the buyer.

Common misconception, they're a Liaison for both Parties.

With most properties I've bought the EA has actually worked in my favour (the buyer) It's amazing the effect of being a cash buyer has, when putting in an offer. From being 'no way will we accept that' from the seller to 'I really think you ought to consider the offer carefully' from the EA. All they're interested in is getting a quick sale and their commission, end of story.

G_M

mystic_trev wrote: »

Common misconception, they're a Liaison for both Parties.

NOT a misconception. There are two clues:

1) they are called estate agents. ie they are agents working on behalf of someone.

2) they are paid for their services. By one party. The seller. With whom they have a contract.

wheldcj

Thanks all. When I said we had the same estate agent what I should have said is that we are using the same chain of estate agents and our office manager (i..e our agent) is able to obtain different information from his other branch than we get when talking directly to the selling EA.

I accept that without anything in writing we have little or no chance of providing any deliberate misrepresentation by the selling EA. Even if we could then it would not be worth fighting. My initial questions was a general one really just for my own educuation.

Ta,