Introduced through a terrible agent

[Deleted User]

I was introduced to a property back in February through an agent (let's call them Agent 1), and I put in an offer which was accepted. Shortly after that I was gazumped by a buyer through another agent (Agent 2), and Agent 1 failed to call me and tell me I had been gazumped. It was only when I called up the next day to check some details that they bothered to tell me. The vendor proceeded with the other buyer, and though the adverts for the place were never taken down (by either agent), they stopped accepted viewings so it seems it was effectively off the market.

After that I put in offers on a couple of other places through Agent 1 and they have messed me around constantly, failing to communicate when a sale has fallen through and generally being rude and dismissive. I have no desire to deal with Agent 1 ever again.

Subsequently, all the adverts for this original property have been renewed and it has gone on through a third agent. I'm wondering whether it would be acceptable for me to put in an offer through Agent 2 or now Agent 3, having originally viewed it through Agent 1. Obviously this would usually cause problems, but does the fact that it has been (seemingly) taken off the market in the meantime make a difference? Am I still bound to Agent 1?

Any help much appreciated - and apologies if this has been asked many times before...

propertyman

You can view and put in an offer through who you like. Agents act for the seller not you.
At this time it tempting to share your tale with the vendor and agent 2 or 3- don't just don't- just make your offer and get on with buying it..

The agent may have a claim for effective introduction and some commission but that is for them to find out and for them to deal with the vendors, not you. Telling anyone means that they may create imagined scenarios and choose another buyer instead of you.

Don't mention it to anyone- as far as you are concerned you lost out last time and are getting another chance.

[Deleted User]

Thanks. Interesting - it's the exact opposite advice I've had from others, who have said I should be up front about it. Also I suspect I could get caught it - if the vendor is there when I view it then they will probably recognise me.

Also if I am going to put in an offer I need to have quite a frank conversation with the vendor as I'm worried they will mess me around. Before I put in my last offer they had already had a buyer pull out because they were taking too long about finding a place to buy. Then they accepted my offer and I was gazumped. I don't know why the sale fell through this time round but I would need some kind of commitment from the vendor that they're not going to mess me around this time.

Lokolo

If they know that you have offered on this property before and lost out, they may think you are desperate for it and would pay over the odds.

The vendors or agents may play hard ball in trying to get more money out of you.

G_M

If you end up buying, whichever agent you 'go through', it is likely agent1 will send the vendor their bill. They introduced you to the property so did their job.

If you now 'go through' agent2 (or 3), they will also want to send a bill to the vendor.

Of course, that does not affect you - it is the vendor's problem to sort out, but you should make sure that agent2, and the vendors, know the full story from the start.

ValHaller

G_M wrote: »

.... Of course, that does not affect you - it is the vendor's problem to sort out, but you should make sure that agent2, and the vendors, know the full story from the start.

Although if the vendor is savvy, they will weight any bid from you with Agent 1's fee. And Agents 2 and 3 will work hard to throw you off if they know you have gone through Agent 1 previously - because they risk getting no fee if the property is sold to you

Ivana_Tinkle

I know it's easy to blame the agent, and they do sound like an idiot, but do you really want to buy from this vendor? They messed their first buyer around for so long that they pulled out, they accepted an offer from you, then they accepted a higher offer from someone else, and for some reason that sale has now fallen through too. It sounds like they've fallen out with two agents as well. Either there's something seriously wrong with the house or they've been consistently mucking people about.

What kind of "commitment" from the vendor would satisfy you? You're not going to get anything financial or anything binding - it's just going to be words.

[Deleted User]

Thanks for everyone's responses. What I'm wondering is, does Agent 1's entitlement to the fee end after a certain period of time, or if it has been taken off the market in the meantime, or under any other conditions, or is it totally open-ended?

Ivana - no, I definitely haven't decided that I do want to go ahead and deal with this vendor. I don't know what happened with the latest buyer but based on previous experience I'm not particularly inclined to trust them. I'm just trying to weigh up what my options are. There seems to be very little coming on the market at the moment in the area I'm looking in.

In terms of commitments from them, obviously you can't guard against every possibility but I'm told it possible to draw up a binding agreement through your solicitors which says that the buyer will take the place off the market and won't accept any other offers provided contracts are exchanged within a certain period of time. That was the kind of thing I had in mind. Clearly it would cost money to arrange, but would provide a certain level of security.

<sebb>

I'd be very careful about approaching another estate agent. As others have stated, the vendor may be liable for two sets of fees. While this is strictly not your problem, the vendor may decide that they are not willing to accept your offer because it will increase their costs, or expect you to pay more for it to offset these costs.

jamie11

jacobwilson8 wrote: »

I would make an offer through agent 2 or 3, as 1 clearly is being of no assistance to you at this time. You may miss out on more properties if you continue to rely on agent 1. We had a similar issue with a Boston property we were extremely interested in, and managed to get it all straightened out and land our dream home! Good luck!

Why do you bother Jacob, we're not in the colonies so we're not interested in your company. Do stop Spamming.

hazyjo

You might want to not quote - kinda defeats the object as the spammer stays on the thread...

Jx