Estate agents threats - what to believe?

bethl79

We had an offer accepted on a house on 13th September, everything seemed to be fine until last tuesday when our vendors EA rang us to say the vendors at the top of the chain (the people our vendors are buying from) are threatening to pull out and out their house back on the market, as things are not progressing quickly enough.

I am veering from being worried sick that it will all fall through (as EA is implying) to being angry that they are putting so much pressure on us - I have had at least one (some days several) email and/or telephone call from them almost every day for the past week.

One of the issues they say is that their solicitors have been trying to get hold of our conveyancers but are unable to do so - this seems odd to me given that we are able to get hold of them immediately by telephone and we receive prompt replies to any emails we send. Also, our conveyancer has said that they haven't had any emails or messages from the other solicitors.

I thought our sale was well on track personally, it is almost 7 weeks since offer accepted but we have everything in place including mortgage offer, survey, most searches, draft contracts are signed. The only thing we are waiting for is the local authority search (due back this week hopefully) and the responses to the last lot of enquiries (sent last Friday).

Am I wrong in thinking we are progressing fairly normally? Is this slow compared to others?

Also, surely putting their house back on the market would slow their sale considerably so this doesn't seem right to me?

G_M

Ignore.

Politely refer the EA to your solicitors who are actingon your behalf and have been instructed to proceed.

EAs are notorious for lying, pushing, blaming... He probably has a personal target deadline to hit (15 properties Exchanged Contracts by end of the month) in order to get the Employee of the Month award and a fat bonus cheque, so he's hassling everyone in the same way!

moneyistooshorttomention

What you could do perhaps is tell the EA concerned that you want 2 updates per week (say 1 on Monday and 1 on Thursday) IF there is anything to update you with.

Otherwise, tell them not to bother you as you are busy "getting on with your life" and do not like being hassled.

Or, alternatively, tell them to contact you only when there is something you can physically DO (eg sign a contract), but that getting you to hassle other people in the chain doesn't count as actually "doing" anything in your book and you refuse to do so.

DaftyDuck

Also, our conveyancer has said that they haven't had any emails or messages from the other solicitors.

At seven weeks in, that would concern me.... Given the detail you have given, it sounds pretty nigh impossible...

Although I am no great supporter of estate agents, one has to wonder why they are throwing their toys out of their pram... It may just be to placate their client, it may be because they perceive the progress as slow... it most likely is because they are arrogant and ignorant.

However much one might despise an E.A., one must generally placate them. However, if the solicitors are cracking on with the progress, a poor E.A. is much more a hindrance than a help.

cayennepepper

Could have written that myself! We have no chain, are 6 weeks into buying and due to exchange next week yet the EA is still calling me daily to put pressure on us and telling me that the Vendors have someone else lined up and if we don't hurry up we'll lose the house. Yeah, right, as if starting from scratch would be quicker!

I told them to stop harassing me as there is nothing else for me to do, and to take a chill pill and relax. They got the message

hazyjo

Get in first. After a couple of annoying emails from the EAs I bought through, I started emailing them every day with updates. Even if it was that I had nothing to report and that I'd chased whoever.

It kept them off my back, they knew I was actively (and proactively) dealing with the purchase (and my sale), and they did say "I wish all our purchasers were as informative as you".

The vendor bent over backwards too. Accommodated pretty much every request/date, etc.

Jx

bethl79

Thanks for all your responses. I have received yet another email from the estate agents today - I feel like it's verging on harassment now. I have taken your advice and have forwarded it to my solicitor to let them deal with it and am going to try and relax and enjoy the half term with my girls!

paddedjohn

Tell the estate agent that if he keeps hassling you then you may consider breaking the chain until you feel less stressed, he will soon stop.

bethl79

paddedjohn wrote: »

Tell the estate agent that if he keeps hassling you then you may consider breaking the chain until you feel less stressed, he will soon stop.

I have considered doing this, but as my husband is currently commuting daily to his new job we are hoping to be in the property sooner rather than later. So as much as I want to turn the tables and start hassling them, I don't feel I can in case it prolongs things any further!

Prothet_of_Doom

Lets get this straight. This is a 3 person chain, (you say the vendors at the top of the chain, the people who are selling their house to the people who currently trying to sell their house to you?)

I dare you to ask the Estate Agent for a Project Plan.
A list of all the things the 3 solicitors need to do, when they plan to do them.
If they did it on Microsoft Project and put the correct child parent task precedents, on to it, you would know exactly who was waiting for who, and who was sitting on tasks.
They won't do it. Solicitors and Estate agents like to use smoke and mirrors as it makes them seem important, and they never chase anything, or anyone. Basically, they have an inbox and an outbox.
All things are prioritised on the basis of when it came into the inbox.
The touch time of the solicitor and his staff actually working on the documents in about 1/2 day (a day at best) but somehow, it gets to sit in the pile for 10 weeks. Occassionally it gets picked up, they work on it for 10 mins, request some info from the seller, and it goes into the WIP pile. The sellers solicitor gets the request, puts it in the inbox and it sits there until it gets to the top, they work on it for 10 mins, send the info, put it back in the WIP pile, and so it goes on a documents waiting to be worked on merrigoround.

I also dare you to ask for the vendors vendors, contact details, so you can explain to them that as far as you are concerned the ball is all with them and the person in the middle.

Yorkie1

bethl79 wrote: »

One of the issues they say is that their solicitors have been trying to get hold of our conveyancers but are unable to do so - this seems odd to me given that we are able to get hold of them immediately by telephone and we receive prompt replies to any emails we send. Also, our conveyancer has said that they haven't had any emails or messages from the other solicitors.

Do the sellers' solicitors definitely have the correct contact details for your solicitors?