Is this usual? Buyer wants to do painting/tiling before exchange etc

jjlandlord

Thrugelmir wrote: »

It's not what you are employing them to do.

It is, actually.

moneyistooshorttomention

Pinto2013 wrote: »

Good question about personal interest.

The buyer is a letting agent (who is building a portfolio of his own properties to let) so they sort of work in the same field I suppose....

It is a smallish town so they would probably have known of each other even if they hadn't met......

This is turning out to be such an unpleasant business.

I am thinking about trying an online marketing site and selling it myself (but using a lawyer to do the conveyancing).

I might make mistakes I suppose but at least I know I would be on my side!

When you say "smallish" town, I am wondering just how small. I am thinking of the town I am in now and can see that the size of the place = a lot of people knowing each other on the one hand. On the other hand, firms (of any description) are sometimes noticeably worse standard than I am used to and I guess get away with it because they don't have a lot of competitors and many people here don't know what a "normal" standard of service is like and so aren't mentally comparing with what they are used to.

I do compare with what I am used to and "them's the standards" as far as I can manage.

Having said that, I very probably wouldn't use any of the mere handful of estate agents here to sell a house for me, as they are all dire and I cant believe the level of service they (don't) provide. Actually, I would probably use the same estate agent I did to sell my last house for me (though that EA was local to me there and is now way outside the area). I'd ask if I could have a bit of a discount for having to show my own viewers around (they did so last time) and generally not having them in the same area, but I'd go to them again if it came to it. In this day and age of everyone looks on RightMove anyway, then I cant see any reason not to use an out-of-area one.

moneyistooshorttomention

I'd sack the solicitor too in your position.

I say that, having found that the solicitor I used to buy my current house turned out to be a legal executive instead.

I'm sure there are some good legal executives around, but I didn't get one of them and I can see, in hindsight, that there were things she should have clearly queried and then explained to me and she didn't. I'm still sorting out the resultant mess. If she had investigated/explained a couple of things properly (rather than the way she actually did) then my vendor would have been instructed to "sort the mess out" first before I exchanged contracts.

Pixie5740

Pinto2013 wrote: »

Thanks.

Alas, neither my estate agent nor my solicitor seem to see it as a problem! My solicitor isn't actually advising me against it at all.

Yet EVERYONE else I have talked to sees huge pitfalls of many different kinds.

I think maybe they are both (agent and lawyer) going to get the sack.

.

I think sacking the pair of them might be a good idea. After the way the EA has behaved I'm not surprised you've lost confidence in them. I wonder if his "cash buyer" really did submit the best offer.

Tell the agent, "Thanks for all the fish, you're fired," or whatever it says in your contract with them about how to terminate said contract, and re-market the property elsewhere.

moneyistooshorttomention

The next point here is obviously just how to sack the EA without any financial comeback. That stuff they tend to put in their contract about having "found a ready and willing buyer" or whatever the exact wording is....

The EA definitely needs sacking, no question about it, but its how to do it in the circumstances without that EA presenting a bill for a buyer that turned out to be rather less than "ready".

kingstreet

FWIW surveyors aren't remotely interested in decor.

They will be looking for a working toilet and washbasin in the bathroom, a worktop and sink in a kitchen and that's about it.

Otherwise, a property with an untiled bathroom wouldn't be mortgageable?

needabed

There is some mortgage rules that say places without kitchen/bathroom can't be mortgaged.

All depends how cheap your area is as you can only sell to a cash buyer.

Perhaps the buyer could get a personal loan, buy your place, use the money to make the place mortgageable and then get a mortgage.

Pinto2013

kingstreet wrote: »

FWIW surveyors aren't remotely interested in decor.

They will be looking for a working toilet and washbasin in the bathroom, a worktop and sink in a kitchen and that's about it.

Otherwise, a property with an untiled bathroom wouldn't be mortgageable?

Interesting.

Still working bath, basin and toilet in bathroom and working sink in kitchen + base units. (Upper ones removed so that plaster which is now dry but had been damaged by leak from flat above could be sorted.) All this clearly visible on inspection by layperson and explained by me to ea.

Thanks for that

Pinto2013

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

The next point here is obviously just how to sack the EA without any financial comeback. That stuff they tend to put in their contract about having "found a ready and willing buyer" or whatever the exact wording is....

The EA definitely needs sacking, no question about it, but its how to do it in the circumstances without that EA presenting a bill for a buyer that turned out to be rather less than "ready".

Hi. I have re-read the ea contract. After 8 weeks (which is up) either party can give 14 days written notice. Payment seems to be on exchange (hadn't spotted that before - thought it was on completion- how naive can you be?) and would be payable if I or any other agent progresses to exchange with a 'buyer' introduced by this ea. At least I think that is what is says.....

Have just discover the 'solicitor' is a conveyancer. I hadn't checked as when I asked for a recommendation for a solicitor it was that person's name I was given. I gather conveyancers can be brilliant but so far this one seems vague and is only interested in the top line and not the detail which is the bit I really want him for!

Pinto2013

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

I'd sack the solicitor too in your position.

I say that, having found that the solicitor I used to buy my current house turned out to be a legal executive instead.

I'm sure there are some good legal executives around, but I didn't get one of them and I can see, in hindsight, that there were things she should have clearly queried and then explained to me and she didn't. I'm still sorting out the resultant mess. If she had investigated/explained a couple of things properly (rather than the way she actually did) then my vendor would have been instructed to "sort the mess out" first before I exchanged contracts.

right - now to read the terms and condition etc armed with the knowledge I have now (thanks all) and see how easily I can sack him.