Estate agent wont take house off website!!

longwalks1

Im in process of buying a house through an agent, and had survey done, searches completed, mortgage offer in place and draft contracts changing hands soon, and the other agent it was on with, still has it for sale on their own website, and also on rightmove! I've asked the seller to get them to remove it, and the other agent I'm buying through to chase them up as theres no need for it to be on there, but it still is!

How do i get them to take it down??

kingstreet

You don't.

They take instructions from their client, the vendor.

Ask the vendor to ask the agent to mark it SSTC until completion, then remove it.

longwalks1

kingstreet wrote: »

You don't.

They take instructions from their client, the vendor.

Ask the vendor to ask the agent to mark it SSTC until completion, then remove it.

Have asked the seller direct 3 or 4 times (know her as a person) and she says shes asked them everytime I ask her, are they holding out for a higher offer? Why else would they not be marking it SSTC?

kingstreet

No idea.

Get a friend to ring the agent and try to book a viewing. They should say the property is subject to an acceptable offer and all they can do is note your friend's interest until something changes.

If they say they can arrange a viewing, you know someone's up to no good.

topdaddy_2

Until its gone why would they take it down?

eddddy

britishboy wrote: »

Have asked the seller direct 3 or 4 times (know her as a person) and she says shes asked them everytime I ask her, are they holding out for a higher offer? Why else would they not be marking it SSTC?

I guess it could be any of the following:

- They're hoping for a higher offer, and that they can persuade the vendor to accept it instead of yours
- They want to get a back-up buyers ready to jump in, if your offer doesn't proceed
- They're using the advert as bait to get applicants, who they then direct to other properties


The only realistic route for getting it removed is for the vendor to forcefully tell the agent to remove it, and kick up a big fuss, if necessary. (That worked for me as a vendor recently!)

But perhaps the vendor doesn't think it's worth starting an argument with the EA over this.

DRP

topdaddy wrote: »

Until its gone why would they take it down?

Because that is the normal* and fair thing to do if everyone is playing nicely...

Shenanigans and silly !!!!!!y just tends to breed mistrust, slow the whole thing down and make things more unpleasant than necessary in my experience.

OP, if this is a big issue to you then you could explain things to the vendor and tell the EA you wont be spending any more money until the property goes SSTC on the websites.

*Unless there is some other reason and/or the vendor has stated from the start they won't be taking it off the market

specialboy

DRP wrote: »

Because that is the normal* and fair thing to do if everyone is playing nicely...

Shenanigans and silly !!!!!!y just tends to breed mistrust, slow the whole thing down and make things more unpleasant than necessary in my experience.

OP, if this is a big issue to you then you could explain things to the vendor and tell the EA you wont be spending any more money until the property goes SSTC on the websites.

*Unless there is some other reason and/or the vendor has stated from the start they won't be taking it off the market

Until contracts are exchanged the buyer can just walk away so that's why the estate agent will be leaving it up.

ABrass

specialboy wrote: »

Until contracts are exchanged the buyer can just walk away so that's why the estate agent will be leaving it up.

Or they leave it up to drive calls, in a semi respectable setting their response would be 'Oh i'm sorry that one's been offered on but we have some other properties available'. In a less polite sense it'd be 'there's an offer in but i'm sure if you made the right suggestion...'

DRP

specialboy wrote: »

Until contracts are exchanged the buyer can just walk away so that's why the estate agent will be leaving it up.

You are simply stating the obvious (the legal position).

In my experience, offers are made and accepted subject to the property coming off the market... subject to the exceptions in my prev post.

princeofpounds

It's quite normal for properties to stay up, marked as 'SSTC' or similar.

The reason being that it allows the agent to collect leads for potentially interested buyers in case the sale falls through.

Yes, it does open a window to gazumping, but that window always exists anyway. Even if off the website, an EA who wanted to invite a potential gazumper would show them around.

A common way to deal with this is to get a friend to make an enquiry about the property. If they tell them it is sold, but take details, then that is fine. If they offer to conduct viewings etc. then not so fine.