Dodgy estate agent asking deal under the table

silvercar

lauranash wrote: »

Hi,
The agent is worried that the bank will not follow and value the property well below the achieved price, so their solution is to sell the house at asking price "officially" and then transfer the rest "privately" after the sale.

.....

PS: The house is a deal to fight for. Even at a higher price. But not one to get a criminal record for!

These two sentences contradict each other. Either the house is worth the extra money or it isn't.

But the agent wants a deal at asking price and the rest to be paid later (they have another potential buyer who accepted this).

Explained by this ^^^. Sounds like the agent has met a "soft" seller and wants to pocket ££££ money for himself.

Record the conversation and send it to one of the newspapers.

Alter_ego

Perfectly normal procedure in Greece and sometimes in Spain.

saabay

A very devious part of me says, go along with it but then don't pay them the extra money. The contract will state the base price so they'll have nothing to sue you on. Furthermore, a contract in respect of an illegal matter (mortgage fraud, tax fraud) is completely unenforceable.


You say "What extra money?". If you haven't taken the money then you haven't been involved in the fraud - that's a very loose interpretation of the law I suspect, but good for a laugh on the agent.

fairy_lights

I wonder if the vendor even knows about this, or if it's a scam the agent is running to pocket some extra cash. Is it the Agency in general that have suggested this scheme, or just one particular agent?

lauranash

I spent a couple of hours trying to get an app that records both voices but failed (I even had an it person to hep me). So no guarantee I'll succeed.

lauranash

I would love to take them at their own game and go ahead legally. Then tell them "what money? all is completed legally, look."
If didn't fear that they would burn my house down...

dinkylink

Alter_ego wrote: »

Perfectly normal procedure in Greece and sometimes in Spain.

No wonder they're in such a mess! :rotfl:

pjread

I actually would go along with completing at asking (heck, get them to drop it another 10% to "save" more if you can!) then stonewall them after completion

antrobus

Alter_ego wrote: »

Perfectly normal procedure in Greece and sometimes in Spain.

And Cuba.

Apparently.

lauranash

And China, and Africa, and Russia, and South America and most of Asia.
In fact, most of the world works that way. It doesn't make it the right thing to do...