Is this EA breaking the law?

Surrey_EA

As far as I can recall, there is no legal obligation on the part of the EA to keep all offers confidential, I have had a quick scan of the Estate Agents Act of 1979. However, this is an extract from The Property Ombudsman's code of practice:

"You must be fair and not misleading when disclosing the amount of any offers made to other prospective buyers. Before disclosing the amount of an offer, you must advise the seller of such intention and get his agreement; and you must warn all prospective buyers
who make offers that it is your practice to do so. If you do disclose any offer to one prospective buyer, then all offers must be immediately disclosed to all prospective buyers with a current interest in negotiations for the property."

Irrespective of that, I really cannot imagine any seller agreeing to a sale in line with the terms laid out in your email.

It's always a risk going shopping for a new property when you have yet to even begin marketing your existing one.

Put yourself in the seller's shoes for a minute, would you accept an offer given these terms?

AdrianC

You're about to put your house on the market, so it should be easy for you to consider this potential scenario...

Let's say you get a low offer, and reject it.
A while later, you get another offer for the same amount, from somebody who hasn't even put their own place on the market yet, who's about to go on holiday, and who doesn't even have a mortgage sorted out bar an initial "Yeh, you should be fine." from a broker. That offer demands you immediately stop all future viewings, put a SOLD board up, etc etc.

How would you regard that offer...?

Exactly.

DaftyDuck

The thing that would most tick me off as the vendor would be the attitude that, whilst you trot off on holiday for a week (and do sweet f.a. until your return), I have to immediately take my house off the market and remove the possibility of selling it right away.

I'm an experienced buyer & seller. I just sold the property I lived in, and a buy-to-let. One sale took a month from starting to market to completion, the other a whole five weeks. If I really wrote what I thought of your letter of offer, poor Martin would wear out the ! key as he deleted the expletives, his head would spin, and he would need earwax as lubricant... :money: as to where he was about to painfully shove his finger.... !

To be blunt, I would be glad not to do business with you!

-taff

Sunningdales wrote: »

We are also none too impressed by their sales techniques, and have received no further communication from the agent, but will leave those discussions for another thread.

Basically, you told them you're off on holiday, when you come back you'll spend a month or more fannying about, choosing an agent, waiting for a buyer, getting your mortgage sorted, but that you want this house taken off the market and sold to you at a lower price than the one the vendors want.....

What do yo think you would do if someone said that to you when you put your house up for sale?

jimbog

Sunningdales wrote: »

- We receive weekly updates on the progress of the sale

The first update would probably be 'buyer has gone on holiday and doesn't intend to do anything for the moment'

cajef

Sunningdales wrote: »

With all this in mind we offer £455,000 subject to the following conditions:
- All future and current viewings are cancelled
- The property is withdrawn from the open market immediately and we have exclusivity over it
- The Sold board goes up within 48 hours
- We receive weekly updates on the progress of the sale

Oh dear, do you really think a vendor would agree to those conditions when you have not even put your house on the market.

dodger1

Seems like a reasonable response from the EA.

Rambosmum

No, we've been told of other offers when considering properties, why would they be confidential?

You'll often find adverts for repossessed properties saying "the mortgagees have received an offer of xxx amount all other interested parties please submit your offers in writing by xxx date"

TBagpuss

I agree with the majority. Your expectation and your offer are both unrealistic.

The only issue I would have with the agent's e-mail would be their expectation that any buyer market their home through the same agents - although ti sounds as though they were speaking about someone who made an offer without having yet started marketing their own property.

From your e-mail, you don't come across as a serious buyer. You haven't even marketed your house, let alone found a buyer. You have not got an agreement on principal and your going away on holiday.

I'm slightly surprised that the agents gave you so much detail but there is nothing in their e-mail to suggest that they have done anything unlawful. If anything they have given you useful information about the amounts, and circumstances, in which you might be successful (Assuming, of course, you believe what they have said).

To be honest, if I were the vendor and the agents showed me your e-mail I would probably be telling them I wasn't interested in selling to you, as you come across as very demanding while at the same time unprepared and not knowing what you are doing. I think I's probably decide it was less hassle to sell to someone who had got their act together.

eddddy

TBagpuss wrote: »

...
To be honest, if I were the vendor and the agents showed me your e-mail I would probably be telling them I wasn't interested in selling to you, as you come across as very demanding while at the same time unprepared and not knowing what you are doing. I think I's probably decide it was less hassle to sell to someone who had got their act together.

TBH, this is why it's sometimes helpful to have a good EA acting as the 'middle-man'.

Many buyers and/or sellers have unrealistic expectations of each other. If buyers and sellers communicated directly, there may be more 'flaming rows' and failed sales.

In this case, I was quite impressed with the EA's measured email response to what was a rather unrealistic request.