Estate agent is a b*****

A_Nice_Englishman

ali137 wrote: »

Thanks Homer J i think i will make a complaint to the ombudsman. To tell the truth i think i will not go for the flat anymore as i am really p**** off.

The link that Homer J gave was for the National Association of Estate Agents which is basically there to represent the interests of its members. The Ombusdman for Estate Agents is independent and his Code of Practice is here You will need to exhaust the estate agent's internal complaints procedure before you can refer the matter to the Ombudsman.

I would suggest you read the Code of Practice and decide exactly how you think the estate agent has broken it, then discuss this with the Ombudsman's office before making your formal complaint to the agent. This is what I did when I was in dispute with my estate agent. I found the OEA very helpful and got a reasonably satisfacory result from my complaint.

joapet

At the end of the day you have no hard proof that this man actually said 'yes' to the offer of 158. He could have easily changed his mind and said no. Old people are always hard to deal with - they are just annoying and can be easily led on.

Also, why is the estate agent marketing the property at 170 if the guy will take 158?

macaque_2

ali137 wrote: »

Sorry about the tile of this thread.

I viewed a 2 bed ground floor flat today and the asking price was £170,000. I waited outside the house patiently for the estate agent to turn up but he came late, so before he turned up the house owner (75 year old man) insisted i came and saw the house. The estate agent then turned up and found me in the house talking to the house owner and he looked p***** off as i did not wait for him so he could show the property and talk crap basically.

After i finished looking at the property i waited for the estate agent to leave and i secured an offer with the house owner for the price of £158,000. The house owner told me to make an offer with the estate agent and when he gets asked he would say yes to the offer of £158,000.

The estate agent came back to me and lied and said that the owner did not accept my offer. I phoned the house owner and he said that he told the estate agent that he accepted the offer i made, but the estate agent was persistently telling him he could get a higher price. the vendor told me that he is scared that as he is in contract with the estate agent he thinks the agent will sue him, i don't have a clue what the hell the house owner is talking about. Thats his house he can sell it for 1p if he wants.

Can some tell me please when you sell a house what are the conditions on a contract with an estate agent???

What should i do?????

It seems to me like the estate agent has all the power over the owner of a house.

By the way i offered £158,000 because the owner had stared som refurbishment on the house but has not completed it.

sorry about the long thread i am really p*** off the the estate agent.:mad::mad::mad:

I can't make my mind up who the real villian is in this story. Is the agent telling fibs? Is the owner being devious? Or are you the villian for trying to chisel an old man (75) out of his home with a predatory offer.

ivavoucher

macaque wrote: »

I can't make my mind up who the real villian is in this story. Is the agent telling fibs? Is the owner being devious? Or are you the villian for trying to chisel an old man (75) out of his home with a predatory offer.

I was thinking the exact same thing.

I know from experience that estate agents (the ones I have dealt with recently) are prone to telling porkies and I would hope the OP treads carefully with the vendor who might just be too timid to handle this situation.

silvercar

Put your offer in writing to the estate agent copied to the seller and noted as so in the letter. You will soon find out who is telling the truth.

chris83_2

ali137 wrote: »

Sorry about the tile of this thread.

I viewed a 2 bed ground floor flat today and the asking price was £170,000. I waited outside the house patiently for the estate agent to turn up but he came late, so before he turned up the house owner (75 year old man) insisted i came and saw the house. The estate agent then turned up and found me in the house talking to the house owner and he looked p***** off as i did not wait for him so he could show the property and talk crap basically.

After i finished looking at the property i waited for the estate agent to leave and i secured an offer with the house owner for the price of £158,000. The house owner told me to make an offer with the estate agent and when he gets asked he would say yes to the offer of £158,000.

The estate agent came back to me and lied and said that the owner did not accept my offer. I phoned the house owner and he said that he told the estate agent that he accepted the offer i made, but the estate agent was persistently telling him he could get a higher price. the vendor told me that he is scared that as he is in contract with the estate agent he thinks the agent will sue him, i don't have a clue what the hell the house owner is talking about. Thats his house he can sell it for 1p if he wants.

Can some tell me please when you sell a house what are the conditions on a contract with an estate agent???

What should i do?????

It seems to me like the estate agent has all the power over the owner of a house.

By the way i offered £158,000 because the owner had stared som refurbishment on the house but has not completed it.

sorry about the long thread i am really p*** off the the estate agent.:mad::mad::mad:

I'm also finding it difficult to understand the situation. I think you need to try and empathise with the seller and estate agent. Older people very often don't realise how much houses are worth nowadays (I know that my grandparents can't believe how expensive houses are now), so i think the EA just wants to get the best price for them. All the fibs are just part and parcel of selling a house as it's such an awkward process.

If it was your father or grandfather selling his house and you heard there was a guy using tactics (when the EA wasn't present) to get the house for a knocked down price you would be pretty !!!!ed off. You would expect the EA to try and get more money off the buyer.

Whenever i read these stories i always wonder what the story would be if the seller or estate agent told their side. I imagine most people would then be siding against Ali137.

Melissa177

Arrange to meet the seller at the EA's office together.

PJD

BrixMorta wrote: »

It's precisely this sort of ignorance that fuels the negativity towards EA's. In this instance they are trying to protect their client from a bullying potential buyer. Sellers often find it very difficult dealing face to face with people and often say yes in this type of instance to keep up a harmonious atmosphere.

In this instance there is a good chance you are correct, I would say in 99% of all other instances the negativity towards EAs is 100% justified.

RabbitMad

Picture this:

You are an estate agent. You've been marketting a house for 170K assuming you'll achieve about 165K and you get an offer of 158K. You put it to the vendor and he accepts it.

Your commission at 1.5% is £2,370, but if you persuade the vendor to hold out for 165K you'll get £2,475 a whole £105 more.

Would you really try to persuade the vendor not to accept it, or lie to the buyer for the posibility of making an extra £100? Bearing in mind that to make that £100 you have to put in lots more effort, more marketing costs etc.

SUESMITH_2

when we bought our house the ea wouldnt even put the offer to them, just kept saying not acceptable (already posted full details on another thread) when they hadnt even asked the vendors - when they did ask them we negotiated and then bought the house