First Time Buyer - help! Estate agents putting on pressure

cj087122

help needed!

My partner and I are buying a home for the first time. We found a house we love, put in an offer based which was accepted and are now in the final stages.

When we viewed the house it was tenanted and apparently managed by the estate agents. We put in the offer subject to the surveyor's report - this came back stating the house was priced accurately but he had not been provided with gas or electrical certification.

The estate agent has said gas certificate exists but is refusing to send it to us and yesterday we conducted our own electrical testing which has uncovered that the house is not earthed (making it unsafe to live in) and the fuse box needs to be replaced (electrics won't turn on). I fear the gas certificate, if it exists, may show similar faults.

The estate agent is now turning nasty and trying to strong-arm us into purchase - please can someone advise me of our rights? We don't want to lose the house nor do we want to buy a money pit. The pressure we're receiving from the agent is immense. :mad:



A side note, the vendor has completed the Law Society form incorrectly stating he, and only he, has lived there recently. I feel he is trying to hide that it was tenanted and gas / electric safety testing hasn't been conducted over the years.

cj087122

Thanks Jean_howard - I think we have been let down by the realtor . They are turning downright nasty and failing to answer our questions while trying to strong arm us.

Lungboy

We don't use Realtors in the UK, so spam?

DandelionPatrol

cj087122 wrote: »

Thanks Jean_howard - I think we have been let down by the realtor . They are turning downright nasty and failing to answer our questions while trying to strong arm us.

You have been mugged by and thanked a US based spammer. Realtors are a US institution.

Just tell the agent to leave you alone and to communicate via solicitors, and if they bother you again, you might pull out.

Just be really as blunt and firm with themas they are nasty to you.

Take your time, assemble the facts you need and make your own decision. And take the pressure as a negative fact. On the whole, I can see you pulling out of this. Donn't be afraid to do so. And when you look at the fees you would lose, don't let that sway you into buying. A large part of the buying fees are well spent if you find out enough to decide against the property.

cj087122

eeek, thanks both - can you tell I'm new to the forum.
Great advice, thank you. They have turned really nasty and become bullies, its horrid.
I feel the same re their pressure means they're hiding something - I think the underestimated the fact that we're first time buyers and wouldn't look into areas in detail. We have been promised time and again that they'd send gas reports which after over a month hasn't appeared. And now they're threatening to pull out and put the house back on the market to scare us. Its becoming clear that they're bullies and need the sale more than us - any other buyer would find these faults too

Lungboy

You're free to pull out of the purchase at any point up to exchange, so don't let them suggest otherwise.

edit to cover edits: set them a deadline to provide the required info and stick to it. Call their bluff on the relist and point out that if they don't provide the gas certs and anything else you require then they'll need to relist due to you walking away.

Dird

The vendors let you in to do an electric test? Work out a quote for repairs & say you want it off the agreed price.

Your solicitor should ask/demand the gas documents...he did it with me

jbainbridge

Never forget - the estate agent works for the vendor - not you!

They do not have to produce gas or electrical certificates for you. Though if it was rented out there should be a gas safety cert. You'd be wise to get that checked too.

If you are getting conflicting information from the vendor - like on the property information form - point it out to your solicitor. They should follow it up for you.

LEJC

To be honest a gas certificate probably wont give you that much indication over the state of the boiler or gas appliances in the house....if the property has been rented then there must have been a gas safety certificate issued in the past 12 months however it is not something that should be relied upon to give you a clear indication of a working boiler etc as its just a snapshot that confirms the appliances are safe.

With regard to the issue of your electrics ...do you have an indication of how much it will cost to rectify what has been discovered...if not get an estimate...this is the point that you can then see if moving forward with this house is a viable option or whether its best to steer clear...only you can make this decision based on the fact that you know how much you want the house,how much you have already spent in fees etc and how much its likely to cost you going forward..

Most house purchases can often be daunting and its always a reluef to find that things work but its also worth remembering that if you are buying an older property there will be upgrading thats needed to bring it in line with not only current practice but your own specifications....welcome to the world of home ownership,sometimes even the best houses become money pits but at least its your own.

Of course the estate agent will put pressure on you...he wants to sell the house and get commission,but if you are unhaappy to deal with them thats fine....you are at the point of solicitor to solicitor contact so apart from going to the estate agent to collect the keys to your new home you have little or no reason to communicate further with them....a polite "my Solicitor will contact you " will suffice

good luck with your purchase

ReadingTim

You have the right to walk away from the purchase at any point up to exchange of contracts. Anything more is a matter of negotiation between you and the vendor.

You can ask them for copies of documents, or even to have works undertaken; however, the vendor has no obligation to provide them, or get the work done. You may consider reducing your offer, but there's no guarantee the vendor will accept that reduction, therefore the sale could fall through. The agent works for the vendor not you.

Ultimately, any place is 'sold as seen'. Yes, you get searches, surveys etc done to ensure everything really is as it appears; but you, the purchaser ultimately has to decide what they want to pay based on the information given to them. Assuming the vendor agreed to take what you're offering, happy days. If not, either continue negotiating, or walk away.

If you don't want to lose the place, you'll stop asking for meaningless bits of paper, pay the price the vendor wants and get on with life.

If you don't want a money pit, you try and ascertain the cost of the likely remedial works to determine whether you can afford them, deduct the cost of those works from your previous offering price and see if that's acceptable to the vendor. If you can afford to continue, and the vendor's happy with the price then happy days. If not, walk away (assuming the vendor hasn't already told you to get lost).

However, what you cannot do is both have your cake and eat it.

Out,_Vile_Jelly

Gas and electrics aside, are you aware of the potential issues buying a tenanted property, and does your solicitor know that that it's not owner-occupied? You will not be able to complete without vacant posession. If the agents are already being difficult, you can assume they will lie to you about the tenants' departure.