Estate agent says seller will take house off market if no offer

blueskyrooftop

Hi all,

I put my house on the market last week and have been viewing a few possible houses in the meantime to get the lie of the land, whilst being upfront with sellers and estate agents that I'm not yet in a position to proceed.

I had a phone call from Fox and Sons this morning regarding a house I saw last week that I really liked (rarely available large garden) but is on at OIEO my upper limit IF I sell my house for my asking price. The chap said that the owners are getting fed up having had no offers after almost two months and are threatening to take the house off the market and sell in a couple of years time. He basically asked me to make an offer without being able to proceed.

For those of you with an insight into estate agent wheelings and dealings... what was going on here? Is this a Fox and Sons tactic to get people moving? Placate the owners?

I would definitely be interested in putting in an offer, but would feel really uncomfortable offering when I have no idea how long it's going to take to sell my own house. Surely they'd keep the house on the market and potentially go with another buyer who was able to proceed immediately?

If the chap is telling the truth and they do take the place off the market, surely that might be an opportunity to contact the sellers directly with a cheeky offer once my place has sold? Or would I still have to go via Fox and Sons?

All advice gratefully received. Thanks in advance!

G_M

It is perfectly possble that the agent simply wants to encourage offers from people who have expressed interest. That is, after all, the only way they can earn their commission.

If you were to wait till the property were removed from the market, and then approach the owners direct, it is likely that they would still have to pay the EA the commission fee.

Depending on the contract agreed between EA and owner, if the EA was instrumentantal in introducing the buyer to the property and a sale resulted within 6 months, commission would probobly be payable. And since you viewed the property via the EA, they clearly introduced you.

Oh, and btw, EAs routinely monitor sales of properties removed from their agency, and look up the ultimate buyers' names via the Land Registry......

eddddy

I can see many possibilities, including...

- What the EA says is completely true - and your 'weak' offer is better than no offer at all.

or perhaps...

- The EA is setting you up as a pawn in a bidding war. i.e they will use your offer to persuade somebody else to offer more.


Assuming you viewed the property via this EA, their contract probably states that their commission is due from the seller, if you buy the property privately within the next 2 years.

sheff6107

So the seller wants to sell his house so much he is considering taking it off the market?

How does that work exactly?

Ignore the estate agent and put in an offer when you're ready to proceed. If it is off taken off the market, just knock on his door and make the offer. The relationship between him and his agent is his business.

Bonfire_Bride

Definitely a ploy by a desperate EA to sell the house.


Our house took 19 months to sell and NOT at the original asking price. I wouldnt offer if you are not in position


....a land of broken promises awaits.

Hoploz

The seller won't accept an offer from someone not proceedable. There's really no point offering at this stage.

I had a similar problem, the seller took the house off before I got my buyer. After a lot of looking I found another house but still think of the first one. The market moved in the year we were looking and we ended up paying a lot more but it is a better house in many ways. That was 2013 and they have never gone back on the market. You might find you have to just move on.

But keep in your mind that you could always go back to them if you get a buyer. Problem then is they need to find something. They prob haven't found anything themselves yet either and this could be another reason they are thinking of knocking the plan on the head.

hazyjo

I bet they drop the price first and don't take it off the market.


Then you might be able to consider offers for yours.


1. They want to get the max price (not necessarily for commission as it adds up to peanuts, but they don't like 'reduced' ads as it looks like they overpriced it, or they're not selling stock).


2. A property is far more appealing to others if it has an offer on by someone who can't proceed. It makes it feel competitive and that you have to rush a decision, and that it's a desirable house.


I'm in a similar boat - despite not having an offer (or being on the market), a couple of EAs have said to me 'if you did want a second viewing or wanted to make an offer...'. Erm, nope. What's the point. I know what I want and what I'm willing to pay for it, but it's dependent what I get for mine.


If you get offered below your asking price, it puts you in a much better negotiating position and they may (albeit reluctantly) reduce.


Jx

martindow

It's sometimes hard to believe anything EAs say but it could be true.

But, some people do worry about the approach to Christmas - that there will be few buyers around or they don't want the hassle of selling and moving at that time of year. Maybe the house owners are thinking about taking it off the market and trying to sell again at Easter (possibly hoping for tens of thousands more).