Agencies withhold properties if you refuse to use their in-house Broker

ireneboston

Hi Guys,
Whenever we make an offer on a house the agencies are keen but as soon as they realise that we are not willing to use their in-house finance service they hold the property back.
Last time we tried agent said that the buyer would accept if we offered £240k, later we did offer £240k but they have disappeared. My friends who tried or managed to buy say they had the same problem. Even one who had 80% of deposit and only needed mortgage for 20%.
Another friend made an offer of £250k on a house, was told that someone else offered £260k!!! A month later same property advertised REDUCED to £240k. He calls again saying he wants to offer asking price, they said no, with a rubbish excuse..... the property is still advertised, it has been many months.
I called solicitor asking there is no way this can be legal, Solicitor said that actually seller signs an agreement with agency where agencies are allowed to decline offers without even letting the seller know.
What is the way to buy a property of my choice? I do not want to use their broker.
Thank you for your answers!!!

marliepanda

You know where the property is. Put a note though the door.

Hello mr homeowner. I offered £x on this property but your agent refused to deal with me as I did not want to use their mortgage services.

If you want to sell to me, mr proceed able buyer, my contact number is xxxxxxx

ThePants999

If I contracted with an EA and they pulled crap like that, I'd love it if a potential buyer got in touch directly to tell me, so I could raise a stink with the EA. No sensible vendor would be happy with their EA so blatantly putting their own interests above the vendor's.

G_M

1) see the code of practice here.

2) sellers can, if they wish, instruct their agents which offers they do/do not want to receive (eg nothing below £xK) and the agent must do as the seller instructs - but this is rare.

3) Often there ARE other higher offers than yours.......

4) making an offer in writing has more weight and is harder for an agent to ignore

5) copying in the seller is useful - that way the agent cannot pretend an offer was not received

ireneboston

Thank you guys. I am not sure how I can get in touch with the vendor as they are not living in the property. The house is sold by three heirs of the late owner... The only thing I know is the address, but I also know that the house has been on sale for a while and suspect they would like to sell soon.
Originally I offered £238k, the agent goes: vendor said make it £240k and deal done. We said ok £240, then they start selling us their in-house thing, we said no, got our broker to call them, have all the papers to show... Now wondering if they will want to hold the property on the market longer to see if another buyer turns up who they can bully into using their finance.
Somebody has mentioned that often agencies offer to sell the house commission-free to attract the vendor and the only money they make this way is by selling the in-house finance, is this true?
Thank you all so much again for your replies

AdrianC

You could always take the path of least resistance - which is to book a meeting with their mortgage advisor. You don't actually have to take whatever loan they offer, of course. Unless it turns out to be better than what you've been offered elsewhere.

lincroft1710

AdrianC wrote: »

You could always take the path of least resistance - which is to book a meeting with their mortgage advisor. You don't actually have to take whatever loan they offer, of course. Unless it turns out to be better than what you've been offered elsewhere.

And if you have no intention of taking a mortgage with them, apologise for wasting their time, but you were forced into seeing them

sparky130a

AdrianC wrote: »

You could always take the path of least resistance - which is to book a meeting with their mortgage advisor. You don't actually have to take whatever loan they offer, of course. Unless it turns out to be better than what you've been offered elsewhere.

After long being an advocate of not giving these people the time of day i actually agree with this now ( Who knew!)

Mainly because their time wasted is probably going to cost them more than your time leading them on.

Good.

glentoran99

This is happening more and more in NI. have heard quite a few stories recently of estate agents insisting you speak with their broker

Matt_L

AdrianC wrote: »

You could always take the path of least resistance - which is to book a meeting with their mortgage advisor. You don't actually have to take whatever loan they offer, of course. Unless it turns out to be better than what you've been offered elsewhere.

But what happens when you say no thanks and they still don't play ball??

Also what do you do in the case of nobody living at the property as the op says???

AdrianC

Matt_L wrote: »

But what happens when you say no thanks and they still don't play ball??

You don't decide which mortgage offer to take until much later in the process than placing the offer...