Lying about 'no onward chain'?

AnotherJoe

Start looking elsewhere. Instruct your solicitor not to work on this until thinsg are clarified.
If you find somewhere nicer then proceed on that and tell them, after you've completed, when they ask whats happening at your end.

LadyL2013

An update:


Turns out through the estate agent tripping up that there has been a chain all along. The vendors actually live in the house they said they were renting out, the agent knew this. They were hoping to secure an onward sale before it got uncovered that there was a chain. Bother were lying and were hoping not to get found out.


Vendor is now saying they probably can't afford an onward property after all and might not sell the house I've paid money into on the belief there was no chain.


Furious.

Bogof_Babe

Hells bells, no wonder you are furious, rightly so. Have you paid for surveys etc? You should get your solicitor to chase the agency up for repayment of your expenditure.

This is similar to accepting an offer from a "cash buyer" because you believe it will be straightforward and fairly quick, only to find a few weeks later that the prospective buyer can't get a mortgage :mad: .

SnooksNJ

LadyL2013 wrote: »

An update:


Turns out through the estate agent tripping up that there has been a chain all along. The vendors actually live in the house they said they were renting out, the agent knew this. They were hoping to secure an onward sale before it got uncovered that there was a chain. Bother were lying and were hoping not to get found out.


Vendor is now saying they probably can't afford an onward property after all and might not sell the house I've paid money into on the belief there was no chain.


Furious.

Oh, they probably can't afford an onward property. You know where this is going. My advice is anymore dealings with these people tell them flat out to stop lying to you. It's a colossal waste of your time and money.

LadyL2013

Bogof_Babe wrote: »

Hells bells, no wonder you are furious, rightly so. Have you paid for surveys etc? You should get your solicitor to chase the agency up for repayment of your expenditure.

This is similar to accepting an offer from a "cash buyer" because you believe it will be straightforward and fairly quick, only to find a few weeks later that the prospective buyer can't get a mortgage :mad: .

I have contacted my solicitors for advice. This shouldn't be allowed. I don't know why there isn't laws around this stuff. You shouldn't be able to outright lie. It's the same thing as false advertising and gaining money by false means.

Bogof_Babe

With the added insult that you might have rejected viewing equally or even more suitable properties because they were in a chain, in the belief that "yours" wasn't, yet you ended up in a chain anyway :mad: . Added to the time lost and mental stress of all this... it's simply not acceptable practice.

csgohan4

welcome to house buying in England where nothing is agreed until Exchange

Bogof_Babe

csgohan4 wrote: »

welcome to house buying in England where nothing is agreed until Exchange

The OP is not arguing about what was "agreed", but about the basic misleading facts presented before the property was even viewed.

it's like driving half a day to view a 3-bed house, only to find it is actually 2-bed, but they thought it would get more interest if they said it was 3. Blatant dishonesty.

AnotherJoe

I wonder if a threat to sue in small claims court might bring forward some compensation ? Either against the "vendors" or the EAs if they were knowingly lying ?