Dodgy estate agents - what to do

mumm

We are looking for a larger home for our growing family and have had our house valued and chosen an estate agent I'm happy with and are ready to go and have our mortgage in principle etc.

However I have not put the house on the market as in all honesty, houses on our street tend to sell within a day or two of going for sale. There's a lot of pressure for houses in our area (we are right next to a top school too).
We've looked since August and not really found anything as we need a rather large amount of space.
And now we have found the perfect house for our needs!

However, their estate agents have been 'funny' from the start. They're not local at all - in a completely different LA from our house and the house we want to buy.
They initially said we cannot view until they come and value our house. I agreed for them to come on Monday afternoon to value. But I did say I have already found an agent and everything is ready to go on the market the minute we want to.
They said that it would be much better for us to go with them as it would facilitate the purchase of this house.
On Monday morning they called and said I could go and see the house at midday so of course I cancelled a gym session and did, and fell in love with it.
It was actually better than their (terrible) photos. At the house I asked if I could make an appointment there and then for dh but the young lady who showed us around, to put it politely, was very useless, and just laughed (I know that sounds strange but that's what happened).

I spent Monday afternoon and all day Tuesday trying to call this estate agent and it was engaged. I got through and we now have an appointment this evening. I said we want to make an offer and are confident we will be sold within 10 working days (STC) and have mortgage approved and are happy to make the offer on this basis.
Again they said they will not put our offer to the vendors unless we let them come and value our house. The lead agent said she'd been looking around our street and area (she seemed quite excited) and said houses do go fast and our house will be very popular and they'd like to sell it.
Frankly, I don't want to go on the market with them. I want to go with the agent we chose.

Is this reasonable? Just to note also that the vendor at the house was an elderly lady and seemed quite emotional (saying it would be hard to leave the house) and didn't want to talk to me when I viewed ...

Any suggestions for how to manage this are most welcome. I'm a straightforward person and I'm at a loss.

ReadingTim

They're not being funny, they're simply flushing out unpronounceable timewasters, which is what you are until you accept an offer on your place.

If you don't want to sell with them, appoint someone else - they're only trying it on because you haven't done that already. If your place is so desirable, you'll both find a buyer, and find one who's willing to wait - that's what being in a chain entails.

The power to resolve the situation to your own satisfaction is therefore entirely within your hands. So do it. Why therefore are you at a loss?

googler

ReadingTim wrote: »

They're not being funny, they're simply flushing out unpronounceable timewasters ...

Unproceedable?

Surrey_EA

Instruct the agent you've chosen and get on with putting yourself in a proceedable position. Until such time as you have accepted an offer for your current home it is largely irrelevant.

It sounds like the EAs acting for the vendor of the property you wish to buy are just trying it on. They're not the first, and won't be the last.

If your house really does sell as quickly as you think then you should be fine, but almost everyone I speak to thinks their property is highly sought after, and will sell immediately!

ReadingTim

googler wrote: »

Unproceedable?

Maybe they pronounce it similar to "plucking"...

googler

Give them half an hour on, for instance, a Sunday evening (the only time you can make time for them) to come to your home and value it. Limit them to half an hour.

At the end of the half hour, unless you have become convinced they are the agent for you, say no to any suggestion that they list your house.

mumm

Surrey_EA wrote: »

Instruct the agent you've chosen and get on with putting yourself in a proceedable position. Until such time as you have accepted an offer for your current home it is largely irrelevant.

It sounds like the EAs acting for the vendor of the property you wish to buy are just trying it on. They're not the first, and won't be the last.

If your house really does sell as quickly as you think then you should be fine, but almost everyone I speak to thinks their property is highly sought after, and will sell immediately!

Thanks.

Our neighbours - 3 doors down, went on sale just before Christmas and sold in a day, and it's the same elsewhere on this road and the next.
My previous house took 5 years to sell (I kid you not) as it was just in the wrong area, so I am not being naive here.
The issue is that we are looking for a house with an annexe too for my eldest son so they are few and far between. I don't want to be sold and under pressure with nowhere we can buy.
However I have sent a message to my preferred estate agents and will try to get this sorted now.

Surrey_EA

mumm wrote: »

Thanks.

Our neighbours - 3 doors down, went on sale just before Christmas and sold in a day, and it's the same elsewhere on this road and the next.
My previous house took 5 years to sell (I kid you not) as it was just in the wrong area, so I am not being naive here.
The issue is that we are looking for a house with an annexe too for my eldest son so they are few and far between. I don't want to be sold and under pressure with nowhere we can buy.
However I have sent a message to my preferred estate agents and will try to get this sorted now.

Apologies, I didn't mean my previous post to sound quite as dismissive as it did! If I had a pound for everyone who told me that their house would sell straight away I'd be long since retired!

However, I do of course realise that there are those houses in certain locations, that when sensibly priced, will attract interest almost instantly.

Remember that an EA has a legal obligation to pass all and every offer on to the vendor in a timely fashion, regardless of the buyer's position. The only exception to this is when the vendor has informed the EA, in writing, that they will not consider offers below a certain amount.

As the EA through whom you wish to buy is already sounding awkward, I would submit any offer you wish to make in writing, most likely via email, so there is a record that cannot be disputed.

G_M

1) get you property listed and on Rightmove. Now. Today

2) do your 2nd viewing

3) make your offer. Put it in writing - a LETTER - which you can send by email as well as post for speed

4) make clear in your letter that your property is on the market, likely to sell fast, and that if you need a mortgage as well, this is arranged (ie you have a MIP)

mumm

Thanks - I'll do all of that.

House should be up and listed next Friday..can't get the timescale in for today I'm afraid!

hazyjo

mumm wrote: »

Is this reasonable? Just to note also that the vendor at the house was an elderly lady and seemed quite emotional (saying it would be hard to leave the house) and didn't want to talk to me when I viewed ...

As above, and as you now know, you need to be proceedable. I thought mine would sell within two weeks (everything was literally selling within a week), but it took a few months. Quite literally the day it went on, the market flipped. Things were harder to sell and prices were dropping or remaining static.


The para I've quoted would be ringing alarm bells with me. Be prepared for a VERY long drawn out process, and for a few wobbles nearer completion. Wouldn't surprise me if at least once she says she doesn't want to sell, then maybe reconsiders. Make sure your mortgage offer lasts for at least 6 months.


Good luck.