Offer Accepted, Estate agent complicating things

femster82

Hi Please help with this situation,

So I went to view a property over the weekend and wanted to put in an offer, the estate agent asked me to do an affordability check which I did, but informed them I had been speaking to a broker. During the process they informed me that the vendor is using their full services to sell the house and if I was doing the same they would push me as the preferred buyer. I made an offer on the property, which was accepted today out of two offers.

But I told them I wasn't decided on using their services as I would have to pay them £500 on application, which is not guaranteed to get me the offer I want and also I think the mortgage % was a bit higher than I would like, but I didn't mind that as much as I was putting only 5% deposit.

They turned around and said, "the buyer was happy to accept the offer knowing you are using our services, if you don't of course we have to go back and tell her because she wants a quick sale"

I am obviously a bit annoyed but also a bit scared as a first time buyer.

Has anyone experienced this?
I actually don't mind using them as my broker has been doing random disappearing acts and I haven't got anyone else, but the £500 non-refundable fee is very concerning.

Londongirl7

Hi Femster82,

They can't 'force' you to use their services however it is pretty normal for you to be qualified by their own staff.

Ask to see correspondence from the vendor of where your offer has been accepted subject to you using their broker and see what they come up with. Explain to them that you would of course consider using them and also would like to speed up the process but would only do so as long as they match your other brokers offer like for like. This may also help you somehow..

Hope any of the above helps.

diggingdude

i faced this last year. knew i wouldnt buy flat but offered to use them if they financially compensated me to where i would be with own broker etc and asked for money if seller pulled out. they of course refused

csgohan4

post a letter and contact the vendor direct. Remind them if they are a member of the property ombudsman the codes of conduct:


https://www.tpos.co.uk/images/documents/rules-codes-obligations/residential-estate-agents/TPOE27-6_Code_of_Practice_for_Residential_Estate_Agents_A4_-_effective_from_1_Oct_2016.pdf

Enterprise_1701C

If I was trying to sell my house and had an offer that was being put at risk by the Estate Agent I would want to know about it.

Is it worth popping around for a "second viewing" and telling them you love it (no loss as you have already had offer accepted) but may not be able to go ahead as their estate agent is putting unfair terms in? It could be that they know nothing of this.

Brock_and_Roll

femster82 wrote: »

Hi Please help with this situation,

So I went to view a property over the weekend and wanted to put in an offer, the estate agent asked me to do an affordability check which I did, but informed them I had been speaking to a broker. During the process they informed me that the vendor is using their full services to sell the house and if I was doing the same they would push me as the preferred buyer. I made an offer on the property, which was accepted today out of two offers.

But I told them I wasn't decided on using their services as I would have to pay them £500 on application, which is not guaranteed to get me the offer I want and also I think the mortgage % was a bit higher than I would like, but I didn't mind that as much as I was putting only 5% deposit.

They turned around and said, "the buyer was happy to accept the offer knowing you are using our services, if you don't of course we have to go back and tell her because she wants a quick sale"

I am obviously a bit annoyed but also a bit scared as a first time buyer.

Has anyone experienced this?
I actually don't mind using them as my broker has been doing random disappearing acts and I haven't got anyone else, but the £500 non-refundable fee is very concerning.

They can't help themselves can they?!?! Hardly surprising that they are held in such low regard. I would absolutely write a letter to the owner explaining the situation, offering to provide whatever evidence required to prove your ability to complete then post it through the owners door.

KTD10

I had this at the end of last year, I'm so tempted to name and shame the estate agents as they just want you to use their services so they make more money.

I was repeatedly told that my offer was more likely to be accepted if we used their services as the vendor wanted to know 'our finances are in order'. We provided our AIP and proof of deposit and then just fobbed of the estate agent. As soon as our offer was accepted, I told them flat out we wouldn't use their services (I was polite about it though!). It really annoyed me as I'm pretty sure our vendor wouldn't care what broker we used just as long as were serious buyers which we had to prove anyway with AIP and proof of deposit. I also sold a property last year and didn't care where my buyer got their mortgage from, just that they were in a position to buy.

femster82

Thanks for the replies. Working on my options now.

dunstonh

To be honest, this is mainly a sales process by the estate agent to try and get you in front of their broker. That broker will try and poo poo your broker (if using one) or get you to use them if you planned to DIY.

Its a disreputable process and if it happens to you then you should notify the vendor and tell them that the estate agent is trying to block you.