Help - Estate Agent mislead on a property purchse which has now cost us thousands of pounds losses

hazyjo

One breath, you say they deliberately misled you. In next, you say "As Savills were adverting this property for more than 6 months they would likely have known about this risk attached to this property after doing their necessary checks."

So which is it? What are these 'necessary checks' you refer to?

I have bought in a Level 3 flood risk area before. EA didn't tell me. Not sure they'd have even known there was a small river behind the house.

They always apply pressure to complete asap. That's when they get paid lol.

As above - never give notice on a rental until you have exchanged.

Really not sure what it is you feel you've lost out on and need compensating for. Do you think the house is worth less?

Buying a house requires due diligence. Some is undertaken by your solicitor, the basics (like this) should be checked early on by yourself if you think they'll have a big impact on your decision, and very little is checked by the EA.

steampowered

It is not the EA's job to tell you about stuff like this.

You need to do your own diligence. Your solicitor needs to do their own searches.

The EA represents the seller, not the buyer. It is perfectly legitimate for the EA to chase the sale.

I'm afraid if you have incurred expenses that is your problem. This is a normal part of buying a house.

SallyDucati

I wouldn't expect an estate agent to necessarily mention this, even if they were aware. Finding this out is part of the conveyancing searches, the fact that the location in a flood risk zone has been picked up is part of that. You may think of it as costing you money, but that cost has actually protected you from buying a property you may not have been happy with long term.

I'm in the process of buying a completed new build house. I asked the EA if it had an NHBC warranty . His answer was 'it has a 10 year warranty'. I wasn't aware there were other options for warranties, so presumed it was NHBC. It isn't and it has caused delays and stress. Do I blame the EA for this stress? No. I did pick it up before exchange (which still hasn't happened yet) as part of the conveyancing process I am paying for.

System

Estate agents are required by law to disclose any aspect of a property that may influence your decision to purchase, this is a requirement under the Property Misdescription act.


So surely there is some form of recourse via Trading Standards

mije1983

Simonr66 wrote: »

Estate agents are required by law to disclose any aspect of a property that may influence your decision to purchase, this is a requirement under the Property Misdescription act.


So surely there is some form of recourse via Trading Standards

How would the EA know the property was in a flood risk area? If the OP didn't realise, then I assume it means there isn't something obvious like a river running through the garden.


What is the property required a full rewire? That might influence your decision to purchase, but would you expect the EA to know that if it wasn't obvious or they hadn't been told? They can't disclose something they aren't aware of.

hazyjo

Simonr66 wrote: »

Estate agents are required by law to disclose any aspect of a property that may influence your decision to purchase, this is a requirement under the Property Misdescription act.


So surely there is some form of recourse via Trading Standards

Really don't see how this can be classed as having reason that may influence their decision to purchase. Surely there must be a river or something very nearby. All it takes is a map, and/ or one visit to the website provided above. OP - did you really not see a river or whatever it is near the property? Did you never look at it on google maps?!


Unless it's in such a bad area for flooding that makes it unmortgageable...


It is not the EA's job to tell the buyer of everything in the vicinity. Absolutely a case of due diligence. If it was a fault with the property that they were aware of, that's different.

davidmcn

Simonr66 wrote: »

Estate agents are required by law to disclose any aspect of a property that may influence your decision to purchase, this is a requirement under the Property Misdescription act.

So surely there is some form of recourse via Trading Standards

Two problems:

1. The Property Misdescriptions Act was repealed five years ago. You want to check the regulations which replaced them.

2. Trading Standards aren't a means of getting remedies for aggrieved punters, though they can prosecute.

loveka

Sadly Estate Agents lie. When they do, there seems there is no redress.

I would now get absolutely everything they say in writing after 3 sales have gone failed due to them not revealing stuff that they knew for a fact.

By the time a buyer finds out about some things, via survey or conveyence r money has already been spent and wasted.

Surrey_EA

loveka wrote: »

Sadly some Estate Agents lie. When they do, there seems there is no redress.

FTFY.

Not all!

Surrey_EA

Simonr66 wrote: »

Estate agents are required by law to disclose any aspect of a property that may influence your decision to purchase, this is a requirement under the Property Misdescription act.


So surely there is some form of recourse via Trading Standards

As already highlighted, the PMA no longer exists. It has been replaced by Consumer Protection Regulations.

In any event, I don't see how what is being described by the OP would fall within the field of what needs to be disclosed. It's part of the reason you pay your solicitor to carry out relevant searches.