Selling my first home to buy our second

MissEmmaBoss

So, back on the 20th September I accepted an offer for the full asking price of my house. Great! we were told it would be a cash buyer.. even better!... We were then told he changed his mind, and would now be taking out a mortgage but not to worry as it would still be a quick sale by the EA.

Since then we have found somewhere and the paperwork is all going through very quickly. My house sale on the other hand does not seem to be moving. I spoke with the EA as I was concerned that weeks and weeks have passed and we have not had any communications really from them. They told me about 2 weeks ago the guy is abroad and just needs to sign his paperwork for his mortgage agreement which will be done. I was shocked that it had been left this long.

The EA said they thought a survey had been done on my house, but it hasnt. This has been chased up and they finally rang me this week to have the survey done tomorrow. I have found out that the buyer still hasnt instructed his solicitor?! Am I right to be concerned at this?

At first the buyer said he was buying for his daughter to live there so wanted a quick sale. It now looks like he is buying for his other daughter, but he is buying these properties not for them to live in but to rent out. As much as I dont care who buys or what they do with the house, I am now realising that this guy has a huge portfolio of houses he rents, so I am starting to feel like this could be the reason he is dragging his heels.

On another note, the EA have been useless from the start:
1. I told them what price to put it up for... they put it up for £50 less
2. When the offer came in they said the guy would be paying the full asking price. We confirmed the amount we had said for them to put it up for... they said yes and confirmed... then they said no it was the advertised asking price they decided. I told them I hadnt instructed them on that price and they said "oh its just a psychological thing to entice more buyers"
3. The memo of sale was not recieved until about 3 weeks after sale as they kept getting my email address wrong
4. All communications kept going to my boyfriend despite both of us telling them multiple times we were buying together, but the sale was mine as he does not own the house.(it feels very sexist - like I cant possibly own a property myself being a woman.... its ridiculous)
5. Phone calls regarding my house sale are still going to my boyfriend
6. At the start I was being pushed to give a solictor name - multiple phone calls and emails, which I arranged and gave them within 2 days of the offer being accepted. When I phoned them with solicitor details they spent 20 mins trying to convince me to go with someone more local
7. Although happy to push me they have not chased the buyer at all, they just keep saying they know him and not to worry as he uses them regularly and is "good for it"
8. When I rang up to ask them to push the buyer they told me I should be asking my solicitor to do this as its what Im paying them for and it isnt anything really to do with the EA. Bearing in mind I was speaking to the actual owner of the EAgency himself!

The EA dealing with our purchase has been fantastic. Do I stick with my current seller, or do I jump ship and go with the other agent? I really dont know what to do.

I can wait for the survey to be done tomorrow but we are hoping to move beginning of Jan. The house we are buying is currently rented and the tenants move out in Dec, so the seller is wanting us to hurry up as he will understandably still be paying a mortgage on an empty house.

Any help or advice would be appreciated.

ThePants999

Give notice to cancel your agreement with your estate agent - whatever notice your contract with them requires. That will focus their minds on securing the current sale, while also ensuring that if it falls though, you've started the clock ticking on how long you have to wait before you can change agent.

Point 8 is the one that worries me the most - do they really think they've done their job just by getting you an offer?

MissEmmaBoss

Yes point 8 was very frustrating. I explained I am paying them a lot of money and so far they have done very little, there should be someone chasing things from their office as part or their services. After all - I am their client, not the buyer, but this is not at all how it seems. Priorities all wrong IMO

Thanks for your response, I think that sounds like a good idea.