Vendor requesting deposit to remove property from market?

martin1959

We are looking to sell our property in January and have had a few EA round.

One of the EA takes a £200 non refundable deposit from a purchaser when the sale price is agreed, and is deducted from the final completion.

They say it is popular as it shows commitment from both sides... the buyer risks losing £200 and the seller shows commitment by removing the property from the market and not taking other offers.

Personally I will only take the property off the market after the valuation has been carried out.

diggingdude

martin1959 wrote: »

We are looking to sell our property in January and have had a few EA round.

One of the EA takes a £200 non refundable deposit from a purchaser when the sale price is agreed, and is deducted from the final completion.

They say it is popular as it shows commitment from both sides... the buyer risks losing £200 and the seller shows commitment by removing the property from the market and not taking other offers.

Personally I will only take the property off the market after the valuation has been carried out.

I assume the seller puts up £200 to protect buyer if seller pulls out?

AdrianC

darcyboo wrote: »

After MUCH searching, finally found a suitable property and had an offer accepted. However, the agent have since been in touch to say their client have requested a £1,000 non refundable deposit to remove the property from the market and cancel any pending viewings. The property is being sold by some part exchange company, who I understand purchased it from the previous owners under a new build part exchange scheme.

I was totally taken aback by the request, and wondered if anyone has any experience of this?

I've followed up with the agent to communicate my, errr, surprise, and to request cite of full T+Cs of such a proposal in order that I can consult with my solicitor.

I think you might be misunderstanding - it's not the agent demanding the £1k as part of their Ts & Cs.

It's the vendor. They're saying "We'll accept your offer, but continue marketing the property. Or we can stop marketing it if you prefer, but..."


So your call whether to pay it or not. They're clearly happy to accept a gazumping offer - they're only interested in maximising their return, like a repo sale. It'll only cost you an extra grand if you decide to walk away at some stage between now and purchase.

ciderboy2009

So, what happens if the vendor pulls out? Is the £1k still non-refundable?

AdrianC

ciderboy2009 wrote: »

So, what happens if the vendor pulls out? Is the £1k still non-refundable?

I would certainly expect it to be, yes.

And if/when the sale exchanges and completes, then the amount to be paid on exchange/completion is £1k less than the agreed purchase price.

Bacon_Sandwich

Asking for £1000 to take it off the market is just scummy. With ethics like that, there's no guarantee that they won't accept a gazzumping offer anyway. They are scum. May they be lumbered with an unsaleable property until they are roasting in the fiery lakes of hell where they belong!

Smi1er

I had an agent request such a deposit when buying a place from a developer.

I told them I wasn't willing to pay such a non refundable deposit, however I was willing to pay a £1,000 deposit subject to contract. They accepted that. It merely showed I was serious about buying

getmore4less

Slithery wrote: »

Who said this was a new build?

It not a new build but a builder bought it part ex and they will sell this just like they are selling one of their new builds

That's what builders do.

Far less risky on the part ex you have something to look at.
Get a survey done quickly and then you can decide.

Surprised the number of people that trust new build and don't survey and exchange contracts on something that can be a lemon with very little recource.

darcyboo

AdrianC wrote: »

I think you might be misunderstanding - it's not the agent demanding the £1k as part of their Ts & Cs.

It's the vendor. They're saying "We'll accept your offer, but continue marketing the property. Or we can stop marketing it if you prefer, but..."


So your call whether to pay it or not. They're clearly happy to accept a gazumping offer - they're only interested in maximising their return, like a repo sale. It'll only cost you an extra grand if you decide to walk away at some stage between now and purchase.

Thanks, there's no misunderstanding, I'm well aware that it's the vendors request via the EA. We've decided we shan't be paying a penny up front, and since they've confirmed they won't remove the property from the market, it's now up to us to decide whether we fancy the risk of being gazumped or to simply continue the search and leave them to find another buyer.

darcyboo

MysteryMe wrote: »

£1000 is too much money to risk. If it was £100 I might consider it if I really, really wanted the house but it's certainly not the norm.

Yes, wouldn't be so bad if the amount was inconsequential