Not Confident on Chain ..No Trust on EAs...What should I do..?

sujsuj

My sale/buy process in progress for last 2+ months. Its in final stage now, but I am still not confident of completion due to weaker links in the chain & untrusty EAs. I don't trust my EA and I am not confident they are protecting my interests though I am paying for them. They already made me reduce agreed price with a made-up/lie storyline and I have a very difficult relationship with them now. I fear they play again and both agencies involved have bad reputation locally. I had couple of difficult conversations already with my EA. What should I do..? They always says lies over phone and not ready to reply by email as it will expose their lies.

On the other hand I have a new buyer available without any chain and no need to pay any agency fee either as he is known to me. So I can sell him for a lower price than earlier as no EA fee to pay. Should I jump the ship with an excuse now or wait for the EA to break the chain in a month's time..? If I leave chain now I believe I can still finish completion before X'mas with new buyer. But if late it may go to next year. I shared my situation with EA of the house I am buying and they too fed-up with current EA and ready to wait for the new buyer to complete his formalities.

My worry is even if current chain reach exchange stage it will break from exchange to completion time. So if it breaks at that time unfortunately I will be the biggest looser as my new house costs much more than my current house and I am at the Top of chain as buyer. So if I pay x% deposit to my seller and somehow weaker link in the chain again plays dirty game I will be biggest looser as I will be never able to complete purchase without selling my house had to pay biggest deposit to my seller. Due to my difficult relation with EA, I know they will not protect my interest and will only try to delay inevitable failure further. Reasons I believe this will fail are (1) Weaker member with clever tactics putting pressure on their seller to reduce price & my EA is trying to pass that to me. (2) I never believed my buyer as a serious buyer as they visited house only once and offer came after my Notice to EA. (3) Un-trusty EA and I believe they will always try to harm my interests due to difficult relation I have with them..

Any advice...or am I going to make a Mistake based on some illusions I have..? 

babyblade41

Once you have exchanged , completion is set in stone whether you  like your choice of  EA or not.

If you sell to a friend I think you will  still  be liable for the EA  fees and you will still have to pay your solicitor for work done. 

Not only that but go through the whole process again with someone else

HummingBird76

I only viewed the house I went on to buy once. I was a very serious buyer, I'm now living in said house. So your buyer only viewing once is not an indication of them not being serious. 

eddddy

You haven't really explained what the problems are with your sale.

It sounds like... your property is under offer, but you are worried about your buyer, or a buyer lower down the chain.

Why are you worried about your buyer and/or a buyer lower down the chain? What are they doing that has worried you?

It sounds like somebody in the chain below might be trying to reduce their offer - but that's not your EA's fault.

What is your EA doing that is harming your interests? (And why do you think the EA would want to harm your interests?)

AnotherJoe

I think it's very likely that if you sell to a new buyer you'll still have to pay your EA. Check your contract. 

One visit only doesn't mean they are not a trustworthy buyer however if they are in a weak position and need to get you to reduce your price because of that it might be beneficial for you to switch to the cash /mortgage only buyer you know. 

You better be very sure of your new buyer before switching. What price would  they buy at? The new lower one, the original price or something in between? 

sujsuj

"babyblade41 said:

Once you have exchanged , completion is set in stone whether you  like your choice of  EA or not.If you sell to a friend I think you will  still  be liable for the EA  fees and you will still have to pay your solicitor for work done. 
Not only that but go through the whole process again with someone else"


I think point missed here. If I pay say 10% deposit on exchange and then weak link in the chain changes/forced to change his mind then the sale will collapse as next chain member will not get money for completion and finally I may not have enough money for completion of my house . In that case I will loose my deposit as I can't pay full agreed price of house. I will be the biggest looser as my deposit at top of chain is highest.
I am giving notice to EA so no need to pay them. 
Am I missing anything here.?

hazyjo

sujsuj said:

"babyblade41 said:

Once you have exchanged , completion is set in stone whether you  like your choice of  EA or not.If you sell to a friend I think you will  still  be liable for the EA  fees and you will still have to pay your solicitor for work done. 
Not only that but go through the whole process again with someone else"


I think point missed here. If I pay say 10% deposit on exchange and then weak link in the chain changes/forced to change his mind then the sale will collapse as next chain member will not get money for completion and finally I may not have enough money for completion of my house . In that case I will loose my deposit as I can't pay full agreed price of house. I will be the biggest looser as my deposit at top of chain is highest.
I am giving notice to EA so no need to pay them. 
Am I missing anything here.?

Yes.

It is extremely unlikely anyone will pull out after exchange. Most solicitors don't even experience this in their careers. If it did happen, you would sue your buyer and they would find themselves paying your deposit, expenses, costs, etc. It's very expensive and very messy to pull out. Everyone exchanges on the same day to avoid this.

As mentioned, read your contract with the EA. Chances are, if you sell privately, you are still liable for their fee within a certain timescale. How did they know your property was for sale? Did you tell them or did they see a board or advert or something else the EA had done?

DayDreamerandGeneralWaster

What did they lie about?

Doozergirl

You're catastrophising.  

Your EA wants a sale that will complete.  They are not going to act outside of your interests once the sale is agreed, however, it is their job to do the negotiations and achieve a sale - which does often involve putting some pressure on vendors to reduce their expectations on price.  It is par for the course, but it also ultimately your decision on what you accept.  

There's also no two ways about it, you will
have to pay their fee if you pull out.  They have a ready, willing and able buyer at this moment in time.   Unless the chain collapses below
them, you are on the hook.  

It's quite hard to know what is truly going on at different steps above and below in a chain, but things do not move at the same speed and the only thing you can do is go with the flow and keep your fingers crossed that it all pulls together.   I'm in a short chain of three and our buyers are keen, we're hoping to exchange/complete in just over two weeks but nobody knows as none of us have any control. When the process is complete, we will exchange.   That is that.  I have done this dozens of times myself and helped other through the process professionally, but I have no control.  It is a constant strain that you live with through the conveyancing process - you are not the only one, I promise.  I wake up thinking about it, I go to sleep thinking about it, I dream about it.  It's relentless! 

As for the chain collapsing between exchange and completion - it just doesn't happen.  In nearly sixteen years on this board, I've seen it properly happen once and nearly fail a couple of other times.  The person it did happen to got their money with expenses.  If it collapses, it will happen before exchange.   

My advice is to calm down.    It doesn't sound like you might be all that easy to deal with at the moment.   Even if your mind is in turmoil, do not take it out on other people.  Your agent does want their fee - it is their only objective, there is no other.  

Caramac

It’s too easy in your position to not see things rationally. Since I have started the buying/selling process I have been trying to force myself to be totally dispassionate about the whole process (though not with much success).

When we bought our current house we only viewed once as I was familiar with the type of house, and also because I didn’t want to become too excited about it because we had a previous purchase fall through. 

badger09

@sujsuj
Without wishing to be cruel, I am so pleased you are not part of my chain. I really think, for the sake of your own wellbeing, you need to take a step back. Perhaps discuss your concerns with a trusted friend or relative for a different, more balanced, perspective.
Good luck

(Context: OP joined forum in July and has started 20 different threads.)