House value scam - help!

Calistasouth

Has anyone heard of a scam where agents knock on doors of people who’ve accepted offers, telling them that they’ve massively undervalued their house and to cancel their sale and go with them instead? This happened with a house we were going to buy so we lost the sale. 

Has anyone had experience of this? Is it a scam? Thanks. 

MaryNB

Doesn't sound like a scam. Just some EA tactics. A letting agency near me did a similar thing a few years ago with regards to rental income. 
It's bad form but a potential buyer could do the same and gazump you and it wouldn't be illegal.

[Deleted User]

MaryNB said:

Doesn't sound like a scam. Just some EA tactics. A letting agency near me did a similar thing a few years ago with regards to rental income. 
It's bad form but a potential buyer could do the same and gazump you and it wouldn't be illegal.

Extremely scummy tactics and probably a scam as well. What they mean is "we have seen that this house can sell, so want to jump in and try to get an even more ridiculous price, and if we fail you will be screwed but we don't care".

MaryNB

[Deleted User] said:

MaryNB said:

Doesn't sound like a scam. Just some EA tactics. A letting agency near me did a similar thing a few years ago with regards to rental income. 
It's bad form but a potential buyer could do the same and gazump you and it wouldn't be illegal.

Extremely scummy tactics and probably a scam as well. What they mean is "we have seen that this house can sell, so want to jump in and try to get an even more ridiculous price, and if we fail you will be screwed but we don't care".

Plenty of EA tactics are scummy (the letting agency I refer to had their office vandalised as part of the backlash) but scummy doesn't automatically mean a scam. 

I'd be more annoyed at the sellers for backing out after they accepted an offer. This is just a variation of gazumping. 

Calistasouth

Thanks. I don’t suppose there’s anything anyone can say to deter them from agreeing to it? They had a sale in the bag, surely it’s risky to throw that all away? Can the old estate agent sue them for loss of commission? 

eddddy

It might be a scam,
- or it might be an unethical estate agent,
- or it might be an estate agent who is genuinely shocked at how cheaply a house is being sold

Do you think you were underpaying for the house?

Did you find the house being advertised on the open market by an estate agent? Or did you find the house through 'unconventional' means (e.g. friend of a friend), and maybe negotiate a low price?

Has the house gone on the market for a lot more than you were paying?  Has it gone under offer?


If you think your offer price was fair, and it won't sell for the higher price - maybe give it a few weeks and go back to the seller and say that your original offer is still on the table.

eddddy

Calistasouth said:

Thanks. I don’t suppose there’s anything anyone can say to deter them from agreeing to it? They had a sale in the bag, surely it’s risky to throw that all away? Can the old estate agent sue them for loss of commission? 

So you were buying through an estate agent.

Tell the estate agent what has happened - they'll probably explain all the 'issues' to the seller, and might be able to persuade the seller to change their mind.

The seller would need to terminate their contract with the first EA - that might require 2 or 4 weeks notice.

The seller might be liable to pay a fee to the first EA - it depends what their contract says.

eddddy

... but there's also the possibility that the seller is fibbing to you.

For example, they might have changed their mind about selling for some other reason - but they don't want to tell you about it. So they make up a story about a 'mysterious EA' instead.


Or if you are very cynical, you might even suspect it's a ploy to get you to offer more.

lookstraightahead

People preying on the greed of sellers and it's obviously working.

Hooe it falls through and you get it for less op.

UnderOffer

I’m guessing the seller might still be liable for their original Estate Agent fees? As the EA found a willing and able buyer and agreed a price, so if that’s the case it would seem silly to abort and remarket with a new agent. I’d expect the uplift in price to be substantial to cover all the costs involved with 2 agents fees. 

Calistasouth

Is there any way we can get them back? 

They’ve screwed us, just weeks before the date. They reckon their house is worth 40k more than the estate agents valued it at and are getting other valuations from other agencies. Is there anything we can do? Heartbroken that people can be so callous. Greedy scumbags.