What happens when Seller withdraws property from sale

Ange253

My son is trying to buy his first home and had an offer accepted 6 weeks ago. No contracts have been exchanged. This week the estate agent rang to say the seller had changed their mind and the property was no longer for sale. They advised him to look for another property. The next day less than 24 hours later the estate agent listed the property for sale again. We have since been told that this seller has done this several times. My son has paid legal fees etc and is now out of pocket by about £500. My question is (a) Can the estate agent do this knowing that the same thing will happen again to other buyers and (B) Can my son claim any costs back from the seller. 

user1977

(a) Yes (I'm sure they don't "know" it will happen again - unless you think they're choosing to waste their time)
(b) No

Your son would have been similarly entitled to withdraw from his purchase without penalty. And to keep on doing that, until he gets a reputation.

Stubod

Ange253 said:

My son is trying to buy his first home and had an offer accepted 6 weeks ago. No contracts have been exchanged. This week the estate agent rang to say the seller had changed their mind and the property was no longer for sale. They advised him to look for another property. The next day less than 24 hours later the estate agent listed the property for sale again. We have since been told that this seller has done this several times. My son has paid legal fees etc and is now out of pocket by about £500. My question is (a) Can the estate agent do this knowing that the same thing will happen again to other buyers and (B) Can my son claim any costs back from the seller. 

A/ Yes

B/ No

Thrugelmir

Ange253 said:

 (a) Can the estate agent do this knowing that the same thing will happen again to other buyers

Estate Agent works for their client. Simply follows instuctions. 

eddddy

Ange253 said:

My question is (a) Can the estate agent do this knowing that the same thing will happen again to other buyers and (B) Can my son claim any costs back from the seller. 

By law, the estate agent is required to disclose any material information which might influence the purchasing decision of an average consumer (even if the estate agent isn't asked).

So, for example, if a seller has repeatedly withdrawn from sales for no reason - that's probably material information. Which would mean that the estate agent should warn future buyers of that risk.



Do you think that the estate agent omitted to tell your son 'material information' (i.e. previous repeated withdrawals without reason), and your son wouldn't have proceeded if he had known? 

If so, and the estate agent is a member of the Property Ombudsman scheme (most are), you can follow their complaints process.

The Property Ombudsman has made estate agents pay compensation to buyers for making 'material omissions' on a number of occasions.

See: https://www.tpos.co.uk/consumers/how-to-make-a-complaint

TripleH

Not the same, but we put an offer in on a property where 1 half of the couple wanted to sell but the other half realistically (and if they were being honest) didn't.

We wasted time (about 6 weeks) on it as the property was lovely, and ended up giving an ultimatum (the reluctant seller gave the impression that we'd have to wait until an undetermined point in time if we wanted the property) to the seller before withdrawing. We lost money but sadly that is part of house buying send your son has our sympathies.

The estate agent refused to represent the client further as we were the second buyer they'd found for the property to pull out because the owner was dithering and as it was at the upper end of the local market, they'd invested a lot of their time as well. The house has not yet been relisted.