I am on the verge of backing out of a property sale. What are my options? [Merged]

user1977

eddddy said:

raptor2004 said:

I believe there is a way to ask for a reduction without changing the mortgage offer via the solicitors. But that amount is capped to a couple of thousand. 

Are you talking about a retention? 

No, they're talking about reducing the price. Which generally means going back to the lenders to re-run the figures, but as the OP says, there is usually a bit of wiggle-room for minor reductions.

fourmarks

raptor2004 said:

sheramber said:

raptor2004 said:

Grumpy_chap said:

raptor2004 said:

As title says what are the rights of EAs on how they express property information to potential buyers and not mislead them?
I am in the process of purchasing a property and agreed a sale price. The EA advertisement said, "gated property". I was told many times by the EA that the electric gates should work, it was used only a few months ago, vendors are trying to find the fobs/instructions etc.

I have now found out that the electric  gates do not work and the vendors are not going to do anything about it - this was actually commucated to the EA 3 weeks ago but they only bothered to tell me now. Furthermore the vendor said they haven't seen the gate work in years which is contradictory to what I have been told.

I never made a condition in the sale price that the gates should be repaired but assumed they should be working (as that was the impression the EA gave) or it should be repaired.

The EA and now saying the property description only described it as "gated" and not "electric gated". Surely this is just playing semantics, a gated property can either be manual or electric and the movement of which it neccesates power or not is irrelavent. I have paid a deposit to the EA and I think they are alluding that this is their get out clause and therefore will not refund me.

I have communication with the EA for the last 2 months or so contininually asking about the status of the gates and the response was usually that the vendors are looking for the fobs and instructions on how it works but it should work.

Do I have grounds on which the EA midled me?

Is this the same property with the non-functioning electric gates that you posted about mid-September?
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6554853/i-am-on-the-verge-of-backing-out-of-a-property-sale-what-are-my-options/p1
If so, it seems as though you knew three weeks ago, not just now.

OR, have you withdrawn from that purchase and now offered on a second property which also has faulty electric gates?  

Maybe these two threads need merging.

It only transpired jsut now that the vendors told the EA 3 weeks ago that they will not fix the gate. I was not informed of this until yesterday!
Yes it is the same property.

And the EA is a TPO member. They immediately implied that I will not get my refund back as the ad description just says "gated " and not "electric gated"

It is gated- there is a gate. 

Presumably, they made no  statement that it was electric gatrs and they were working?

As I said, I was repeatedly assured by the EA that it works, I raised the question on whether it works 2 months ago. I was being fobbed off saying it works a few months ago, they are looking for the fobs, getting instructions from the uncle etc etc. Had I known earlier I would have changed the sale price or made a strict condition that the sale price incudes the fixing of the gate

On a technical/philosophical point, can they fob you off if the fobs have been mislaid? I would argue that they must first retrieve the fobs before engaging in any form of meaningful fobbing. Of course I may be wrong.

EssexHebridean

fourmarks said:

raptor2004 said:

sheramber said:

raptor2004 said:

Grumpy_chap said:

raptor2004 said:

As title says what are the rights of EAs on how they express property information to potential buyers and not mislead them?
I am in the process of purchasing a property and agreed a sale price. The EA advertisement said, "gated property". I was told many times by the EA that the electric gates should work, it was used only a few months ago, vendors are trying to find the fobs/instructions etc.

I have now found out that the electric  gates do not work and the vendors are not going to do anything about it - this was actually commucated to the EA 3 weeks ago but they only bothered to tell me now. Furthermore the vendor said they haven't seen the gate work in years which is contradictory to what I have been told.

I never made a condition in the sale price that the gates should be repaired but assumed they should be working (as that was the impression the EA gave) or it should be repaired.

The EA and now saying the property description only described it as "gated" and not "electric gated". Surely this is just playing semantics, a gated property can either be manual or electric and the movement of which it neccesates power or not is irrelavent. I have paid a deposit to the EA and I think they are alluding that this is their get out clause and therefore will not refund me.

I have communication with the EA for the last 2 months or so contininually asking about the status of the gates and the response was usually that the vendors are looking for the fobs and instructions on how it works but it should work.

Do I have grounds on which the EA midled me?

Is this the same property with the non-functioning electric gates that you posted about mid-September?
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6554853/i-am-on-the-verge-of-backing-out-of-a-property-sale-what-are-my-options/p1
If so, it seems as though you knew three weeks ago, not just now.

OR, have you withdrawn from that purchase and now offered on a second property which also has faulty electric gates?  

Maybe these two threads need merging.

It only transpired jsut now that the vendors told the EA 3 weeks ago that they will not fix the gate. I was not informed of this until yesterday!
Yes it is the same property.

And the EA is a TPO member. They immediately implied that I will not get my refund back as the ad description just says "gated " and not "electric gated"

It is gated- there is a gate. 

Presumably, they made no  statement that it was electric gatrs and they were working?

As I said, I was repeatedly assured by the EA that it works, I raised the question on whether it works 2 months ago. I was being fobbed off saying it works a few months ago, they are looking for the fobs, getting instructions from the uncle etc etc. Had I known earlier I would have changed the sale price or made a strict condition that the sale price incudes the fixing of the gate

On a technical/philosophical point, can they fob you off if the fobs have been mislaid. I would argue that they must first retrieve the fobs before engaging in any form of meaningful fobbing. Of course I may be wrong.

As an aside to this excellent point, "fobbing" is also a term relating to the service of beer, usually keg beers, where superfluous amounts of froth are created as a beer is poured, resulting in a lot of wasted time for those having to deal with it. 

It would appear that the OP's threads on this matter have at least all been merged now - which should at least mean all the helpful advice for them is in one place, not scattered across the boards. 

DE_612183

So they said it was working a few months ago - possibly true
Few weeks ago they were looking for the fobs
They then find the fobs - and I presume see if they still work and find out they don't
They tell the EA - the EA tells you.

Not sure how you have been mis-led here - all the above can be true and you can't prove otherwise - you can re-negotiate but that's about it.

powerful_Rogue

raptor2004 said:

sheramber said:

raptor2004 said:

Grumpy_chap said:

raptor2004 said:

As title says what are the rights of EAs on how they express property information to potential buyers and not mislead them?
I am in the process of purchasing a property and agreed a sale price. The EA advertisement said, "gated property". I was told many times by the EA that the electric gates should work, it was used only a few months ago, vendors are trying to find the fobs/instructions etc.

I have now found out that the electric  gates do not work and the vendors are not going to do anything about it - this was actually commucated to the EA 3 weeks ago but they only bothered to tell me now. Furthermore the vendor said they haven't seen the gate work in years which is contradictory to what I have been told.

I never made a condition in the sale price that the gates should be repaired but assumed they should be working (as that was the impression the EA gave) or it should be repaired.

The EA and now saying the property description only described it as "gated" and not "electric gated". Surely this is just playing semantics, a gated property can either be manual or electric and the movement of which it neccesates power or not is irrelavent. I have paid a deposit to the EA and I think they are alluding that this is their get out clause and therefore will not refund me.

I have communication with the EA for the last 2 months or so contininually asking about the status of the gates and the response was usually that the vendors are looking for the fobs and instructions on how it works but it should work.

Do I have grounds on which the EA midled me?

Is this the same property with the non-functioning electric gates that you posted about mid-September?
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6554853/i-am-on-the-verge-of-backing-out-of-a-property-sale-what-are-my-options/p1
If so, it seems as though you knew three weeks ago, not just now.

OR, have you withdrawn from that purchase and now offered on a second property which also has faulty electric gates?  

Maybe these two threads need merging.

It only transpired jsut now that the vendors told the EA 3 weeks ago that they will not fix the gate. I was not informed of this until yesterday!
Yes it is the same property.

And the EA is a TPO member. They immediately implied that I will not get my refund back as the ad description just says "gated " and not "electric gated"

It is gated- there is a gate. 

Presumably, they made no  statement that it was electric gatrs and they were working?

As I said, I was repeatedly assured by the EA that it works, I raised the question on whether it works 2 months ago. I was being fobbed off saying it works a few months ago, they are looking for the fobs, getting instructions from the uncle etc etc. Had I known earlier I would have changed the sale price or made a strict condition that the sale price incudes the fixing of the gate

On the 17th September you said:

It was not stated anywhere. I was verbally told by the estate agents that it should work and they are waiting on the vendors to find the fobs. But now seems apparent that it doesn't work at all.

raptor2004

powerful_Rogue said:

raptor2004 said:

sheramber said:

raptor2004 said:

Grumpy_chap said:

raptor2004 said:

As title says what are the rights of EAs on how they express property information to potential buyers and not mislead them?
I am in the process of purchasing a property and agreed a sale price. The EA advertisement said, "gated property". I was told many times by the EA that the electric gates should work, it was used only a few months ago, vendors are trying to find the fobs/instructions etc.

I have now found out that the electric  gates do not work and the vendors are not going to do anything about it - this was actually commucated to the EA 3 weeks ago but they only bothered to tell me now. Furthermore the vendor said they haven't seen the gate work in years which is contradictory to what I have been told.

I never made a condition in the sale price that the gates should be repaired but assumed they should be working (as that was the impression the EA gave) or it should be repaired.

The EA and now saying the property description only described it as "gated" and not "electric gated". Surely this is just playing semantics, a gated property can either be manual or electric and the movement of which it neccesates power or not is irrelavent. I have paid a deposit to the EA and I think they are alluding that this is their get out clause and therefore will not refund me.

I have communication with the EA for the last 2 months or so contininually asking about the status of the gates and the response was usually that the vendors are looking for the fobs and instructions on how it works but it should work.

Do I have grounds on which the EA midled me?

Is this the same property with the non-functioning electric gates that you posted about mid-September?
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6554853/i-am-on-the-verge-of-backing-out-of-a-property-sale-what-are-my-options/p1
If so, it seems as though you knew three weeks ago, not just now.

OR, have you withdrawn from that purchase and now offered on a second property which also has faulty electric gates?  

Maybe these two threads need merging.

It only transpired jsut now that the vendors told the EA 3 weeks ago that they will not fix the gate. I was not informed of this until yesterday!
Yes it is the same property.

And the EA is a TPO member. They immediately implied that I will not get my refund back as the ad description just says "gated " and not "electric gated"

It is gated- there is a gate. 

Presumably, they made no  statement that it was electric gatrs and they were working?

As I said, I was repeatedly assured by the EA that it works, I raised the question on whether it works 2 months ago. I was being fobbed off saying it works a few months ago, they are looking for the fobs, getting instructions from the uncle etc etc. Had I known earlier I would have changed the sale price or made a strict condition that the sale price incudes the fixing of the gate

On the 17th September you said:

It was not stated anywhere. I was verbally told by the estate agents that it should work and they are waiting on the vendors to find the fobs. But now seems apparent that it doesn't work at all.

Yes, they told me on several occasions that it should be fine and it works. 

powerful_Rogue

raptor2004 said:

powerful_Rogue said:

raptor2004 said:

sheramber said:

raptor2004 said:

Grumpy_chap said:

raptor2004 said:

As title says what are the rights of EAs on how they express property information to potential buyers and not mislead them?
I am in the process of purchasing a property and agreed a sale price. The EA advertisement said, "gated property". I was told many times by the EA that the electric gates should work, it was used only a few months ago, vendors are trying to find the fobs/instructions etc.

I have now found out that the electric  gates do not work and the vendors are not going to do anything about it - this was actually commucated to the EA 3 weeks ago but they only bothered to tell me now. Furthermore the vendor said they haven't seen the gate work in years which is contradictory to what I have been told.

I never made a condition in the sale price that the gates should be repaired but assumed they should be working (as that was the impression the EA gave) or it should be repaired.

The EA and now saying the property description only described it as "gated" and not "electric gated". Surely this is just playing semantics, a gated property can either be manual or electric and the movement of which it neccesates power or not is irrelavent. I have paid a deposit to the EA and I think they are alluding that this is their get out clause and therefore will not refund me.

I have communication with the EA for the last 2 months or so contininually asking about the status of the gates and the response was usually that the vendors are looking for the fobs and instructions on how it works but it should work.

Do I have grounds on which the EA midled me?

Is this the same property with the non-functioning electric gates that you posted about mid-September?
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6554853/i-am-on-the-verge-of-backing-out-of-a-property-sale-what-are-my-options/p1
If so, it seems as though you knew three weeks ago, not just now.

OR, have you withdrawn from that purchase and now offered on a second property which also has faulty electric gates?  

Maybe these two threads need merging.

It only transpired jsut now that the vendors told the EA 3 weeks ago that they will not fix the gate. I was not informed of this until yesterday!
Yes it is the same property.

And the EA is a TPO member. They immediately implied that I will not get my refund back as the ad description just says "gated " and not "electric gated"

It is gated- there is a gate. 

Presumably, they made no  statement that it was electric gatrs and they were working?

As I said, I was repeatedly assured by the EA that it works, I raised the question on whether it works 2 months ago. I was being fobbed off saying it works a few months ago, they are looking for the fobs, getting instructions from the uncle etc etc. Had I known earlier I would have changed the sale price or made a strict condition that the sale price incudes the fixing of the gate

On the 17th September you said:

It was not stated anywhere. I was verbally told by the estate agents that it should work and they are waiting on the vendors to find the fobs. But now seems apparent that it doesn't work at all.

Yes, they told me on several occasions that it should be fine and it works. 

That makes no sense.

BonaDea

EssexHebridean notes a meaning of 'fobbing':   'where superfluous amounts of froth are created ... resulting in a lot of wasted time for those having to deal with it.' 

This seems to me an excellent description of what the OP is up to. 

Slinky

raptor2004 said:

eddddy said:

raptor2004 said:

I’m not happy and it’s my right that I request the gated are fixed, if not I will walk away and will want the EA to refund me in full for the deposit 

It's not your right to have the gate fixed.

So you paid a £5k 'deposit' - and you want it refunded due to misrepresentation (or perhaps breach of contract) by the estate agent.

Did you get a written contract explaining the terms of the deposit? If so, what does it say about withdrawing from the purchase?

Or did you hand over £5k with nothing in writing?


Is the estate agent a member of the Property Ombudsman Scheme (most are)?  If so, the Ombudsman's code of practice says:

11a

Unless the buyer and seller wish to utilise a reservation agreement, you should not generally facilitate pre-contract deposits. However, if you are instructed to do so, you must ensure that before a deposit is taken, the circumstances under which the deposit is to be held, refunded, forfeited or used towards the purchase, are clearly stated in writing, agreed by the relevant parties and a copy of the agreement provided to those parties. In each circumstance the beneficiary of the deposit (and any interest accrued) must be clearly defined.

Link: https://www.tpos.co.uk/images/codes-of-practice/TPOE27-8_Code_of_Practice_for_Residential_Estate_Agents_A4_FINAL.pdf

So if the EA is a member of TPOS, and you didn't get the above in writing, you might have grounds for complaint to TPOS.

the terms are:

"Received the sum of two thousand pounds (£5,000.00) being a holding deposit in respect of the reservation of the above property subject

to contract. If this reservation is cancelled by the vendor, the holding deposit will be returned to the purchaser in full. If the purchaser withdraws

or cancels due to vacant possession not being givenupon completion, an adverse survey, decline of mortgage offer, issues with the title or any other legal issues that

cannot be resolved, the holding deposit will be returned in full. If the purchaser withdraws from the purchase for any other reason at any time,or fails tomeet the exchange

date,the reservation deposit will be forfeitedand split between the owner and the estate agent for administration costs. If contracts are exchanged the holding

deposit will be deducted from the exchange monies given by the purchaser to his /her solicitors on exchange of contracts."

and below that you have the stated  agreed sale price.

Now, if I renegotiate, and the sale price is lower, do I lose my deposit?

So is it two thousand or £5000?

Mutton_Geoff

Maybe it's one of those "Modern Method" auctions?

Anyhow, continued replies indicate posters haven't had a peek at the OP's track record