Is it the job of the Estate Agent to track progress of the chain

TBeckett100

this may or may not seem a silly question, but should my estate agent be keeping me regularly informed with updates on hos each person in the chain is doing and how far they have got?

Jorgan_2

This is actually a grey area. Some agents think that its the solicitors job & some solicitors think its the estate agents job. A good agent will be making regular calls along the chain, say once a week, to ensure that everything is progressing as it should. Sometimes the EA will pass this info onto their seller on a regular basis. The problem with this is that the agent is reliant on the information recieved, if the information received is wrong, the vendor has been given duff info. And they don't let you forget it either.

I had a case last week, we checked with the chain below as to the progress, to be told that the the FTB was ready, mortgage offer & searches back, signed the contract & pushing for a date. Told our vendor this, who arranged to go & sign and leave deposit monies with their solicitor. Three days later it transpires that the FTB doesn't have a mortgage offer, they are still waiting for a timber & damp report. Our vendor was not impressed to be told this and blames us for giving them duff information.

Richard_Webster

A good agent will check the chain insofar as he can, but Jorgan's point is fair in that there's not much he can do if he is given naff information. The more experienced the agent is the more searching questions he will ask to check the accuracy of what he is being told. This sort of chasing with the benefit of experience is the added bonus you get from a good agent you don't have if you try to sell privately unless you are a very seasoned buyer/seller.

I'm not sure it would be fair to expect a regular update, particularly if there was nothing to tell.