Unhelpful Estate Agent - Help!

liss90

We are in the process of buying our first home and therefore are a little green about these matters.
We have had a survey done. I have been told that most estate agents will let you know when that is happening. Ours did not - I phoned and found out it had been done over a week ago. Fine I can cope with that but now I have recieved a letter from our solicitor telling us that the drain which is shared with neighbouring properties is directly under the house. I phoned and asked if they would kindly ask the vendors where it is located. I was told as if I was about five years old that it would not be directly under the house and the vendors would not know where the drain was and to ask my solicitor. I also asked if there was a list of fixtures and fittings as yet again told to ring my solicitor.
I have now rung my solicitor and there is no list of fixtures and fittings and I still do not know where the drain is located. Am I asking silly questions, should I expect a list of fixtures and fittings by now? It is about three weeks into the process.
This estate agent treats me with such contempt that I always come away from the phone feeling soooo stupid. Its not as if they have done that much work to sell the house - they did not even show us around or give us directions there even though we do not know our way around that part of the country.
I guess Im also narked that he was rude when we went into the office. He introduced my partner to another estate agent there but completly ignored me and my little boy. Even though he knew our names!
Could anyone tell me how to find out where the drain is and if we should be worried at all. The letter from the solicitors also stated that any costs for this drain should be shared with neighbouring properties. Is this a worry or normal?
Sorry for the long moan - I just do not like to be made to feel stupid!
Many thanks,
Liss.

bridiej

Fixtures and fittings lists are not the responsibility of the estate agent - the person you're buying off needs to get a form from their solicitor and get it written out. I'm surprised they havent dont it already, we received and completed ours about three days after we had an offer on the house.

Not sure about the agent telling you when the survey is being done, I cant remember who told us when we bought this house.....

BUT there is no excuse for rudeness - maybe try popping down there personally and explain that this is the first time you've bought and you're not sure who does what and could they update you?

As for your solicitor, they need to be chasing the vendors solicitor for the fixtures and fitting list and for an answer on the drain issue.

HTH

mini

If the estate agents are being useless I'd be tempted to arrange a viewing of the house & ask the people if they know & explain the attitude of the estate agents, if they were selling my house I'd want to know they'll be paying them a fortune once the sale is complete. Or you could write to the estate agent requesting them to contact the owner of the house, a letter is harder to ignore than a person you can make feel awful enough they will be outside in a few minutes. I have great sympathy for you, I need a while to recover after any dealings with our estate agent.
Good luck

mini

lush_walrus

As above really (bridiej), but in regards to finding out where the drain is, is it the drain itself or the drainage run? Its very unusual to take drainage internally, although it is done, mainly in circumstances where an extension is added and the extension is going to go over an existing manhole cover. Generally, people opt in these circumstances to have the manhole re-located, but some just keep it internal (if in instances where there is nowhere suitable to relocate the manhole.)

If it is internal, your agent is completely wrong in predicting that the vendor will not know, Im sure they will as ultimately during the time that they have been living there, there is bound to be some reason to locate it.

If you feel that the agent is being rude then you could ask to speak to a different person, perhaps the one that your OH was introduced to. I would avoid stiring up too much trouble about it, because at the moment you are slightly at their mersy as a buyer rather than a vendor. But if you want to find out what the vendor knows or is planning to leave, then call the agent to make another viewing and just explain that you want to show someone else, or some excuse to the agent.

Your solicitor will know the location of the drain if all else fails, as it has shown up on a search which is why he is alerting you.

I wouldnt worry too much about the drain, if it goes wrong and its internal it isnt ideal, but is still easily solved, and you can always look into re-routing it.

liss90

Thank-you for your replies. I do feel a little stupid now knowing that nearly everything is done through your solicitor. I just thought that the estate agent would be a little more helpful and have a basic knowledge on fixtures and fittings. Such as if carpets are going to be left. I also thought it would do no harm to ring the vendors and ask where a drain is - I thought that because they only moved in four years ago they might have some knowledge.
I have asked the solicitor and he was supposed to ring back yesterday but did not. I thought I may get a quicker answer through the vendors. I have only rung twice in the whole time we have started the buying process and I only rung when friends and relatives suggested that the estate agent should be able to help. On both occasions the estate agent has answered the phone and I can hear him sigh when he hears it me! I have friends who have pestered the estate agent about everything and complained when they have not got a quick and helpful response. They really annoy me and I dont know how they earn their dosh - they could not even tell me for mortgage purposes what era or age the house is - they said 1930's when infact it is 1902!
Would anyone be able to tell me if I will be charged for the time and phonecall of a solicitor calling me to tell me where a drain is?
Thanks again,
Liss.

lush_walrus

The reason why as a rule EAs dont get involved with telling you what the fixtures and fittings are is purely because it is not legally binding at all. So for example, the EA speaks to the vendor to find out if they are leaving the cooker, the vendor says yes, the EA tells you that its staying then the vendor takes it with them. You will then be (understandably) angry and probably blaime the EA (not you but as a rule people would). So for that reason, solicitors draw up a legally binding list that is submitted by the vendor and must be kept to, if it isnt then they have broken their contract, which has lots of legal implications.

But in saying that, the EAs do seem to be very bad, it is normal for the EA to be the person who communicates with the vendor during the sale, and helps with your querries. I wouldnt expect the EA to know the exact age of the house off the top of their head (or maybe the vendor got it wrong who knows), although 1930s houses are obviously very different in appearance to 1900 but thats another matter. But the agent should call the vendor and ask them for you, and be of a general aid to getting the sale through.

If I were you I would bypass the EA, and if you can go around for a chat with the vendor, as you might be able to agree in principal what things you may want to be left etc, and if there are things that the vendor might be willing to sell to you that you might want etc. And then you can also have a chat about the workings of the heating, where the drain is and anything else that might come to mind.

Whether the solicitor will charge for your calls or not will vary from solicitor to solicitor, you will need to have a look at your contract with them to find that out.

johnydeath

We made a successful offer on a house last December - it was only until we were well into the searches that we found out (via our solicitor) that it was Grade 2 listed.

Some people just care about taking your money

(No we didn't buy it - needed total renovation and would have been a money sponge)

liss90

Again, thank you all for the replies. I might ring or get my partner (as the estate agent has taken a shine to him I think) to ring and ask if we can take another look. My children have not seen the house so I could use that as an excuse. I will then ask the questions that I need to know the answers to.
Maybe I have high expectations of customer services and manners as I work in customer services myself. I would never be as rude as this man but then again I have been brought up to treat others as you would like to be treated!
Thanks again,
Liss.

rach83

liss90 wrote:

I have friends who have pestered the estate agent about everything and complained when they have not got a quick and helpful response. They really annoy me and I dont know how they earn their dosh - they could not even tell me for mortgage purposes what era or age the house is - they said 1930's when infact it is 1902!

A good EA would be cagey about saying a precise date when it comes to this sort of thing as without seeing a deed plan you can never be sure on the precise age. EA's have to adhere to the Property Misdescriptions Act. Any misleading of false information on their part is a criminal offence. Alot of the time I don't think the public are aware of that to be honest.

Happy_saver_4

Hi Liss

Most EA's are unqualified and ignorant regarding property construction. I say this having been a qualified EA and Building Society surveyor. The EA obviously has a dreadful lack of manners and professionalism as well as being ignorant.

Regarding the drains. They could run under the property. This is more likely in an older property or an extended property. Normally manholes are not left inside a property because they have to be a specialised double seal construction.

First of all drains should run in a straight line from manhole to manhole. So, try and find the manhole before your property and the one after and imagine a straight line between the two - does this go under your property? If the drain fall from each of these manholes appears to fall towards your property - pour some colour dyed water down the manhole that seems the shallowest and see if the water appears at the next manhole. If it does not I'm afraid you'll have to lift manholes around the property and possibly the neighbours to find out where your dyed water appears.

The other place to check out drainage runs is your Local Council offices or Water authorites.

Regarding shared costs. Imagine the worst scenario. Six other properties sewage flows thru a drain under your property. The drain gets totally blocked and rodding won't clear it. Who should pay for the excavation, drain clearance and reparation to your property? It's hardly fair that you pay it all, or any one of the six - who created the blockage?? Costs have got to be shared.

That is why each newly built property has it's own sewage in a drain within it's own curtilage which then connects to the main sewage system accessed on a public highway.

Hope this clears up your drainage question - feel free to ask for any further info.

I'm afraid EA's do deserve the bad press they get. Sometimes you can actually hear the 'jangle of spurs' and they seem to think they are superior beings :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

bridiej

Liss: Dont feel stupid! We were all new to this at some point, to be honest I'm surprised at your solicitor for not going through the whole procedure so you have an idea of who does what.