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Are you on estate agents lists for your area? When places come onto market in popular places they can sell BEFORE they hit Rightmove and the like. The agents will send out to interested parties on their lists first.BadAtHaggling wrote: »It's a real sellers' market locally and we're not having much luck with finding houses within our budget in the areas we would prefer. I've been receiving property alerts for a few years now to get a feel for what's available and new properties only crop up about once every couple of months and then they are snapped up instantly for well above asking price. We've had a few viewings cancelled due to places selling after the first view - very frustrating..
Could be an issue with your letting agent if they also do sales. If the sales / letting departments are fully separate it might not be an issue. Or get a friend / relative to sign up on your behalf.0 -
Are you on estate agents lists for your area? When places come onto market in popular places they can sell BEFORE they hit Rightmove and the like. The agents will send out to interested parties on their lists first.
Could be an issue with your letting agent if they also do sales. If the sales / letting departments are fully separate it might not be an issue. Or get a friend / relative to sign up on your behalf.
Hi Bimbly, thanks for the advice. Yes we are on the lists of a number of local EAs but they haven't been much use unfortunately. I can only think of two properties that we were told about before they went online: one went on Rightmove the next day and would only allow block viewings on a particular day anyway so that wasn't helpful; and the other was a house that didn't meet any of our preferences at all - it was nowhere near any of the locations we had suggested and was about 50 grand over our maximum price! We've been surprised to not receive more help on that front but I think there's just a lot more demand than supply.
I think the lettings and sales teams of my current EA are in the same office/building unfortunately and we are in contact with both as they are selling the house for the LL alongside renting it to us.
We will do our best to avoid renting with them again (or buying through them) but if it becomes inevitable then I just hope I'm doing the right thing by avoiding the CPT. Time will tell I guess...0 -
Don't think the agent has actually spoken to the LL - they are probably doing what they like and taking no notice of what the LL wants and taking advantage of an 80 year old.
Hi D_M_E, I think they probably have spoken to her as I had a message before that saying they were trying to contact her but were having trouble reaching her. That situation is common as her and her husband spend a lot of the year in their second home in Spain (they're loaded) and rarely seem to answer the phone when out there - we've often had repairs delayed because of this and the contractors who know her (she prefers using people she knows to save money rather than EA contractors) agree she can be hard to get hold of.
I expect they just told her that the CPT offered more security and that we could leave with 1 month's notice on the SPT - she would have gone with whatever the EA recommended. Or maybe they said they don't permit SPTs, or didn't even mention the SPT and just asked if she was happy to proceed with the renewal fees for the CPT? I'm not sure exactly but yes, they will be taking advantage of her not knowing the facts about a SPT and emphasising the importance of a new printed contract. I just wish I could have a conversation with her about it but I think that's going to be impossible.0 -
Maybe I'm being a dunce but why avoid buying through them? You say there is a shortage of properties suitable for you to buy and that they have a lot of the market share. When buying I would go by the property regardless of the agent, it's not as if you re going to have an ongoing relationship with them.BadAtHaggling wrote: »I think the lettings and sales teams of my current EA are in the same office/building unfortunately and we are in contact with both as they are selling the house for the LL alongside renting it to us.
We will do our best to avoid renting with them again (or buying through them) but if it becomes inevitable then I just hope I'm doing the right thing by avoiding the CPT. Time will tell I guess...
Their priority is getting paid, that means selling and you are a genuine buyer.
That you will be at the end of the chain (as you have nothing to sell) makes you a valuable buyer so I don't think they will let niggles over your rental get in the way of a nice fat selling fee. Or possibly several fees if they are the selling agent for more than one property in the chain. That could easily be worth several even tens of thousands to them.
It may be if there are two equally proceedable buyers you get lower priority but that could happen in any case although if you submit your offer in writing they should pass it on the the vendor (unless below the amount the vendor has stipulated).
Obviously the fact that they are pushy may mean they want to flog you mortgage products but you can politely decline those.
I think what you need is a bit of confidence in yourself. The EA wants to earn with the least amount of hassle so they will be more interested in that than getting even with a supposed slight.
I hope it all works out well for you
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