First time buyer needs a bit of advice.

Deuteronomy · 3 Jan 2008 at 23:24

Just before xmas put an offer on a house and was accepted, in writing too.
( property is an empty reposession) Got mortguage application in and arranged solicitors etc all before xmas shutdown.
I heard today that the estate agents were showing somepeople around the property and indeed it is still marketed on the web and forsale sign etc. (i have friends that live opposite)

Is this normal practice? Shouldnt they not be showing other around as I have had an offer accepted (i know this is not legally binding)

what are my options here.

Dolph · 3 Jan 2008 at 23:27

Phone the estate agent and ask them to take it off the market. In theory, they can keep marketing it up until the contract exchange date, but that leaves you at risk of gazumping.

It's generally best to make an offer subject to the house being removed from the market for this reason.

Rotty · 3 Jan 2008 at 23:28

Dolph said:
It's generally best to make an offer subject to the house being removed from the market for this reason.

correct, it is normal to make this a condition of the offer

GarethDW · 4 Jan 2008 at 00:16

Rotty said:
correct, it is normal to make this a condition of the offer

Yep, we insisted this was the case when we bought our place and we'll do so for our next one too.

Get on the phone to the estate agent tomorrow and get them to do this, saying that otherwise you'll be rescinding your offer. Don't let the estate agent walk over you and try telling you that it's not gonna be possible. As a FTB, you're an ideal purchaser for the vendor because you're not in a chain, so they won't want to lose you.

Deuteronomy · 4 Jan 2008 at 05:21

Well it looks like I will have to ring the agents then, not something I look forward to, and these ones have been fairly nice compared to others I have delt with, had to tell one where to go because I wouldnt see their mortgage advisor who they insist I saw - even though I had arranged one through my IFA.

Fact is I really like this house and being a repo its a nice bargian, should I be making threats I dont want to follow through on?

a1ex2001 · 4 Jan 2008 at 09:21

Deuteronomy said:
Fact is I really like this house and being a repo its a nice bargian, should I be making threats I dont want to follow through on?

Never start making threats, save them for a last resort. Ring the estate agent up and politely discuss the situation, it maybe a simple mistake or misunderstanding they do happen.

If it comes to it and they refuse to stop marketing it then I would tell them to stop imediately or you will be removing your offer from the property. If you continue with the purchase under these circumstances you risk loosing all the money invested in searches etc when someone offers more than you the day before exchange.

the Sold sign went up outside our house the day after the offer was acepted, it was still listed on the net for a couple of weeks but it was shown as under offer. This is I think normal best practice.

Paul11 · 4 Jan 2008 at 09:39

i had a situation where the agent told me they would not remove a property from the market until i had exchanged because they wanted to have a backup in case i pulled out...

i told them that my offer was conditional of it being taken off the market or i would look elsewhere, and they agreed on the basis that i had a survey done within a certain time which i agreed too as the seller was in a hurry.

schnipps · 4 Jan 2008 at 09:39

Depends when we bought ours they kept it on the market until all was sorted, i asked for it to be taken off and they just said its their policy to leave it open for viewings but they tell people an offer is accepted. All you can do is ask and see what happens, dont start making threats if you arent prepared to loose it though.

Stinky · 4 Jan 2008 at 09:41

as it is a repo this maybe a condition by the bank that it they will not take it off the market.

we have one on at the moment like this

camels5 · 4 Jan 2008 at 09:42

Most sellers want the property kept on the market until contracts have been exchanged, but after a survey has been done they can be persuaded to take it off the market.

yourmomma · 4 Jan 2008 at 10:59

repo's are always like this as the bank has to get the most money back so will leave the property up for sale untill you complete in case someone out bids you.

nucastle · 4 Jan 2008 at 11:03

Agents will always be lining up the next possible punter right up to the moment of completion as an insurance policy against something going wrong.

The house im renting and moving out from is days away from completion now after 3 months or so since it was 'sold', but there are still for sale boards outside, and people have still been coming to view it.

Just one of the risks when you buy a house i suppose - although how much of a risk or a help it is depends on the market .... And whether or not being are snapping at properties to the point of gazumping others,

itsallaboutyou · 4 Jan 2008 at 11:08

It's a condition that the bank/building society will insist upon and they are legally obliged to i believe. Are you buying through a 'normal' estate agent? or a specialist in reposessions?

The debtor/creditor has to ensure that as much money as possible is recovered and as such they'll keep it on the market...until contracts are exchanged...

If you were buying a non reposession house then you'd be well advised (as previous posters have already said) to ensure that your offer is dependant upon the vendor taking the house off the market and ensuring exclusivity.

Tom*

pretty much realised what I've just said has already been said!

Stinky · 4 Jan 2008 at 11:54

Exactly as above. could go into detail in my first post as i was stepping out on an appointment.

But with the current property we have up that is being repo. In the T&C it states the property to be marked available untill exchange of contracts. and for sale board to be marked as for sale rather than sale agreed at all times

lordedmond · 4 Jan 2008 at 12:17

if its a repro then the estate agent is bound to keep it on the market to get the best price forit

it is normal for them to advertise the offer and ask for higher offers

note the agent works for the seller not the buyer

BTW i am not an estate agent just sold my mums house so clued up at the mo

Deuteronomy · 4 Jan 2008 at 12:27

Its incredibly frustrating all this, I thought I had it all sorted before the xmas shutdown but I have since had to change the solicitors -there were not enough partners in the firm for the building society.

Ive called the bulding society today and they are just waiting on a fax from my solictors then they can make the offer.

I then called the estate agents and advised them of this and asked that the property be taken off the market but they said their clients wish is that this not be done unitil completion.

It looks like a race to completion then. The repossession sale is being handled by a 3rd party called AMG property management thats all the agent would let me know, they wouldnt disclose who owned the repo, so it seems this AMG will get a cut of the sale too, probably why its still going to be marketed, although I was informed by the agent they needed a fast sale, the price had aleady been reduced as it had been on for some time.