Role of estate agents

[getgirl]

Two offers fell through on the sale of my flat recently due to the purchasers not having the right mortgage agreement for the type of property. How far (if at all) are estate agents responsible for ensuring that prospective buyers are given the right advice to proceed with arranging lending - is there any action I can take against the agents for mis-management? Long shot I am sure..... Thanks!

[j2buttonsw]

I believe potential buyers can get a mortgage guarantee certificate from lenders to show that any offer they make can be honoured and I suppose you could insist that you will only accept an offer from those holding one. Estate agents are very interested in the commission they make from selling a property so it would benefit them if they could ensure the sale goes through, but I expect they also get bonuses for pointing potential buyers at a particular lender. Best of luck with your sale: get in before house prices crash.

[rekstout]

It really depends upon the agreement you have with the agent - I assume that you signed an agreement with them to say they will represent you etc and laying out the minimum terms of what they will do e.g. minimum number of newspaper adverts etc. It may also detail how far they agreed to vet prospective buyers before passing on an offer. If so you might be able to sue for breach of contract or something - sorry not a legal eagle but I wouls say check you contract for weasel get-out clauses before taking things any further.

[getgirl]

Thanks for the input. I will check the terms, but fear that they are too sketchy to insure me against anything like this. It just seems like their 3% commission is so easy come / easy go that they are prepared to do as little as possible and risk losing it. I have even suggested brokers for them to use, and they don't want to pass this on ( unethical being the veiled excuse.) I will just see if there is anything I can do from a consumer protection side. Thanks again.

[BenDToy]

In my experience, part of the job of an estate agent (especially one charging 3%!) is to vet potential buyers, and advise you accordingly. However I suspect they have an obligation to pass on all offers to you, regardless of the status of the buyer. You then have to form your own view. By the way, which part of the country is this? Our local agents (North West England) are charging from 0.5% to about 1.5%. I sold my house with an excellent one at a negotiated rate of 0.8%.

[getgirl]

London (East)is the area.... no surpises there, then. 3% as multiple agents, and 2% single. However other areas of London - (West) are 1.5%.

[cupra]

I agree with the sentiments (it has happened to me), but don't forget there are many reasons why a mortgage offer can fail - and this is probably why there'll be some sort of protection on the EA's contract with you. I think there may be a proposal to change the law so an offer can only be made if the funds are available - good idea IMO.

[darth vader]

I could be wrong but i was told that the Estate Agent doesn't get his/her percentage until the house is sold - so it is in their interests to sell the house. As Bendtoy suggests, the Est. Agent has a legal obligation to forward all offers, no matter how unrealistic. They are not responsible for the party making the offer as regards to the party's ability to follow up on the offer. You can however, insist with your Est. Agent that all offers are accompanied by a "pre-mortgage agreement" from their mortgage lender (i can't remember the name for it but it's a letter of intent from the mortgage lender agreeing a mortgage up to a certain level)