Buying a house direct from the vendor
Discussion
Recently we went to view a newly refurbished house, we both liked & had a second viewing on Friday.
When we got there, (whilst waiting for the agent), the seller came out and spoke to us, he said to us that as he'd bought a neighboring property to do up, that he would be willing to lower his asking price significantly, if we cut out the agent, as he needs the funds to renovate his next property.
He told us what he would take for it as a lump sum & for the price it's a considerable discount & as it's our first property we need to save as much as possible!
My question is, i understand he'll have some form of contract with the agent, however if we went direct to him (which he asked us to do), are we going to be liable for any costs by doing so?
I presume not, as we have no contract with the agent, other than them showing us the house?
When we got there, (whilst waiting for the agent), the seller came out and spoke to us, he said to us that as he'd bought a neighboring property to do up, that he would be willing to lower his asking price significantly, if we cut out the agent, as he needs the funds to renovate his next property.
He told us what he would take for it as a lump sum & for the price it's a considerable discount & as it's our first property we need to save as much as possible!
My question is, i understand he'll have some form of contract with the agent, however if we went direct to him (which he asked us to do), are we going to be liable for any costs by doing so?
I presume not, as we have no contract with the agent, other than them showing us the house?
You will not be liable for any costs whatsoever, but I very much doubt that he will be able to get away with this, agents are not stupid, this happens all the time.
Even if he cancelled the contract with the agent and you "happened" to come along a few weeks later
, the agent will have your name on file as a prospective viewer, and if the get wind they will come on to the vendor for their fees as they "originally" introduced you.
You have nothing to worry about, but he is playing a very dangerous game.
I know people hate agents generally, but this is hardly fair on them.
(I'm not in the business, but this is how I understand it.)
Even if he cancelled the contract with the agent and you "happened" to come along a few weeks later
, the agent will have your name on file as a prospective viewer, and if the get wind they will come on to the vendor for their fees as they "originally" introduced you.You have nothing to worry about, but he is playing a very dangerous game.
I know people hate agents generally, but this is hardly fair on them.
(I'm not in the business, but this is how I understand it.)
king people over for decades.speedyman said:
Bought a house like this once, but to get round it the seller took it off the market, we rented it for three months (he paid the rent) with a rental agreement,then we bought the house from him as sitting tenants at a discount price.
I'm not sure how this saves money EA fees on say a £300k property around £4k. So to make it worthwhile to him say discount £2k and pocket £2k, hardly seems worth it. How large can this agent's fee possibly be in order for him to pass on a considerable saving to a buyer? It doesn't make any sense.
Do what you like, of course. You have no contract with the agent.
I'd trust this seller as far as I could throw him, however. So whatever route is taken I hope the transaction goes through smoothly.
Do what you like, of course. You have no contract with the agent.
I'd trust this seller as far as I could throw him, however. So whatever route is taken I hope the transaction goes through smoothly.
There's no real impact on yourself, however, its does give you a good indication of the kind of person you're dealing with. Bear in mind you are about to spend a large amount of money (solicitors fees, valuation, survey) based upon the integrity of this vendor, who can pull out of this deal at any time they like.
Out of interest how much of a discount are they offering, I wouldn't have thought saving agents fees would make that much difference to a deal?
Out of interest how much of a discount are they offering, I wouldn't have thought saving agents fees would make that much difference to a deal?
We went to see it & he said (before we even talked about it).
He said:
'I'll knock £10k off the ask if you buy direct, as I've bought a neighboring property to do-up & i need the money to do that.'
I said ok that's interesting, he said he has to pay £3k in fees to the EA & he needs to get a deal done so he can start work & complete the other house he has to do up.
It doesn't bother me either way, so i've left the ball in his court.
He said:
'I'll knock £10k off the ask if you buy direct, as I've bought a neighboring property to do-up & i need the money to do that.'
I said ok that's interesting, he said he has to pay £3k in fees to the EA & he needs to get a deal done so he can start work & complete the other house he has to do up.
It doesn't bother me either way, so i've left the ball in his court.
theguvernor15 said:
We went to see it & he said (before we even talked about it).
He said:
'I'll knock £10k off the ask if you buy direct, as I've bought a neighboring property to do-up & i need the money to do that.'
I said ok that's interesting, he said he has to pay £3k in fees to the EA & he needs to get a deal done so he can start work & complete the other house he has to do up.
It doesn't bother me either way, so i've left the ball in his court.
Doesn't make any sense to me to reduce by £10k to avoid £3k fees - cutting the agent out won't make the deal go any quicker and he may find himself taking a lower offer and being bound by contract to pay the fee.He said:
'I'll knock £10k off the ask if you buy direct, as I've bought a neighboring property to do-up & i need the money to do that.'
I said ok that's interesting, he said he has to pay £3k in fees to the EA & he needs to get a deal done so he can start work & complete the other house he has to do up.
It doesn't bother me either way, so i've left the ball in his court.
With that said, as a purchaser, there will be no come back on you. Although, if you live in a small town etc it could be shortsighted as any agent will be wary about introducing you to houses in future. If you live in a larger town/city I doubt anyone would remember in future other than the agent you're dealing with now.
Not that it matters to you, but there has been an effective introduction to the seller by the agent. Assuming they have a normal contract in place the agent will have a right to a fee should you purchase the property for anywhere between 6-12 months from the end of the sole agency contract.
Other people may say they got away with it by keeping it quiet/letting it from the owner etc and the agent didn't get a fee. That doesn't mean the agent wasn't entitled to one.
The way he approached you, purchase of neighbours house, needing money to do it up from his own sale, avoiding £3k in fees with a £10k price drop. Something doesn't quite sit right here for me and i'd be very suspicious.
Edited by FrankAbagnale on Monday 10th April 12:39
FrankAbagnale said:
Doesn't make any sense to me to reduce by £10k to avoid £3k fees - cutting the agent out won't make the deal go any quicker and he may find himself taking a lower offer and being bound by contract to pay the fee.
With that said, as a purchaser, there will be no come back on you. Although, if you live in a small town etc it could be shortsighted as any agent will be wary about introducing you to houses in future. If you live in a larger town/city I doubt anyone would remember in future other than the agent you're dealing with now.
Not that it matters to you, but there has been an effective introduction to the seller by the agent. Assuming they have a normal contract in place the agent will have a right to a fee should you purchase the property for anywhere between 6-12 months from the end of the sole agency contract.
Other people may say they got away with it by keeping it quiet/letting it from the owner etc and the agent didn't get a fee. That doesn't mean the agent wasn't entitled to one.
The way he approached you, purchase of neighbours house, needing money to do it up from his own sale, avoiding £3k in fees with a £10k price drop. Something doesn't quite sit right here for me and i'd be very suspicious.
We actually got to the property to view on time (second viewing).With that said, as a purchaser, there will be no come back on you. Although, if you live in a small town etc it could be shortsighted as any agent will be wary about introducing you to houses in future. If you live in a larger town/city I doubt anyone would remember in future other than the agent you're dealing with now.
Not that it matters to you, but there has been an effective introduction to the seller by the agent. Assuming they have a normal contract in place the agent will have a right to a fee should you purchase the property for anywhere between 6-12 months from the end of the sole agency contract.
Other people may say they got away with it by keeping it quiet/letting it from the owner etc and the agent didn't get a fee. That doesn't mean the agent wasn't entitled to one.
The way he approached you, purchase of neighbours house, needing money to do it up from his own sale, avoiding £3k in fees with a £10k price drop. Something doesn't quite sit right here for me and i'd be very suspicious.
Edited by FrankAbagnale on Monday 10th April 12:39
The vendor was there as he has totally renovated the house & was working on it.
Our agent showed up late & he struck up a conversation off his own back.
He said when he purchased this house to do up, he also bought the neighbouring house to do up as well, we told him we were FTB with an agreement in place & he said he needed a quick sale to free up cash to do the second house.
He said going via the EA was going to cost him £3k in fees, but as he wanted to get them both completed & sold he'd take an offer on the one we were viewing, we asked him what he'd accept & he said £10k less than the listed price to go direct.
I've left it with him and told him to check his contract with the EA & come back to me as it's not us that will be liable for any costs.
We have no issue going via the agent & offering slightly more, (he doesn't know this), however we shall see what happens when he comes back to us.
On the face of it, it does stink.
However it maybe the vendors way of "cutting to the chase" and justifying his discount for a quick transaction. If he want's out of it desperately enough he'll maybe give the agent their fee and a good discount.
Check out the values locally and go in low.
However it maybe the vendors way of "cutting to the chase" and justifying his discount for a quick transaction. If he want's out of it desperately enough he'll maybe give the agent their fee and a good discount.
Check out the values locally and go in low.
I think he is offering the £10k discount as you seem (to him) to be in a strong position.
I don't think he's really thinking, "If I don't go through an agent, i'll save £10k". He seems to be a motivated seller and thinks you could be the buyer that isn't going to mess him around so is willing to take a small hit on his profit in order to best guarantee a sale and roll his money into the next one.
I don't think it's as sinister as is being made out by others.
I don't think he's really thinking, "If I don't go through an agent, i'll save £10k". He seems to be a motivated seller and thinks you could be the buyer that isn't going to mess him around so is willing to take a small hit on his profit in order to best guarantee a sale and roll his money into the next one.
I don't think it's as sinister as is being made out by others.
I think as he has demonstrated he'd defraud the estate agent without a moments thought I would be highly suspicious of his 'complete renovation'.
Does he sound like the sort of person who would replace a rotten floor joist or would he prop it up on a brick and nail the floor back down?
Would he paint over a damp patch or properly sort the cause?
Hide or fix structural movement?
Does he sound like the sort of person who would replace a rotten floor joist or would he prop it up on a brick and nail the floor back down?
Would he paint over a damp patch or properly sort the cause?
Hide or fix structural movement?
Those are all fair points, however i guess a survey would show this up.
It's had a full rennovation, wiring is new, plumbing is new, new boiler, flooring, rads, decoration, doors, you name it. (All clearly visible.)
When we initially discussed the property with the agent he also said he'd offer a 12 month warranty on the property.
I've given it a thorough going over & it does 'look' to have been done properly.
The agent did say when they showed us round first time he wanted a quick sale as he had another property he wanted to do up.
It's had a full rennovation, wiring is new, plumbing is new, new boiler, flooring, rads, decoration, doors, you name it. (All clearly visible.)
When we initially discussed the property with the agent he also said he'd offer a 12 month warranty on the property.
I've given it a thorough going over & it does 'look' to have been done properly.
The agent did say when they showed us round first time he wanted a quick sale as he had another property he wanted to do up.
PositronicRay said:
I'm not sure how this saves money EA fees on say a £300k property around £4k. So to make it worthwhile to him say discount £2k and pocket £2k, hardly seems worth it.
The seller had bought the house as a do'er upper and had completed the refurb. work, there were tax implications for him. We didn't care as we got the house for less.theguvernor15 said:
Those are all fair points, however i guess a survey would show this up.
A survey would most certainly not show up issues which have been hidden by a developer in a renovation. That's the point, they've been hidden and will only materialise at some later date, when it's too late. A survey is not invasive.
On a renovation you need to confidence that the builder has done a proper job and not just papered over issues. A vendor prepared to ignore a legal contract is not some who instills confidence.
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