property property property

[fido]

you often hear about problems when people buy cars from friends, relatives, neighbours - and that it's not a good idea etc. - well what about houses?

i ask because a work colleague is thinking of moving from his expensive hell-hole in the People's Republic of Haringey to the leafy suburbs of Surrey, actually just down the road from where i reside.

strangely, the estate agents did not show him my property, though i suppose it is a very family-oriented area and he's a bachelor (like me).
i mentioned to him that my house is on sale and he's now interested in making an offer.

thought i'd put this to the experienced folk of PH...

[wanty1974]

Whatever you do, do the deal away from the estate agent so that they don't get any fees - a decent solicitor will have to be involved but it's dead easy to do.

The agent will probably kick up a fuss, but as he's your colleague and you told him about the house, it's your deal.

[fido]

yep, we discussed that just now. as far as i'm concerned, the estate agents have done nothing to justify a fee (they've done pretty much b*gger all in fact for 3 months!). think i have a reasonable case, as i sit RIGHT BEHIND the guy concerned.

[pdV6]

Just make sure you're straight with him regarding anything you know needs doing to the property or problems with neighbours.

[ledger]

I did something similar, the estate agents were fine about it. As long as you have a good solicitor you should be fine. I decided to pay more for a local solicitor (who had been recommended to me) rather than use one of the cheaper postal options because we were not using an estate agent.

However, you would need to be brutally honest with your friend about the condition of the house. Othwerwise you could sour your friendship and make it awkward at work.

good luck

[Incorrigible]

Bought my last 2 places from mates and it's soo much easier than getting repeated fob offs from estate agents Just use common sense

[z4monster]

Double check with him that the agent hasn't mentioned your property to him or you could be in deep sh1t!

I almost got done over when another agent tried to deal me a sly one. I was interested in a house that they had on their books. They had a buyer for my house, though I was with another agent. They advised that if I cancelled with the other agent then I wouldn't have any agency fees to pay.

Well, I did that and then the new agent wanted me to sign a contract with them for DOUBLE what the other agent had wanted. So I told them to stick it and went back to the original agent. They checked my client card and said that they had in fact told the prospective buyer about my house already so I would have been liable for BOThH agency fees!!

If he is sure that they haven't introduced him to your property at any point then Go for it!

[minimax]

as long as the agent has not made him aware of your property you'll be ok, if they can prove they have through mailing lists or touting or any other usual means of estate agency then you're stuffed and you'll have to pay them unfortunately

as for doing the deal privately, go for it!

It saves quite a lot in fees although there is a fair bit more hassle for both parties it usually works out in an agreeable manner. If you have a mortgage broker then collar him to do the chasing work for you and you're laughing really

[fido]

minimax said:

It saves quite a lot in fees although there is a fair bit more hassle for both parties it usually works out in an agreeable manner. If you have a mortgage broker then collar him to do the chasing work for you and you're laughing really

what extra hassles are there? it seems alot easier if his solicitor chats directly with my solicitor (with no estate agent involved).

i've checked that the estate agent has not showed him my property, and have told him to stay well clear of them from now. in any case i'm using my family solicitor (he's dealt with my dads' stuff for over 30 years) so i assume he is reasonably competent.