GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!
I thought working out and securing a good mortgage deal was a mind screw, but actually attempting to put an offer down on a house is just as bad.
About a month ago my wife and I were snooping around a house that we quite liked and wanted to make an offer on it, however, we had to first make sure that we could secure a mortgage and a deposit. After making contact with a mortgage advisor, we contacted the estate agent to ask about the house, they told us, in no uncertain terms that the house was now sold.
Gutted, we decided to regroup, search for a new house, in a decent area, blah, blah, and slowed the process of getting a mortgage and deposit together, as, well, hunting for a home is time consuming.
Anyway, last week the vendor approached my wife and my mum after he spied them out shopping, he asked if we were still interested in the house and whether or not we would like any additional viewings before making an offer. Confused, my wife and mum told him that the estate agent told us that the house was sold. He was just as confused, yes an offer had been made on his property, but. He had not accepted any offer. He then went on the usual sellers spiel about us being the “preferred” buyer and how if we can match or better this other offer then he’d sell to us.
After discussions, we made another appointment to see the mortgage advisor, as we were trying to get the Agreement in Principle Certificate, the mortgage provider’s site wouldn’t let us input a previous address as it appeared on their system in four different ways – none of which was accepted by their OWN system anyway... The advisor called up the mortgage provider and was met with a voicemail message saying their offices were shut and to call back on Monday.
Cue Monday, the advisor sends me the certificate, and I instructed him to make an offer on the house on our behalf. He called back to say that he was “shot down in flames”, the house was sold and off the market and had been for over a week! A bit strange as my wife had called up the estate agent in the morning and was told that the house was still for sale and they were accepting offers.
EH??!
A house that was for sale just hours before we made our official offer had been sold for over a week (yet was still clearly visible on their website). Ah well, fair enough, must have been a case of the file not having been updated, so, last night I began a search for another home.
Then, this morning, the advisor called me, he had contacted the estate agent again to find out exactly what was going on. This time he was told that the house was still up for sale and that they were accepting offers on it...
EH??!
It appears that this is a very special house, it is both up for sale and not for sale at the same time...
I now fully understand why estate agents are hated.
GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!