There have, says Bill Rawson, Chairman of the Rawson Property Group, recently been a number of cases where do-it-yourself sellers, dispensing with the help of an estate agent or in some cases advised by an untrained agent, have accepted offers from buyers – and even allowed them to take occupation – only to find that, in fact, they were not in a position to buy.
This, said Rawson, usually comes about as a result of the buyer’s offer being conditional on his being granted a bond, or on selling his existing home, or some other property.
“It happens all too often that, just when it all seems to be going well, it becomes clear that the buyer’s previous home, for which he was totally confident of finding a purchaser, is in fact not going to sell – at least not in the immediate future. Alternatively, it becomes clear that, despite the buyer’s confidence and assurances and even the initial encouragement from the bank, he is not going to be granted a bond. In both of these cases it means that the subsequent agreed sale cannot go ahead.”
The only people who benefit from this situation, said Rawson, are the lawyers – but even with their help such problems can take months to sort out, especially if the buyer is from another town or, as quite frequently happens, has moved into his new home on an occupational rental basis.
Any estate agent who allows such a situation to arise, said Rawson, is acting with an extreme lack of professionalism because checking on previous sales progress and/or bond applications is the primary duty of any good agent. Private sellers who end up in this predicament, he said, have only themselves to blame.
“In almost all cases it does pay to employ a reputable and experienced agent and to start consultation with one’s conveyancer early on,” said Rawson.
