I was unfortunate enough to see a house i wanted to buy through Holroyd Miller in Wakefield. I was told that I could not view the property until I had sold my own. I explained that I would only want to move from my home, if I found that the house they were selling was suitable. It is a very unique property for the area,and that was why I was interested. They still said that I had to sell before could view, so I did. I went to look, and I fell in love with it. It could be very nice with a bit of TLC.
I put in an offer which was accepted,and the process began.
I understand that Holroyd Miller were aching as agents for the seller, but as the buyer, I felt I was not represented by them at all. They asked very personal questions about my finances, and I was called every week with them trying to hurry me along. All the way through I had done everything that was required promptly.
We were quite far into the process, and my buyers had spent £600 for their survey doing on my house, when my solicitor informed of a couple of things that had not been pointed out by Holrotd Mille,r or the person selling the barn conversion. It then started to go quiet from their end, and I expressed my concerns several times to Emma. The issues raised were never answered.
Out of the blue I had a jumbled call from Emma, and the outcome was that the seller wanted another £33,000! I said I could not go to that. I knew that the previous sale had fallen through, and I asked why that was. Emma muttered that it was something to do with the questions that my solicitor had also asked about.
I feel that I was mislead and lied to by both the agent and the person selling the property. If Holrotd Miller knew why the previous sale had fallen through, they should have pointed out the issues with the septic tank from the start, not tried to skim over. Then, at least, the buyer csn make an informed decision, and save a lot of time and money . I feel that they were hoping that the issue's would not be picked up on.
The young couple who were hoping to buy my house have been left disappointed and are £600 out of pocket. It's about time the law was charged to protect the innocent from time wasters.
The barn conversion they were selling, has now been taken off the market again.
This is in response to the reply below.
I accept the explanation regarding the viewing and establishing my mortgage situation. However, your valuation of the property, and the price in which it was advertised, was £25,000 less than your client asked for in the end. The property was advertised as no onward chain, and so I fail to understand the comments on your client not being to secure another suitable property for the price they agreed. (292,000) Also, the questions raised by my solicitor about the barn having a septic tank sewerage system, and that tank being located on someone else's land were not pointed out at any time, and when questions were asked, no answers or paperwork were available. I feel that this was misleading, especially as Emma, when asked, confirmed that this was the reason that the previous sale had fallen through. There's no point in making a formal complaint, so I'll decline, but thank you for the offer anyway.
Regards,
Amanda.
Amanda Cockerham, 12 May 2021