Any Estate Agents or anyone with sufficient knowledge about my rights?

[whitelion]

I was divorced 22+ years ago and the Court Order made provisions for the sale of the marital home to be sold after my son finished full-time education. That point has now been reached and Through my solicitor I have managed to get the house on the market.

To be honest I have left it all to the solicitor to deal with ex-wife's solicitor as we have had no communication for past 15 years.

I would like to know how the sale is proceeding but can't be bothered (at the moment) contacting solicitor - these things all cost money.

Q) Have I rights to contact the Estate Agent directly in order to find out how the sale is proceeding, whether it has been viewed and offers been made?

 

[Tricky Dicky]

You are undoubtedly paying the Estate agent, it's your house, so surely yes, you can contact them directly.

 

[Triggaaar]

Who instructed the solicitor, your ex or your solicitor? If the latter, no problem, if the former:
oop in and see the agent, explain the situation, tell them you can get a solictors letter to show it's your home too, and it should be fine.

 

[bhaexpress]

I was divorced 22+ years ago and the Court Order made provisions for the sale of the marital home to be sold after my son finished full-time education. That point has now been reached and Through my solicitor I have managed to get the house on the market.

To be honest I have left it all to the solicitor to deal with ex-wife's solicitor as we have had no communication for past 15 years.

I would like to know how the sale is proceeding but can't be bothered (at the moment) contacting solicitor - these things all cost money.

Q) Have I rights to contact the Estate Agent directly in order to find out how the sale is proceeding, whether it has been viewed and offers been made?

Of course you can, what makes you think you can't ?

 

[otk]

Sorry to hi-jack the thread, but I also have query..

A colleague is trying to sell her and her husband's house, for which an offer that is acceptable to them has been made, but the Estate Agents are refusing to sell it at that price, saying they can get a better price. I said to my colleague that surely the EA has to abide by their wishes and sell at the acceptable offer? They are paying the EA after all

 

[Orwell]

If you are listed as a joint owner then the estate agency are acting on your behalf as much as hers.

You are free to contact the agency about anything concerning the sale all the way up until contracts are exchanged, at which point it will need both yours and your ex-wifes signatures to agree the sale.

 

[Emily's Mum]

It depends of ownership of the house. In my experience (as a Bank Official deaing with transfers of property on divorce, and as a divorced person) the house would have transferred to the wife's name and your interest in the property would be secured on the house by way of a second charge; i.e., a note on the Land Registry records to say that the property cannot be disposed of without your interest being discharged by way of the payment owed to you.

However; I'm guessing that the Data Protection Act will be used by Estate Agents to prevent them from releasing information to you, as you are not the homeowner. Even if you provided documentary evidence (by way of an office copy from the Land Registry) to prove that you had an interest in the property, the Estate Agent's staff might not understand the legalities of what this means.

I know solicitors are very expensive, but it may turn out that they are the ones who could find out this information on your behalf.

You could always ask for a viewing, go round when the house is empty and ask the estate agent if they've had any offers.

If there's anything you don't understand, PM me & I'll try and help.

 

[Orwell]

Sorry to hi-jack the thread, but I also have query..

A colleague is trying to sell her and her husband's house, for which an offer that is acceptable to them has been made, but the Estate Agents are refusing to sell it at that price, saying they can get a better price. I said to my colleague that surely the EA has to abide by their wishes and sell at the acceptable offer? They are paying the EA after all

Legally the agency must put forward any offer which is made on the property, and it is up to the seller to accept or decline it. However they are also legally obliged to get the best price for the seller (which is also the best price for them).

Any offer that the seller wishes to accept the EA must proceed with as they are acting on behalf of the seller.

 

[Emily's Mum]

Sorry to hi-jack the thread, but I also have query..

A colleague is trying to sell her and her husband's house, for which an offer that is acceptable to them has been made, but the Estate Agents are refusing to sell it at that price, saying they can get a better price. I said to my colleague that surely the EA has to abide by their wishes and sell at the acceptable offer? They are paying the EA after all

It's not the Estate Agent's house! They are there to advise on what price could be obtained. If the owners are happy with the figure that has been offered, then that is what the Estate Agents should accept.

 

[otk]

Thanks to the OP and O & EM

 

[The Wookiee]

If you are on the deeds you have every right to contact the estate agent to see what's happening, also I would insist they make you aware of all viewings etc. It is half your property after all !

 

[HovaGirl]

Sorry to hi-jack the thread, but I also have query..

A colleague is trying to sell her and her husband's house, for which an offer that is acceptable to them has been made, but the Estate Agents are refusing to sell it at that price, saying they can get a better price. I said to my colleague that surely the EA has to abide by their wishes and sell at the acceptable offer? They are paying the EA after all

If they are both happy with the price, then it's up to them to accept the offer. The estate agent is just after a higher fee.

 

[otk]

If they are both happy with the price, then it's up to them to accept the offer. The estate agent is just after a higher fee.

If I was in the same boat, I'd probably tell them to pull their finger out and sell it for this imaginary higher price in two weeks, or accept the firm offer. A bird in the hand etc...

 

[whitelion]

It depends of ownership of the house. In my experience (as a Bank Official deaing with transfers of property on divorce, and as a divorced person) the house would have transferred to the wife's name and your interest in the property would be secured on the house by way of a second charge; i.e., a note on the Land Registry records to say that the property cannot be disposed of without your interest being discharged by way of the payment owed to you.

However; I'm guessing that the Data Protection Act will be used by Estate Agents to prevent them from releasing information to you, as you are not the homeowner. Even if you provided documentary evidence (by way of an office copy from the Land Registry) to prove that you had an interest in the property, the Estate Agent's staff might not understand the legalities of what this means.
I know solicitors are very expensive, but it may turn out that they are the ones who could find out this information on your behalf.

You could always ask for a viewing, go round when the house is empty and ask the estate agent if they've had any offers.

If there's anything you don't understand, PM me & I'll try and help.

Thanks EM I guessed this may be the case. You are correct in that ex-wife is the seller (as property transferred into her name) and I have a charge on the property.

I guess I should (reluctantly) contact my solicitor to see what progress has been reached but will PM you if needs be.

Thank you for your sensible and professional advice.

 

[whitelion]

Just bounced this thread.

Frustrated by the lack of progress on the sale of my ex-wife's house on which I have a legal charge, I wrote to my solicitor dealing with the case. They wrote back a few days ago saying that they are no longer trading and I then equated this case to it.

BBC News - Arscotts Solicitors legal secretary on theft charges

Arscotts Solicitors legal secretary on theft charges. A legal secretary has been charged with theft after allegedly stealing nearly £500,000 from a client's account.

Leanne Harris, 25, of Gildredge in Whitesmith, is due at Brighton Magistrates' Court on Friday charged with seven counts of theft.

Sussex Police said Ms Harris worked as a legal secretary at Arscotts Solicitors, of Lansdowne Place, Hove, between 2008 and 2010.

The charges follow an investigation by the force's major fraud unit.

She is also alleged to have stolen a further £62,000 from an elderly woman over whom she had power of attorney, Sussex Police said.


How on earth was she allowed to (allegedly) pilfer £562,000 from this company established in 1981 over a period of 3 years. I would love to know what their accounting and auditing procedures were like.

Anyway it now means that I have to find another solicitor. I did call into Goldin Lemcke last evening to be told by one of the staff that access to the property has been difficult. I wonder why?

Basically my ex is not interested in moving. The valuation of £375,000 is probably too high as I had a look back at old paperwork ad saw that it was values at £325,000 in 2008. What are the market trends? I will look but wonder if anyone can shed light on this.

 

[Daffy Duck]

If both your names are on the deeds, then any offer must be acceptable to both parties. If one party doesn't like it, then there's not a lot the other one can do, apart from maybe using their persuasive abilities.

But no way is it a decision that the estate agent should be making, they act on the seller's behalf.

 

[seagullsovergrimsby]

Your ex-missus is taking you for a ride. She knows that for as long as the house is unsold she doesn't have to start making any arrangements to find somewhere else to live. Getting a new solicitor might be the only way of getting the ball rolling again

 

[Chicken Runner61]

Go back to family court tell them the story and ask them if you can apply to the court to get an order to enforce the sale as the ORIGINAL order stated.

I really wish I didn't know this but........

If she really is stalling and gets found out you SHOULD be able to take over the sale and in extreme cases they can evict her to allow the sale. It happened to a bloke I know - the house HE solely had bought with compensation from a car accident was forcibly removed from his possesion and sold so his ex could get 70-80% of the sale proceeds and the the extra costs to remove him were then deducted from his cut!!!

As/if you are a bloke they may not be so obliging but its well worth asking as you might get a judge that will actually do something but most of them like to side with the woman even though they say they don't!

 

[Pbseagull]

I was divorced 22+ years ago and the Court Order made provisions for the sale of the marital home to be sold after my son finished full-time education. That point has now been reached and Through my solicitor I have managed to get the house on the market.

To be honest I have left it all to the solicitor to deal with ex-wife's solicitor as we have had no communication for past 15 years.

I would like to know how the sale is proceeding but can't be bothered (at the moment) contacting solicitor - these things all cost money.

The Estate Agent is effectively employed by both you and your ex-wife, so you have the rights to contact the agent for a full update on their marketing with ref to any viewers, offers etc. However, the agent will only give info to you if they are aware of your interest in the property, so you may need your solicitor to contact them to verify your position as a past owner. Once this is done you can contact the agents at any time at no cost to you.

 

[Pbseagull]

Sorry to hi-jack the thread, but I also have query..

A colleague is trying to sell her and her husband's house, for which an offer that is acceptable to them has been made, but the Estate Agents are refusing to sell it at that price, saying they can get a better price. I said to my colleague that surely the EA has to abide by their wishes and sell at the acceptable offer? They are paying the EA after all

The Agent has a legal duty to carry out the instructions of the Vendor regardless of their thoughts as to whether they can get a higher price for the property. If the owners want to accept an offer the Agent MUST put the sale in hand. I am an Agent myself and have been for 25 years, It sounds as if the Agent has some sort of agenda as in the current climate properties are not selling hand over fist. Your colleague ought to mention to their agent the 1979 Estate Agents Act, which covers the legal obligations all Estate Agents have to adhere to.