The estate agents who ‘forgot’ to mention murder, the bodies in the garden and other outrageous complaints…

When the housing market starts to boom, buyers’ and sellers’ activity soars. One side wants their property to sell for the highest price and the other wants to grab a bargain. 

In this frenzy the estate agents try to keep both sides happy. However, in their desperation to get a sale or exploit a property, things can go very wrong. 

Lovely large garden (bodies included) 

When advertising a property in the grounds of a cemetery, it is not unreasonable to list this relevant key feature. However, the agent failed to do so. 

The advert also failed to disclose that the property and its surroundings were Grade ll listed or warn that human remains had been found in the garden. 

Incredibly, the agent didn’t even mention that there was an ongoing investigation to determine if there were any other bodies in the vicinity. 

I hate this town – I WANT A REFUND! 

If you plan to move to a new town, you are likely to visit a few times before investing thousands of pounds into a potential property. But if you fail to do your research, you have no one to blame but yourself - called caveat emptor. 

However, one buyer actually tried to get some compensation from her estate agents when she decided she didn’t like the town she had moved to. 

She had approached the company and told the staff that two of her friends had moved to the town, so could they help her find a home. They did, and the client moved in weeks later. 

Months later she filed a formal complaint, saying that the town was messy and ‘vicious’ seagulls made it impossible to enjoy her balcony whilst eating tea. 

She then argued that this information should have been disclosed to her, and that she should be entitled to some form of compensation. Obviously her request was rejected as a buyer is expected to discover if a town is suitable for their needs before moving there. 

You didn’t tell us about the ghosts! 

An icy breeze swept across his face whilst reaching for the master bedroom door of the 200 year old manor house.

He reached out, turned the door knob slowly and pushed the door ajar. Suddenly the door slammed shut like someone has pushed it with strength from the inside. 

But there was no one in the room. His wife turned pale, and felt queasy. She trembled as she asked the agent “Is this house haunted?”. 

No, this isn’t an opening chapter to a low-budget thriller but actually the story of the couple who wanted compensation for not knowing the history of this great property. In this case, the agent who was showing the couple around actually laughed off the question. 

The couple who had put down a non-refundable deposit to reserve it managed to find a book about the Manor’s history, which spelled out its disturbing past. 

The Manor had been built by a cruel and wealthy shipping merchant, who is said to haunt the master bedroom. 

The angry couple then rang the estate agents and asked why the property’s history had not been disclosed. They also went on to pull out of the sale and demand that they had their deposit back.

The agents refused to refund the money. They claimed that as they were not local to the area they didn’t know much about it. 

The complaint was later rejected. An estate agent cannot investigate and prove if there was a supernatural presence during one viewing. If a murder has taken place in a property, they should tell you. However, they weren’t to know the property’s history and previous residents.

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If you are looking to buy a property and don’t want any scary surprises why not contact us by visiting our website. If you missed the recent changes which will make instances like those above much less common, and potentially punishable by two years in prison, check out our blog here.

www.PropertySurveying.co.uk

 

CW / SRJ                                                                                                               01.07.14