Deedy1
13-12-2005, 12:14 PM
Hi Everyone!
Here I am again with a different problem! We have been given notice on our current property and have been viewing other properties, but have specified to prospective agents and landlords that we are looking for a fairly long term let of approx. 2 years. In the past we have had houses sold out from underneath us, so this time we have told everyone involved that we would prefer a professional landlord who owns several properties, so that we don't have to keep forking out 4K every time a landlord decides to sell. We recently went to view a property, and voiced our concerns to both the landlord and the managing agent, and they assured us that there was no problem with a long term let. We decided to take the property and paid the standard £250 holding deposit. Two weeks later, we discover, purely by chance, that the property in question is up for sale. We had contacted several agencies prior to viewing this one and they informed us immediately if the properties were also up for sale, but this particular agency failed to do so.
We are now in a position where we have decided not to take the property, as we feel very uneasy at not being told by the agency that the landlord primarily wanted to sell the property, and couldn't. Logically, if a prospective buyer came along, a cash lump sum would be preferable to a rental income to the landlord and we feel it would be too risky, as we have been dumped on twice before.
The agency are now saying that we are not entitled to our £250 deposit back, despite the fact that the house was still being marketed on their website after the cheque had cleared. They are trying to claim that this has been put towards "administration costs" which consist of two electronic referencing forms (which we didn't even complete) and a letter and invoice from the agents. Can they justly hold on to our money? I don't think they can, but I'm no expert, hence my request for help from you guys!
All comments appreciated!
Thanks!
Deedy
Here I am again with a different problem! We have been given notice on our current property and have been viewing other properties, but have specified to prospective agents and landlords that we are looking for a fairly long term let of approx. 2 years. In the past we have had houses sold out from underneath us, so this time we have told everyone involved that we would prefer a professional landlord who owns several properties, so that we don't have to keep forking out 4K every time a landlord decides to sell. We recently went to view a property, and voiced our concerns to both the landlord and the managing agent, and they assured us that there was no problem with a long term let. We decided to take the property and paid the standard £250 holding deposit. Two weeks later, we discover, purely by chance, that the property in question is up for sale. We had contacted several agencies prior to viewing this one and they informed us immediately if the properties were also up for sale, but this particular agency failed to do so.
We are now in a position where we have decided not to take the property, as we feel very uneasy at not being told by the agency that the landlord primarily wanted to sell the property, and couldn't. Logically, if a prospective buyer came along, a cash lump sum would be preferable to a rental income to the landlord and we feel it would be too risky, as we have been dumped on twice before.
The agency are now saying that we are not entitled to our £250 deposit back, despite the fact that the house was still being marketed on their website after the cheque had cleared. They are trying to claim that this has been put towards "administration costs" which consist of two electronic referencing forms (which we didn't even complete) and a letter and invoice from the agents. Can they justly hold on to our money? I don't think they can, but I'm no expert, hence my request for help from you guys!
All comments appreciated!
Thanks!
Deedy