Hopeful homeowners warned of dodgy estate agent technique

manchestereveningnews.co.uk:

Hopeful homeowners have been warned to keep an eye out for an estate agent practice that could lead them to lose more cash. Some estate agents may trick those looking to buy a house by making them believe they must use the agent's in-house services to get the best offer on the market.

The practice, commonly known as 'conditional selling' is in breach of the law, however, that doesn't prevent some agents from continuing to do it, with first-time buyers especially at risk.

While an estate agent is perfectly able to offer their own in-house services, including brokers and solicitors, they are not allowed to make a buyer believe that not using such services will result in negative consequences.

According to Money Saving Expert, this can include buyers being told that their offer won't be submitted otherwise or will be seen as less favourable than other offers.