If your home is currently on the market, there’s a fair chance an unexpected letter or postcard from another estate agent will eventually land through your door.
Usually, it looks urgent. Personal. Sometimes even slightly dramatic.
And almost always, it says something along the lines of:
“We believe we have a buyer for your property.”
At first glance, it sounds exciting. Encouraging, even.
But before you pick up the phone, there are a few important things worth understanding.
Now, to be clear, there’s nothing inherently wrong with estate agents prospecting or trying to win new business. Every agent markets themselves in some form, and healthy competition is perfectly normal.
But these particular “ready buyer” letters often deserve a closer look.
Because sometimes the wording tells a very different story from the implication.
The word “believe” is doing a lot of work
This is usually the first thing worth paying attention to.
Believing there may be a buyer and actually having a qualified, proceedable buyer are very different things.
If an estate agent genuinely has somebody specifically suited to your property, they should usually be able to explain more clearly:
• What budget the buyer has
• Whether they’ve sold already
• What area they’re looking in
• Why your property matches their requirements
• Whether they’re financially qualified to proceed
If the wording remains vague or evasive, that’s often revealing in itself.
Because in many cases, the purpose of these letters isn’t actually to introduce a buyer.
It’s to start a conversation about switching agents.
If there really is a buyer, why not contact your current agent?
This is another important question sellers rarely stop to ask.
If an estate agent genuinely has a serious buyer for a property already listed elsewhere, the professional route is usually very straightforward:
They contact the agent currently instructed.
The agents communicate professionally.
The buyer is introduced properly.
The seller benefits.
That happens regularly within the industry.
So when a letter bypasses the instructed agent entirely and goes directly to the homeowner, it’s often less about helping sell the property and more about trying to win the instruction itself.
And sellers need to understand the potential risk attached to that.
You could accidentally create a double fee situation
This is the part many homeowners understandably miss.
Most sellers sign sole agency agreements when they instruct an estate agent. Those agreements often include clauses covering introductions, additional agents and “ready, willing and able” buyers.
If you independently engage another agent during that contract period, even unintentionally, you could potentially expose yourself to two separate fee claims on the same eventual sale.
That’s why reading the small print matters.
And it’s why sellers should always speak to their instructed agent before responding directly to unsolicited approaches from elsewhere.
Because the cost of misunderstanding the situation can become expensive very quickly.
You’re already paying for representation — use it
One of the biggest advantages of instructing an estate agent should be having somebody represent your interests professionally throughout the process.
So if one of these letters lands on your doormat, the simplest step is often the best one:
Forward it to your current agent.
Ask them:
• Does this create any contractual risk?
• Is there evidence of a genuine buyer?
• Can they handle the conversation directly?
• Have similar letters been sent elsewhere locally?
A good agent should answer openly and calmly.
That’s one of the reasons we became founding members of the Ethical Agent Network and now sit on its advisory panel. The network exists to promote higher standards, professionalism and transparency within estate agency, particularly around the way clients are treated and advised.
Because selling your home is stressful enough without confusion, mixed messages or avoidable fee disputes added into the mix.
And sometimes the most valuable advice an estate agent can give isn’t “sign here”.
It’s “please be careful.”
Article by Andrew Overman | Partner | Location Location East
