When the Confirmation Email Means Nothing
In property, as in most things, trust is built slowly and lost in an instant.
You work carefully. You do what you say you will do. You turn things around quickly, communicate clearly, and follow through on every commitment. Over time, that consistency builds a reputation that opens doors.
What you cannot always control is whether the person on the other side of the deal is doing the same.
This is the story of the time an agent's written confirmation turned out to be worth very little, an investor lost money they should never have had to spend, and a lesson I have carried into every off market deal since.
A Different Kind of Brief
Between 2015 and 2018, a significant part of our sourcing work focused on a very specific type of property. Former elderly care homes that had closed down and could be converted into supported accommodation, particularly for former soldiers and others in need of specialist housing.
It was niche, meaningful work. The buildings required careful assessment, the conversion costs were substantial, and the investors willing to take on that kind of project needed confidence that the deal was solid before committing significant time and money to the process.
That context matters for what happened next.
The Off Market Opportunity
An agent I had never worked with before made contact. They had been passed my details by another agent who knew I was actively looking for this type of building. A viewing was arranged with the owner's permission, even though the property was not yet on the market and no asking price had been set.
The viewing went well. The building had real potential. Afterwards, I asked the agent what price range the owner had in mind, not to open a negotiation but simply to understand whether the numbers were likely to work before taking it any further.
The agent told me the owner would seriously consider an early offer in the region of £225,000. They added that as long as the purchase completed reasonably quickly, the property would not be marketed.
I asked for permission to photograph the property and put together a presentation for our investor. I committed to coming back within 72 hours with a clear yes or no.
The investor's response was immediate. They were keen. I passed on an offer of £220,000.
The same day, the agent came back. The offer had been accepted. The property would not go to market. Confirmation arrived by email.
Everything in Motion
Our investor was a British citizen living and working abroad, which meant there were time differences to navigate and additional steps in the process. But they moved quickly and with complete commitment.
Within days they had instructed a conveyancer, arranged a structural survey, and begun liaising with the charity supporting former soldiers about layout requirements and refurbishment standards. They had also started the process of securing a loan for the conversion works.
This was not a cautious dip of the toe. This was a serious buyer spending real money on the basis of a confirmed, accepted offer.
Two weeks into the process, an email arrived from the agent.
The property was now on the open market. Sealed final bids were required by midday in two days.
The Fallout
There are no polite words for what that email represented.
An offer had been accepted. Written confirmation had been provided. An investor had committed time, money, and professional resources on the basis of that confirmation. And without any warning, without any conversation, the agent had simply placed the property on the open market and invited competing bids.
I contacted the investor immediately. They had already spent money that could not be recovered. They were, understandably, furious.
They submitted a bid. It was not enough. Someone else paid more and the deal was gone.
The investor lost the property and the costs they had incurred chasing it. I lodged a formal complaint about the agent's conduct. Nothing came of it.
What This Exposed
The honest truth is that an accepted offer, even one confirmed in writing, does not carry the legal weight that many people assume it does. Until contracts are exchanged, either party can walk away, and in the case of a seller or their agent choosing to re-market a property, there is often very little formal recourse available.
That does not make what happened acceptable. It makes it a risk that needs to be managed.
There are things we now do differently as a result of this experience.
When working with an agent for the first time on an off market deal, we take the time to understand who they are and how they operate before any investor is introduced. A referral from another agent is a starting point, not a guarantee. The question is not just whether they can find deals, but whether they can be trusted to honour an agreement.
We are also more explicit now about what a confirmed acceptance means in practice and what steps need to happen immediately to protect the investor's position. The faster contracts can be progressed towards exchange, the smaller the window in which something like this can happen.
And when an investor is going to be spending money before exchange, that conversation needs to happen openly. Pre-exchange costs are a reality on complex deals, but the investor needs to understand the risk they are carrying and make that decision with full information.
The Agent I Never Worked With Again
I did not work with that agent again. I made that decision immediately and have not revisited it.
The formal complaint produced nothing. The system that exists to hold agents accountable for this kind of behaviour has real limitations, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.
What I can control is who I choose to work with, how quickly I move to protect a deal once it is agreed, and how clearly I communicate the risks to my investors when a situation carries genuine uncertainty.
Trust in this industry is not naive. It is necessary. But it has to be extended carefully, verified where possible, and never mistaken for a substitute for getting to exchange as quickly as the deal allows.
An email confirmation is a starting point. Exchange is the finish line. Do not confuse the two.
Never agree to a physical meeting without thoroughly qualifying the prospective investor first. Use phone calls or quick video meetings to establish their actual financial position, their readiness to move forward, and their genuine intent on building their property portfolio.
Set Clear Boundaries
Stop travelling to them just to be nice. If someone is genuinely interested in spending significant money for your specialist deal sourcing services, they will respect your professional process. A serious client does not need you to drive three hours for a preliminary fifteen-minute chat.
Ditch the Free Advice Sessions
Learn to distinguish between a productive business meeting and a free consultation. Many people just want to pick your brain. Keep your initial conversations highly focused on whether you are a good fit to work together. Do not give away your hard-earned expertise for free.
Track Your Return on Time
Treat your working hours exactly like cash in the bank. If a specific networking event or a certain type of meeting consistently yields zero financial results, stop doing it immediately. Redirect that lost energy into activities that actually move the needle for your bottom line.
I eventually stopped doing endless tours of the UK's hotel lounges. I completely changed my onboarding process. I intentionally made it much harder for people to access my time.
The result? The time-wasters disappeared, the genuine clients stepped forward, and the contracts finally started rolling in.
Protect Your Standards
In business, your eyes are your best tool. Whether you are filtering out time-wasting prospects in a hotel lobby or checking the quality of a contractor's work on a Tuesday afternoon, you have to stay sharp.
Protect your time, because it is the one resource you can never earn back. And protect your standards, because nobody else will care about your business as much as you do.
Set your boundaries, enforce your rules, and never take your eyes off the ball.
In this article
