Anyone buying or bought a property recently?

Layla T · Feb 12, 2013

Hi all

Wondering if there's anyone out there who's bought a property or is in the middle of buying and had a hard time?

Thing is, you guys are my target audience and I could do with your input.

I've spent months (and a lot of money ) working on a site that offers free advice on the whole process of buying from the early stages of viewing to the stress of dealing with slow and un responsive solicitors, bad surveys, you name it.

Ive been an estate agent for years and I know that 9 times out of 10, buyers go through a lot of stress. I wanted to offer some advice from an insider's point of view ie how estate agents work, what type of Conveyencing firms to stay away from etc.

Can anyone tell me if this sort of modern, interactive sight would've helped them out? And where you might have looked for advice/ support or expected to find it? In other words, any ideas how I can make the site known to potential buyers??

Seriously, any feedback much appreciated!!

Thanks, Layla
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Simply-buy.net
The Home Buyer's Guide

smo · Feb 12, 2013

We moved middle of last year and it was a nightmare!

Most estate agents are crap, they get paid a fortune and do very little. They have a habit of telling white lies which if you are on your toes you can catch them out on when they trip themselves up and even if they are working for you (ie: you are the seller and they are your selling agent) they dont really have your best interests at heart!

Solicitors, use a local expert not some faceless internet firm who use a pool of phone monkeys who simply pull a file from a cabinet and write a pointless email. Our local lady was brilliant (with one exception - see below!) but the other parties internet cheapie national chain were awful. Slow to respond, refused to talk to us on occasions, dragged the whole process down and nearly lost the entire chain of purchases/sales due to their inneptitude.

Check calculations, then double check! Our otherwise excellent solicitor mis-calculated our stamp and rang me 4 weeks after we had moved to say I owed a futher £5000 - bit of a shock!

Argh - I could go on, its nto something me or my wife are rushing to do again!!!

As for getting your site known your best way is to team up with local and natonal agents, perhaps the team network of independants and get them to pimp your site in return for something?

Layla T · Feb 12, 2013

Thanks for that, yeah I know I know most agents lie and bluff their way through the sales process to make sure they get their fee. Hate to be corny but I am an exception to the rule!

I hope, if you were to check out the site, you'd see that it's exactly the same kind of nightmare you had I'm hoping to help people through. I've spent the last three weeks in my day job holding together five separate sales that were on the brink of collapse for all sorts of reasons.

You're absolutely right about the big city firms of conveyencers and the online ones, I've seen a lot of sales collapse because of companies like that.

I've thought about approaching the agents, just don't know what I could offer them. I wouldn't want to recommend agents I don't know anything about. Their actions would impact my reputation if I got it wrong.

Tricky . . .

Anonymouse72 · Feb 13, 2013

lots of buyers & sellers over on MSE forum, might be worth asking there.

BusinessDeli · Feb 13, 2013

This could spark a lot of abuse for estate agents! The only use for them is to have the house listed for others to see. If individuals could list their property on Rightmove then estate agents would all but die out.
Personally I accept the situation that the estate agent will make a good profit from the vendor and that I will have to chase the conveyancer for paperwork. As far as I'm concerned it's part and parcel of property.
What I would like to see is a one stop shop; one person who advertises the property, is the one point of liaison between vendor and purchaser and that handles all conveyancing thereby removing delays in chasing people in several companies. It can't happen though as there would end up being conflicts of interest, not skilled enough and the ever-present 'chain'.
Moving is a ball-ache but you just live with it and breathe easy if it goes well.

altwebdesign · Feb 13, 2013

Attempting to buy right now, the bank just need more and more information, taking a long time!

BusinessDeli · Feb 13, 2013

altwebdesign said:
Attempting to buy right now, the bank just need more and more information, taking a long time!

Oh yes, the pains of mortgages! Even harder when you're self employed / business owner.

Talay · Feb 13, 2013

Estate agents are a throw back to ancient times. They are parasitic and believe they deserve huge fees for doing next to bugger all. Most I've met would shaft you in a heartbeat and I've caught one trying to push through a sale with a middle dummy buyer to shaft the vendor.

Most companies would snatch your hand off for a few grand without pushing for a percentage deal but not many agents will.

In the age of the internet and with the ease of mass communication, do you really think there are buyers out there who do no work themselves and only ask to be spoon fed estate agent fodder ?

If you can get your property onto Rightmove and Primelocation, it is job done as no-one looking for property doesn't look at those sites.

Perhaps as with High Street stores, you can use them to get a price and then go sell on the internet !

Layla T · Feb 13, 2013

Thank you Anonymouse for that, I will definitely look into that, sounds perfect.

Loofah, well I guess the General dislike of Estate Agents was inevitably going to make its way into this post. I hadn't realised that we were SO unpopular!
Haha well the hope is to eventually get out of this job and work for myself full time. In the meantime though I have good HONEST team around me I swear!

Any decent Estate Agent should be doing the chasing for you though, if not for the sake of good customer service then at least for the sake of securing their own fee. I appreciate your comments though, thank you.

As for you Altwebdesign, sounds like you're at the fairly early stages of your purchase. I hope it goes well for you! If at any time you feel like you're being kept in the dark please don't hesitate to ask me anything anytime. Sales progression is what I do and I do it well. If you're a facebook user, you can chat anytime you want even if it's just to vent your frustration.

Thanks again everyone!

Layla T · Feb 13, 2013

Hi Talay

I honestly wish I'd never said I was an Estate Agent now

It's because of my day job (stressful as it is ) that I know that often, buyers (particularly first time buyers) get swept along through the process and do rely on the advice of the Agents which isn't always given with the buyers' interests in mind. I know that it happens, I'm not denying it and frankly I'm disgusted by Agents who operate this way.
Of course many buyers are switched on enough to do their homework and don't need their hand holding but generally, unless a buyer knows an Estate Agent or a solicitor, they do find themselves in the middle of something much more complicated and stressful than they expected.

Yesterday one of our properties exchanged contracts 11 weeks after the offer was accepted. The buyers had been ready to exchange for over three weeks but there was a long chain and a complication at the top. The buyers were a young couple expecting their first child. The poor girl got herself so stressed and upset over it all that she went into labour well before her due date. They rung me everyday for three weeks because I was the only one in the chain (solicitors and Agents included) who bothered to chase and keep her updated.

I know it's hard to believe. But there are some smaller Independent Estate Agents who give a good service and go the extra mile for their clients.

Right, defensive rant over

altwebdesign · Feb 13, 2013

Layla T said:
As for you Altwebdesign, sounds like you're at the fairly early stages of your purchase. I hope it goes well for you! If at any time you feel like you're being kept in the dark please don't hesitate to ask me anything anytime. Sales progression is what I do and I do it well. If you're a facebook user, you can chat anytime you want even if it's just to vent your frustration.

Thanks again everyone!

ive got everything in place everything accepted and now the bank want more info about the business etc etc, just gotta get it all sorted ASAP!

Multi-store · Feb 13, 2013

Layla T said:
Hi all

Wondering if there's anyone out there who's bought a property or is in the middle of buying and had a hard time?

Thing is, you guys are my target audience and I could do with your input.

I've spent months (and a lot of money ) working on a site that offers free advice on the whole process of buying from the early stages of viewing to the stress of dealing with slow and un responsive solicitors, bad surveys, you name it.

Ive been an estate agent for years and I know that 9 times out of 10, buyers go through a lot of stress. I wanted to offer some advice from an insider's point of view ie how estate agents work, what type of Conveyencing firms to stay away from etc.

Can anyone tell me if this sort of modern, interactive sight would've helped them out? And where you might have looked for advice/ support or expected to find it? In other words, any ideas how I can make the site known to potential buyers??

Seriously, any feedback much appreciated!!

Thanks, Layla
__________________
Simply-buy.net
The Home Buyer's Guide

I bought my first house last year. The process was not too bad but it was stressfull. Our mortgage advisor was great though, we paid him £49 once everything was dusted and were really happy with it.

The one thing i would have liked would of been an idiots guide, literally a checklist of all the things to consider and review before you can actually sit down and relax. everything from the different insurances you must have or should have through to solicitor fees, processes, etc. There are plenty of things i wish i HAD checked before buying which have not been a huge problem, but have caused me problems since i moved in, i,e the conservatory was warm when i went, in the summer, but over the winter it was freezing! i didnt even think to ask.....just thought....ooh that looks nice and the mrs likes it too.

Even things like, kitchen cupboards not affixed very well, completely blind to it when we purchased, only now after a year do i notice they need fixing...

vvaannmmaann · Feb 13, 2013

My wife is a property search agent,she has never been busier.Nearly all of her clients are fed up with estate agents telling lies and misrepresenting properties.
She works for the buyer and views the whole process from the buyers perspective.They also like the fact that as she is not emotionally attached to a particular property and she acts as a buffer between all the interested parties.She also re-negotiates on the purchase price,chases solicitors, mortgage companies etc as required and acts as one point of contact throughout the entire process.
As her last clients were ex-pats returning from Hong Kong she even arranged for the place to be cleaned and made ready for them,collected the keys and to see that the fridge and freezer to be stocked up for the new owners.Needless to say the family were delighted.

Talay · Feb 13, 2013

I'm not sure what the complication is, except that those in the chain make it complicated when it isn't.

The first rule of thumb should be for would be buyers to remember that the bloke trying to sell them their dream property has a vested interest in extracting the most money from them and has no legal contract with the purchaser. Too many buyers lose sight of this and think the agent is "working for them" then nothing could be further from the truth.

If you can obtain the services of a half decent lawyer then you can dispense with the whole charade of estate agents. I never use one.

However, if the OP can live with chastising his own compatriots, then championing the buyer from within the ranks of estate agency could be a winning formula for those who need their hand holding. Whether the new generation of buyers needs as much hand holding as previous generations will be the acid test I think.

Layla T · Feb 13, 2013

Multi-store
Thank you for your post, very useful to know. It's a tricky one though, impossible to check every nook and cranny of a property before you commit to buy. I hope overall you were happy with your purchase.

vvaannmmaann
It sounds like your wife does exactly what I'm looking to do so it's great to hear that she's busier than ever. The site is very much focused on the buyer and not the seller at all. Very encouraging, thank you

Talay
Thank you again. Really appreciate your comments

QuickHomeBuyers · Feb 14, 2013

Plug:

Have access to properties substantially below the market value and happy to have a chat with people who want day one equity in the property.

You can chose between properties which need work or you can pick one in a fairly decent condition.

If you can move fast, we can save £10's of thousands in equity.

Multi-store · Feb 14, 2013

Layla T said:
Multi-store
Thank you for your post, very useful to know. It's a tricky one though, impossible to check every nook and cranny of a property before you commit to buy. I hope overall you were happy with your purchase.

vvaannmmaann
It sounds like your wife does exactly what I'm looking to do so it's great to hear that she's busier than ever. The site is very much focused on the buyer and not the seller at all. Very encouraging, thank you

Talay
Thank you again. Really appreciate your comments

Your right - you cannot check every inch, as a first time buyer though i should have checked more than i did. I paid £200 for a survey report which i completeley ignored too - mainly because it over dramatised any small problems. I remember being quoted anywhere from £550 for a survey down to £200 - expensive error if you get it wrong.

Good luck

tony84 · Feb 14, 2013

I know im not your target audience but i get asked all sorts of questions by clients - one has asked me to be their Phil Spencer secret agent guy and asked me to negotiate prices as they felt intimidated dealing with such large numbers.

People just generally want to know what the process is what to expect next and if there is a spanner in the works to know what it is rather than being told its just a bit of an issue. first time buyers tend to want someone to lead them through it and hold their hand (i dont mean that in a condescending way).

Thats my experience. Being open and honest is generally the best policy in my eyes, you do occasionally have worriers who probably do just need to be told a little white lie on occasions but thats the minority.

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