Estate Agents rant

[tony84]

Why are they such *****!

Made an offer one property quite a bit below the asking price as its the maximum i coul offer - fully expecting a decline but trying my luck.
2-3 weeks later no reply after me calling up each week. I eventually spoke to someone else in the office who said hes not looking to accept any offers until August...ok why havnt i been told for the last few weeks! They couldnt answer that.

Went to see another property today, they said they have had an offer before the appointment took place but cant say what...ok fair enough, thanks for letting us know. Went to go and see it and it needed a lot more work than i wasnt really interested in making an offer because i know any offer i made would have been insulting....however they have had an offer (apparantly) for more than the asking price, not sure why anyone would offer more though if they wernt in a bidding war. Why not tell me? I could have saved my time and theirs by not going.

Next, i made an offer on a property which was very very close to the asking price (£1k in it), they decided to go to auction but despite chasing twice prior to the auction i never received a response to say whether or not it had been accepted?!!

and lastly, i went to see another property and was told that i HAD to see their mortgage advisor, i asked why (obviously knowing this isnt the case). They said its to ensure you can afford it. I asked what happens if i bring in bank statements with a deposit and an agreement in principle and they said thats not enough, so i told them i am a mortgage advisor what they are saying is complete rubbish and ill be reporting them to trading standards (i wont, but hopefully they will stop feeding people full of.....).

So in 6 weeks of looking for a property, ive seen 6 houses with 5 estate agents and 4 of the estate agents are useless!!!

Sorry just had to get that out of my system....deep breaths now!

Ive never really had an issue with estate agents even after seeing loads of people complain abut them, but i can actually see their point of view now.

 

[Psl]

Why don't you just approach the owners of the properties directly and save yourself some hassle and probably get quicker responses?

 

[VSpy1]

Not ALL agents are rotten....though I'll admit a lot of them are! I would guess that the mortgage advisor one was part of a large chain with red/white signs, name ending in "...fords"

In my experience, the local small independent players are the most genuine...

 

[tony84]

It wasnt, but they were the first complaint on my list of moans above.

 

[spreadtrader]

I never could understand why people held estate agents with such contempt. All much of a muchness I thought.

That was until I tried to sell my current house. On the market for 7 months, in a sought after area, decorated fresh from top to bottom (inside and out) ready for the sale and priced sensibly i.e. a lot less than I paid at the height of the boom.

2 viewings in 7 months and no feedback from the viewers.

The estate agent had enough neck on him to tell me it's my fault the house isn't selling as it's in such poor condition (it's as good as new). Then it was people can't get mortgages and then it was because it's £5K over priced (on a £300K house)

I'm not sure he even knew which house it was he was talking about to be honest.

Switched agents this week and they have already sent more people to view it in a week than the others managed in 7 months.

So I feel your pain with them!

 

[tony84]

the one that went to auction didnt meet its reserve, got an email asking for offers.

Called up to make an offer, they said well it didnt meet the asking price and they were looking for that. ARGHHHH no $hit sherlock but it didnt reach it so why would i offer that! I made an offer below what i originally offered again.

 

[Mitch3473]

Why don't you just approach the owners of the properties directly and save yourself some hassle and probably get quicker responses?

...and some money.

 

[Greg_Thomson]

Have to agree Tony. I am a mortgage broker as well and I get my referrals from a local independant firm of estate agents. Its a right pain trying to secure business. Customers are told that Mortgage advice is available should they require it but there is no pressure put on the customers to discuss this. This way the only referrals I get actually want to do business.

I cant explain how bad the other local agents are. They insist my customers have a meeting with their advisor before they can even view properties even when they have an agreement in principle and dont want the appointment. I even got told from a customer the other day that 1 of the estate agents have a laminated A4 sheet explaining why the customer should not use the other local companies picking them apart 1 by 1.

Im all for a bit of competition but believe in selling to the customer by giving then reasons for using me rather than resorting to slating the competition (especially when some of the information on the sheet was incorrect).

Anyway rant over but I fully agree with you Tony. There are not many good ones out there and the big companies tend to be the worst.

 

[Esk247]

They charged us £100 just to view each property and some are no longer allowing under 30s to view properties anymore, not even rentals.

 

[abode]

They charged us £100 just to view each property and some are no longer allowing under 30s to view properties anymore, not even rentals.

And you accepted all this ?

 

[Esk247]

And you accepted all this ?

Well as we wanted to view 2 properties, how else would you go about it?

You cannot just stand outside peoples houses waiting for them to come home

"hello, yes, don't mind me, i just want to...you know..look at your spoons, i mean, i mean your house, yes, i want to buy it...possibly...I liked the taste of your wheelie bin"

 

[abode]

Well as we wanted to view 2 properties, how else would you go about it?

You cannot just stand outside peoples houses waiting for them to come home

"hello, yes, don't mind me, i just want to...you know..look at your spoons, i mean, i mean your house, yes, i want to buy it...possibly...I liked the taste of your wheelie bin"

If an estate agent intended to charge me to look round a property I would certainly be knocking on the front door rather than paying any money. I've never heard of estate agents charging to view properties.

Were the sellers aware the estate agent was charging?

By the way I have several very nice properties suitable for you at the moment....£££

 

[kelvin1950]

They charged us £100 just to view each property and some are no longer allowing under 30s to view properties anymore, not even rentals.

What?

I would have been knocking on doors...........or faces! I've never heard of such barefaced cheek.

IMO, estate agents are as bad as you allow them to be. We're trying to sell our house and a flat at present, first agent stated how much commission he wanted for the flat and I told him it was too much. He told me I wouldn't get it any cheaper. Approached another agent who initially asked for the same amount but was prepared to negotiate. Guess who got the business?

 

[cul8rm8e]

well you cant win them all! but hey, look on the bright side your a decent Mortgage Advisor.

Do you underwrite your own loans by any chance?

Why are they such *****!

Made an offer one property quite a bit below the asking price as its the maximum i coul offer - fully expecting a decline but trying my luck.
2-3 weeks later no reply after me calling up each week. I eventually spoke to someone else in the office who said hes not looking to accept any offers until August...ok why havnt i been told for the last few weeks! They couldnt answer that.

Went to see another property today, they said they have had an offer before the appointment took place but cant say what...ok fair enough, thanks for letting us know. Went to go and see it and it needed a lot more work than i wasnt really interested in making an offer because i know any offer i made would have been insulting....however they have had an offer (apparantly) for more than the asking price, not sure why anyone would offer more though if they wernt in a bidding war. Why not tell me? I could have saved my time and theirs by not going.

Next, i made an offer on a property which was very very close to the asking price (£1k in it), they decided to go to auction but despite chasing twice prior to the auction i never received a response to say whether or not it had been accepted?!!

and lastly, i went to see another property and was told that i HAD to see their mortgage advisor, i asked why (obviously knowing this isnt the case). They said its to ensure you can afford it. I asked what happens if i bring in bank statements with a deposit and an agreement in principle and they said thats not enough, so i told them i am a mortgage advisor what they are saying is complete rubbish and ill be reporting them to trading standards (i wont, but hopefully they will stop feeding people full of.....).

So in 6 weeks of looking for a property, ive seen 6 houses with 5 estate agents and 4 of the estate agents are useless!!!

Sorry just had to get that out of my system....deep breaths now!

Ive never really had an issue with estate agents even after seeing loads of people complain abut them, but i can actually see their point of view now.

 

[tony84]

Ive calmed down a bit now.

I would love to open a mortgage broker firm in the town centre and offer a free estate agency service to sellers just to annoy the life out of them. Probs not feasible but it might give them a kick up the backside to sort their practices out.

 

[VSpy1]

Ive calmed down a bit now.

I would love to open a mortgage broker firm in the town centre and offer a free estate agency service to sellers just to annoy the life out of them. Probs not feasible but it might give them a kick up the backside to sort their practices out.

Some practically do EXACTLY this! Their money (and ongoing money) comes from selling mortgages and insuarance etc... I can say I know of 2 that wasnt one bit worried when the market declined, because their shop front is exactly that - a front! Their money is made on finance...

 

[Christine Hough]

Have been looking for rental accommodation for my son who is moving for a job.
I am amazed how little some estate agents do .

They don't tell you obvious things you would want to know about the property.
If you ring to ask you get a very cold reception with monosyllabic answers. And if you leave a message they don't ring back.

We drove over from Hull - Macclesfield but they would not put themselves out to arrange viewings to fit.

I guess that in the end all properties are on Rightmove, so really even the bad, unfriendly ones do pretty well. But it would be nice to be treated as if they wanted the business.

 

[Matt1959]

IMO, estate agents are as bad as you allow them to be.

in my experience, this is about right. You have to work "with" them to get the most out of the relationship.

Some strange comments on this thread.... charging £100 per viewing??? WTF!!! 2 viewings in 7 months???? a standard and common contract is 8 weeks!!!

:|:|

 

[Esk247]

If an estate agent intended to charge me to look round a property I would certainly be knocking on the front door rather than paying any money. I've never heard of estate agents charging to view properties.

I was trying to find a link but they don't have it listed on any of their websites. They charge it when you go on the books, they class it as some sort of Admin fee if they have to send someone round with you. I guess it must apply only to empty properties.

The other pet hate is them not keeping their website listings up to date. You can be looking at properties online that were sold 2/3 months ago, when you phone up about them you get made to look a complete moron.

 

[Esk247]

a standard and common contract is 8 weeks!!!

:|:|

Really? My parents place was up for sale for nearly a year with the same agents, they only had a few viewings and the estate agents took it on themselves to turn down offers.

 

[Christine Hough]

Hmmmm! I thought they were legally obliged to pass on offers.

But is one estate agent noticeably better than another? I always look on Rightmove and they are all listed there, however good or bad the estate agent.

 

[Psl]

in my experience, this is about right. You have to work "with" them to get the most out of the relationship.

Some strange comments on this thread.... charging £100 per viewing??? WTF!!! 2 viewings in 7 months???? a standard and common contract is 8 weeks!!!

:|:|

Why should you have to work with them? They are being paid thousands to do a job, and do it very badly by all accounts!

 

[Matt1959]

Really? My parents place was up for sale for nearly a year with the same agents, they only had a few viewings and the estate agents took it on themselves to turn down offers.

come on Esk, its incumbent on the vendor to have a bit of savvy. estate agents work for you, ie they do what you ask them to not the other way round. So many vendors are putty in their hands usually as a result of having no property buying/ selling experience or just being of a timid nature. Property buying/ selling is all a game, you have to play EA at heir own game and they will love you for it really

 

[elephantfrills]

eugh dont get me started! We had the whole 'you have to see our mortgage advisor before you can view any properties' with almost every different estate agent, we went to the appointments and said we've got this deal from Halifax, can you beat it, yes or no? and made it very clear we were only doing this to tick the boxes! Then we put an offer in on a house, about £10 000 below the asking price (the owner was on another planet thinking his house was in mint condition, actually hadnt had anything done for 25 years and he admitted that to us!). The offer was accepted, we got the survey done, instructed the solicitors, and then the estate agents rang and left a message saying another offer had been accepted but they couldnt tell us how much for. I had a million questions to ask and she said, sorry we're closed, and refused to discuss it further. I'm still mad about that 12 months later! On the other hand, the estate agent we used to buy our house was awesome and couldnt do too much for us, he came out at around 8pm one night to let us in the house.

 

[Mpg]

I fell out with an estate agent last year.

This year he's being done for a land banking scam


He best not p*ss me off again