Estate Agents
- Thread starter brianj_hill
- Start date
Upvote
0
Upvote
0
I would generally agree, yes.
Far too many are run by successive generations of 'top sales people' who have climbed the greasy pole and been rewarded with their own office. The training (if there is any at all) is normally centred on sales and how to get people to instruct you as an agent. From my experience of the firms I worked for there had common threads of behaviours, language/ terminology, hatred of other eas, a real attraction for short-term orientated folk, a lack of understanding about the legalities and obligations of what an ea does and who they work for and somewhat uncomfortable at time, the managers having their wicked ways with other people in the business - the cheating was remarkable!
Top areas where many could improve.
1. Learn about the legal side to a sale. Too many solicitors were as bad as the eas, but having no understanding at all is a real hindrance. Far too many eas 'chase' solicitors and end up cocking things up or peeing off the various parties. In London where leases are common, I would train the teams on various aspects of leaseholds and the conveyancing process to actively progress a deal. Plenty of solicitors not used to leases were flumuxed when a lease dropped on their desk. Getting a panel of good lawyers to recommend is paramount.
2. To know who they are working for. Eas work for the seller, not the buyer. Yes, it's obvious buyers need to be treated respectfully but too many Eas forget who is paying the bill. When it comes to price reductions far too many don't substantiate the reasons or give evidence to support it other than having not sold with x weeks. All too often Eas don't act in their clients best interest which includes giving poor advice to begin with.
3. Not enough is done to find buyers. Far too many Eas depend on the Internet and rightmove to find a buyer. Not enough run proper databases or call prospective buyers when new stock comes on. Even fewer will help a seller find a house or even ask if they can - which I find amazing!
The corporates will have teams focusing on referrals to mortgage brokers, in house lawyers (who are usually horrendous), surveyors, removal companies, other company services, all to boost kick back revenue. Great, but some services were so poor, they'd lose clients and buyers because of it.
The treatment of staff by senior management is often appalling. I've was threatened with violence on several occasions and had plenty of arguments with idiot MDs.
Oh and people promoted to manager when they themselves were the selfish, self serving pigs who did anything they could to get a deal. These people were rewarded time and time again with management positions which they were ill equipped to undertake. Oh, and the arse kissing types went particularly high up the ladder!
I could go on for hours so if you want more, I'll happily chat it through or ping you a pm...!
It's not all bad, but you did ask for areas of improvement!
Far too many are run by successive generations of 'top sales people' who have climbed the greasy pole and been rewarded with their own office. The training (if there is any at all) is normally centred on sales and how to get people to instruct you as an agent. From my experience of the firms I worked for there had common threads of behaviours, language/ terminology, hatred of other eas, a real attraction for short-term orientated folk, a lack of understanding about the legalities and obligations of what an ea does and who they work for and somewhat uncomfortable at time, the managers having their wicked ways with other people in the business - the cheating was remarkable!
Top areas where many could improve.
1. Learn about the legal side to a sale. Too many solicitors were as bad as the eas, but having no understanding at all is a real hindrance. Far too many eas 'chase' solicitors and end up cocking things up or peeing off the various parties. In London where leases are common, I would train the teams on various aspects of leaseholds and the conveyancing process to actively progress a deal. Plenty of solicitors not used to leases were flumuxed when a lease dropped on their desk. Getting a panel of good lawyers to recommend is paramount.
2. To know who they are working for. Eas work for the seller, not the buyer. Yes, it's obvious buyers need to be treated respectfully but too many Eas forget who is paying the bill. When it comes to price reductions far too many don't substantiate the reasons or give evidence to support it other than having not sold with x weeks. All too often Eas don't act in their clients best interest which includes giving poor advice to begin with.
3. Not enough is done to find buyers. Far too many Eas depend on the Internet and rightmove to find a buyer. Not enough run proper databases or call prospective buyers when new stock comes on. Even fewer will help a seller find a house or even ask if they can - which I find amazing!
The corporates will have teams focusing on referrals to mortgage brokers, in house lawyers (who are usually horrendous), surveyors, removal companies, other company services, all to boost kick back revenue. Great, but some services were so poor, they'd lose clients and buyers because of it.
The treatment of staff by senior management is often appalling. I've was threatened with violence on several occasions and had plenty of arguments with idiot MDs.
Oh and people promoted to manager when they themselves were the selfish, self serving pigs who did anything they could to get a deal. These people were rewarded time and time again with management positions which they were ill equipped to undertake. Oh, and the arse kissing types went particularly high up the ladder!
I could go on for hours so if you want more, I'll happily chat it through or ping you a pm...!
It's not all bad, but you did ask for areas of improvement!
Upvote
0
I do some work for a supplier of services to around 2000 estate agents throughout the UK, and would agree that many smaller EAs - especially franchisees - have very poor business skills, and generally the turnover of these in the likes of Purplebricks, Yopa etc is quite high.
The ones that do better as franchisees are those who have spent time in the estate agency business elsewhere.
My big gripe with the franchisee arrangements is that although they are set up as independent businesses they are still very much treated as employees with strict company codes to adhere to: I guess HMRC/DOE have tested them and found them to be above board, but IMHO its very sharp practice on the part of the Franchisors.
The thing the smaller operators seem to lack is infrastructure - as commissions have been pushed down the business models have become increasingly frail, and I see several come on board advertising lower %ages than their rivals, but they rarely last a year.
IMHO the smaller agents and franchisees see a lower %age as a way to drive sales, but totally overlook upselling by offering enhanced promotions and other spin offs, preferring to stick with simple offerings of very badly priced mediocre packages.
Another problem is that in offering unsustainable commissions they attract the very worst clients - a typical example is one woman who was going absolutely apes**t at a girl because her property wasn't on Rightmove an hour after the girl had measured up and taken photos.
How do they work? An agent these days who hasn't got an established local reputation or is not on one or more of the big property sites (Rightmove, Zoopla etc) is pretty much doomed to failure. Getting a google ranking against established operators is unlikely to be enough to make a sustainable business without some help from the first ports of call for most property hunters.
Careful use of social media is pretty much a must for a small local EA, and its probably worth employing someone to do this for them, as much to promote the business as promote the properties available.
Upvote
0
This was the guy who took the pi55 in his property descriptions wasn't it? The pma put an end to that! I seem to remember one about a lads pad in Chelsea and mentioning of hookers and drugs.
Ea is a bit like being in politics. It seems like a noble and worthwhile endeavour. It has lots of perks, but it seems to attract types that are almost indistinguishable from each other. Oh and the top three most hated things in a poll a few years ago were: junk mail, eas and politicians. All three seem to be doing just fine these days...
Upvote
0
You're welcome. If you are considering opening one or investing in one, let me know. There is a bit more I can share... Good luck.
Upvote
0
Latest Articles
-
What I Wish I'd Known Before Using AI in My BusinessSomewhere between the headlines promising AI will transform everything...- Ozzy
- Updated:
-
Is AI Making the Internet Worse?It started with a comment about music. @JEREMY HAWKE , a courier...
- Ozzy
- Updated:
-
The AI Divide: What UKBF Members Really Think in 2026Every few months on UK Business Forums, a thread appears that refuses...
- Ozzy
- Updated:
-
When the Algorithm Gets It Wrong: What eBay's AI Moderation Problem Tells Us About Platform RiskA thread appeared on UKBF this week that, on the surface, looks like a...
- Ozzy
- Updated:
-
Should you crowdfund? A framework for UK founders in 2026Three articles into a series on what crowdfunding actually costs, the...
- Ozzy
- Updated: