Why I get annoyed with Estate Agents

Running_Horse

rach83 wrote: »

Estate Agents are not allowed to misrepresent properties under the Property Misdescriptions Act. To do so is a criminal offence. This covers written descriptions and photographs. Trading Standard do investigate such matters!!

Really? I could find dozens of misdescribed properties in the Internet in the next 10 minutes. How many prosecutions were there last year?

domcastro

This is the house I was talking about http://www.rightmove.co.uk/viewdetails-19511977.rsp?pa_n=2&tr_t=buy&mam_disp=true

It's a nice house. In the heading it says 3 bedroom detached. Then goes on to say lounge/bedroom. Even in the photos, the lounge isn't set up as a bedroom. So, I assume, the EA is implying that you COULD use the lounge as a 3rd bedroom.

This house I like too http://www.rightmove.co.uk/viewdetails-10783086.rsp?pa_n=7&tr_t=buy&mam_disp=true but unless you removed the little wall, you can only fit one car in the drive but the description says "off road parking for three vehicles" - this is rubbish - I've driven past!

Running_Horse

Another one round here is "3 bedrooms" that turns out to be 2 and a loft that does not have building regs.

lynzpower

domcastro wrote: »

I've been searching for houses on Rightmove and I'm getting bugged with EAs putting the wrong town (on purpose). For example, houses in Pokesdown (which I don't like) being advertised as Southbourne or Boscombe East. Or putting Moordown when it's Charminster etc. Are they allowed to do this? Isn't there some Trade Descriptions Act equivalent?

Also I saw a nice 3 bed detached which I thought was sensibly priced, but then when you read the details, the 3rd bedroom is actually the dining room downstairs. So it's really a 2 bed, 2 reception. Or they use those fish lens (or whatever) camera angles and the drive looks long and the description says parking for 2 vehicles, when you'd have trouble getting 1 in comfortably. Also, I saw a nice white house, looked lovely and clean then I drove past and it didn't look half as clean and white - looked shoddy.
It's really annoying. I have to check the map on each house to make sure it's in the actual part of town they've said. I've driven by 15 houses so far and haven't bothered to view any of them

Yes, there is. I know pokesdown and boscombe east as my OH is from that way.

I used to be an EA, and one of the other EAs on our block used to consistently name one area as another. However this was dictated by postcodes. They consistently said that properties in SW9 ( london stockwell) postcode were SE11 ( london kennington) This is a clear breach of the Property Misdescriptions Act. http://www.opsi.gov.uk/ACTS/acts1991/ukpga_19910029_en_1

postcodes are easier to "pin down" as a misdescription, areas less so.

bo_drinker

Get the agent round there and yourself and owner and try to fit 3 cars on the drive. Failing that try 3 Smart cars and still no joy take him to the cleaners I reckon. Ah but off road parking for 3 vehicles, don't forget a motorbike is a vehicle. Thats him off the hook then.

domcastro

bo_drinker wrote: »

Get the agent round there and yourself and owner and try to fit 3 cars on the drive. Failing that try 3 Smart cars and still no joy take him to the cleaners I reckon. Ah but off road parking for 3 vehicles, don't forget a motorbike is a vehicle. Thats him off the hook then.

haha - yes you're right. a car, a motorbike and a bicycle (is this a vehicle??)

Running_Horse

domcastro wrote: »

This house I like too http://www.rightmove.co.uk/viewdetails-10783086.rsp?pa_n=7&tr_t=buy&mam_disp=true but unless you removed the little wall, you can only fit one car in the drive but the description says "off road parking for three vehicles" - this is rubbish - I've driven past!

When you drove past, did you inspect behind those gates? According to EA details:

OUTSIDE: Rear garden accessed via sun room. Measures 25' x 12' (7.62m x 3.66m) lengthening to 27' (8.23m) There is a small lawned area with a raised decked area adjacent to the rear of the property. To the side of the property is hard standing for a timber shed with timber gates leading to the driveway.

Not wishing to defend EAs, but it looks like there could be space for more parking.

domcastro

That's from the other way - the timber shed has gates that lead to the driveway - ie. behind those gates is a timber shed (I think)

baileysbattlebus

domcastro wrote: »

This is the house I was talking about http://www.rightmove.co.uk/viewdetails-19511977.rsp?pa_n=2&tr_t=buy&mam_disp=true

It's a nice house. In the heading it says 3 bedroom detached. Then goes on to say lounge/bedroom. Even in the photos, the lounge isn't set up as a bedroom. So, I assume, the EA is implying that you COULD use the lounge as a 3rd bedroom.

This house I like too http://www.rightmove.co.uk/viewdetails-10783086.rsp?pa_n=7&tr_t=buy&mam_disp=true but unless you removed the little wall, you can only fit one car in the drive but the description says "off road parking for three vehicles" - this is rubbish - I've driven past!

The drive is through the double gates up the side of the house - they look like garage doors - but there is no garage.

nomoneyleft

Davesnave wrote: »

Daftest idea I've seen in a month! If you think you can sell without an agent at the moment you are extremely naive.

You may not like EAs, but at least they are bound by the Estate Agents Act, Property Misdescriptions Act etc, whereas your average seller is bound by nothing and scarcely impartial. Get real.

are you an estate agent ??

if enough people use the alternative methods of selling then it would catch on, your comments are exaclty what i am on about about peoples willingness to change.

you can get a listing on fish4homes for a couple of hundred a month for 000's of homes so theres your uk wide search engine, take a look on line at the number of estate agents going online only, we have a couple round by us.

Hips are available for £295.00 from many sources inc online, there no need for an estate agent, the solicitor does all the legal work when pushed.

As for trading standards, when you view picture you can roughly see if its upto the description, i.e 3 bedroom and there only 2, ensuite and the bathroom is on the ground floor etc.

Estate agents are a essentially a receptionist, they take phone calls of potential buyers and make appointments, they advertise online as papers do not gererate any where near as much interest, 80% of house buyer use the internet to search for there next house.

this website took off because enough people were interested in the subject, if you can save thousands of pounds in commission then i guess this would be incentive enough to try and sell you own house.

Its going to be bad enough to sell your house with the current financial problems, you will have a load of reposessions been snapped up by people with money from under the matress.

next time i move i will try and sell my house myself, its not rocket science, as long as you get the right tools for the job, MARK THESE words, i had one of the first digital cameras years ago, people back then told me it will never catch on..........