As a buyer can I change estate agents?

stolt

did something recently, first estate i viewed the house a few weeks back, no offer and then viewed it again last week and put an offer in with the other agent. Second agent was much keener for the sale and showed it but constantly updating me and saying he was trying to speak tot he vendors because he considered my offer to good in the current climate. having said all that it still didnt help me because the vendors wanted a certain price and were willing to sit it out because they were in no rush (house had been on the market for 2 years without any price change at all)

i think if the house has been on the market since 2007 without a price change I think you should be looking at least 10-15% drop!

reggie_lampert

Darth_Marty wrote: »

First off the vendor wont have to pay twice at all, a precedent was set which basically means that the agent who gets the offer and sells the property is the one who gets paid, simple as that. So yes, you can and should change agents if he got arsey with you.

Thanks. I would hate to do anything unethical.

Darth_Marty wrote: »

That said you may have to rethink your logic a little too, telling people predicted falls mean you are going to offer 50k less than asking isnt the best way to get a deal secured. If its on with 3 different agents at a similar (exactly the same?) price means that the 3 valuations werent a million miles apart.

I can only speak for the houses/area that I'm looking at but it's not so much the EA evaluations as the vendors dictating how much they think their precious houses are worth and their refusal to acknowledge that house prices have dropped 20%. I live in a different area and all the houses up for sale do reflect the drop in their prices.

Re: mentioning the predicted 11% drop this year is valid as the house (and others too) have been on the market for at least a year so if it remains unsold it will be worth even less than it is now.

rogerdodger007

A house is only worth what people are willing to pay for it and ultimately it's the buyers that dictate that. Some areas have been affected worse than others. If the vendor isn't too fussed about selling it but have just left it on the market incase somebody will pay that price for it, then your 50,000 off the asking price will be rejected. If they are keen to sell and you are in strong position (no chain, mortgage arranged etc), then you may well bag yourself a bargain.
Also, the comment about them dropping another 11% in the coming year is still spectulation and is still very area dependent - some areas will no doubt drop by far more and I don't doubt we'll see some areas remain constant.
My advice? Put the offer in for £50,000 less and see what happens.

Doozergirl

reggie_lampert wrote: »

Re: mentioning the predicted 11% drop this year is valid as the house (and others too) have been on the market for at least a year so if it remains unsold it will be worth even less than it is now.

I had an offer of 10% less on our last house (two actually). The message sent to me from one person offering via the EA was that house prices were anticipated to drop 10% over the next year. My immediate response to that was "tell him to offer me 10% less next year then" - why should I have be the present victim of future falls to save his backside? I wouldn't have been half as narked if he had just said that's what he thought it was worth.

Sorry, I think it's dreadful thing to say as it does present you as a simple bargain hunter. If house prices will be 11% less next year, then wait. If the house is overpriced, fair enough offer less but if the asking price is unrealistic, don't expect these people to jump at a lower offer - a high asking price is in no way an indication of a motivated seller.

reggie_lampert

Doozergirl wrote: »

Sorry, I think it's dreadful thing to say as it does present you as a simple bargain hunter. If house prices will be 11% less next year, then wait. If the house is overpriced, fair enough offer less but if the asking price is unrealistic, don't expect these people to jump at a lower offer - a high asking price is in no way an indication of a motivated seller.

Lordy! A simple bargain hunter? Well what should I be? Gullible and pay way over the odds and saddled with negative equity 12 months after buying? Should I not even bother trying to negotiate? Of course I want a good deal.

If you had read my OP you would know I'm not asking for the seller to take off the predicted 11% but to actually be honest and realistic regarding the market value. The point about the 11% is they should be aware that there is house is actually going to decrease in value this year.

Anyway, thanks to Darth Marty for reassuring me about changing EA.

silvercar

On my last move a house I was very interested in was on with an agent I wouldn't go near. I told the EA selling my house that I wanted to view the property, but wouldn't use the agent it was on with. He contacted the seller and made an arrangement for me to see it through him as a one off.