More than fed up with Estate Agent

mystic_trev

tesuhoha wrote:

going to refuse offer and sack estate agent

Well done!

tesuhoha

Thanks to everyone. Its really nice to have instant friends like this. The EAs greatest crime was to overprice the house so that we would go with them with no questions asked about their fee. Then they dropped customer hints to indicate that the house was overpriced so we had to lower it 3 times before there was any interest. We worked out this evening that if we stick out for £180k and 1% we will make a total saving of approx £7000. If you add the mortgage interest to this amount its nearer £10000. So we are going to get 3 - 4 EA quotes and put the house on at £185000. Does anyone else find it strange that when an EA is supposed to be working for you that they tell prospective buyers that you are desperate to sell and will probably accept a low offer? i think theyre telling people that now even though they know we lost our house!

mandi

tesuhoha wrote:

Thanks to everyone. Its really nice to have instant friends like this. The EAs greatest crime was to overprice the house so that we would go with them with no questions asked about their fee. Then they dropped customer hints to indicate that the house was overpriced so we had to lower it 3 times before there was any interest. We worked out this evening that if we stick out for £180k and 1% we will make a total saving of approx £7000. If you add the mortgage interest to this amount its nearer £10000. So we are going to get 3 - 4 EA quotes and put the house on at £185000. Does anyone else find it strange that when an EA is supposed to be working for you that they tell prospective buyers that you are desperate to sell and will probably accept a low offer? i think theyre telling people that now even though they know we lost our house!

Hi Tesu,

I just wanted to say, that you are with the wrong agent.,and to stay with them since last May, has in a way "dampened your chances of selling..".
ie, because your house has been on the market for such a long time, some people will think, there is something wrong with it.
As your going to sack the agent your with..( I think thats a great move).. Can I suggest something please..

If your in no hurry to sell..Why not leave it off the market for a couple of months, then, when the weather is warmer, and the days are longer, get the 3/4 agents round for a market appraisal.. OR perhaps you may want to try and sell privately.. Ive said this before, but if your house looks good, and its in the right area, It will sell itself.. If you prefer an agent, then negotiate, negotiate, negotiate.. with the fee.. reason behind this is, as stated.. above...It will sell itself... ( so easy money for the agent)..... maybe, this time you could choose.. dont let them dictate the price to you, and tell them in no uncertain terms.. exactly what you expect from them.. as in th amount of advertising,viewings, call backs after viewings etc... also dont tie yourself into a contract of no more than 8 weeks, and make sure its, sole agent as apposed to sole selling rights..

Good Luck

tesuhoha

House is beautiful, but in an area that has gone down. Bungalow along the road on the market for over a year still not sold. We didnt notice how much the area had gone down. But yes we might try that unless the agent comes right down and we receive a higher offer from the people who are interested at the mo. Thanks. Gotta go to work now

mystic_trev

tesuhoha wrote:

Does anyone else find it strange that when an EA is supposed to be working for you that they tell prospective buyers that you are desperate to sell and will probably accept a low offer?

EA's are supposed to be acting on your behalf but in many instances they don't. When I sold my last place the EA told me it was a good offer (15% less than I'd put it on for) I told him I'd meet the buyer half way but NO less. He said that was the final offer and the buyer wouldn't budge, so I told him to take the property off the market and I'd go elsewhere! Within an hour I had a call saying the buyer had agreed to my terms! If i'd have backed down the amount I would have lost would have equal to what I ended up paying for the EA's and solicitors fees!

kit

I would always recommend getting at least 3 EA's to value and then go with the one that gives the middle valuation. Usually the highest one has overpriced in order to get your business, the lowest one is usually desperate for business and so has priced to sell quickly!

1.5% is the top amount you should be charged. 1% is common here at the moment. Make sure you limit the amount of time you are tied for. Always barter.

monkey_writer

Is that WARD AND PARTNERS in Kent?

We are dealing with them as buyers and they have been generally terrible. A few guys there have been good, but others have lied, pushed, and assumed. I'm fed up with them.

Meeten

I would STRONGLY suggest that you have a few other EA's round to your place and see what price they would market it at, and also, what fee they would charge.

That way, you can tell if the £175k is the 'going price' for your house, and also you can see that with some pressure, you should be able to get the fee reduced to 1.25% at least, if not 1%.

That is AT LEAST £1k more inyour hand, assuming it sold for £175k.

This is even more important as the EA is clearly working to a fixed fee, and so will not nec be looking to get the best price for the house (for you).

HTH

silvercar

At the end of the day any EA would prefer 1% (2% or whatever) of 10k less than the asking price rather than risk a sale not happening.

mistyarthur

tesuhoha wrote:

Does anyone else find it strange that when an EA is supposed to be working for you that they tell prospective buyers that you are desperate to sell and will probably accept a low offer?

The senior negotiator at our EA told the buyers who put in the offer that we would go down to 275 when the house was on for 300 they only knew this because we had told them the lowest we would go is 275, so the buyers put in an an offer of 265!!! We couldn't believe it and to top it of they then said it was a good offer! We refused to budge and got them back upto 275 but that was our absolute minimum.
If they think they can sell it for less and you'll accept they'll do it.