No Estate Agents are open!

haras_nosirrah

I'm a mortgage advisor in an estate agent and I am at work - not sure why though as the banks are shut and am bored stiff as can't do anything. Either all estate agents need to be open or all shut as we are open every bank holiday but as everyone assumes we aren't no one rings

tek-monkey

What if the vendor works unsociable hours, but still lives in the property? I wouldn't want the EA just coming in to show people around when I'm at work (or in bed!).

barnaby-bear

carolinosourus wrote: »

mb73: It's not a bad thing, it reminds me of a simpler, nicer time when people would stop and talk to one another in the street and there would be a bakery, butchers, hardware store (who would actually be able to fix your 15 year-old telly and hoover) and a post office where people would smile at you... Ah, it makes me quite sad to see what we're becoming!

It sounds nice but in practice it only worked for those retired or with a stay at home parent. It could be a nightmare queueing in muliple shops waiting in queues while all those people with time to stop and chat did and you'd have to go through it multiple times in every single shop. Dashing out of work at a time when flexible working wasn't considered proffessional. Getting up early on a saturday because the supermarket was heaving as closed at 5:30pm on a week-night. Held to ransom by extremely expensive corner shops selling low quality goods at inflated prices because they were open after 5:30pm.

tek-monkey

Instead we have local shops closing down left right and center, because everybody shops at supermarkets. The food is usually sh!te compared to a decent butcher/greengrocer, but we're becoming used to it. Another 20 years and we shall only be able to eat what Tesco/Sainsburys/Asda tell us to.

However, I have to agree. Unless you're sat at home on benefits, how the hell are you supposed to support your local merchants if you work a normal 9-5 job?

James_N

We are new to the housing purchase games after not buying for ten years. The latest trend is not to have a board up, and not to allow viewings without the agent, even if you are still living there.

Running_Horse

James_N wrote: »

We are new to the housing purchase games after not buying for ten years. The latest trend is not to have a board up, and not to allow viewings without the agent, even if you are still living there.

First I've heard of this latest trend.

VKay

Well our local EA must have been open today- i have a missed call from the most persistent one. I assumed they'd be closed!

googler

James_N wrote: »

We are new to the housing purchase games after not buying for ten years. The latest trend is not to have a board up, and not to allow viewings without the agent, even if you are still living there.

..not to have a board up? Madness.

mandi

Ive worked in an EA on a bank holiday . It was always busy, after everyone has been to the local DIY store & McDonalds... Strange :rolleyes:

James_N

googler wrote: »

..not to have a board up? Madness.

We've driven to see the location of ten properties over the weekend. Fewer than half have a board up.

Without the agent, to ensure we see the right house, we need to work out the locations from postcodes (when given), pictures and comparing the written and picture data with aerial pictures on google and multimap (different data sets coincidently). It takes some detective work counting gables and looking at the orientation of pictures - but as I said, the agents aren't open to do their jobs.

One nice couple, seeing us outside, invited us in to view today and agreed the agents were useless. Useless indeed - they'd failed to mention the house's garden was sold off for a building plot!