Backhanders - & Estate Agents!

googler

It's quite a short list, isn't it?

marleyd

silvercar wrote: »

Please elaborate.

I think there are honest EAs and dishonest EAs, same as in most walks of life.

If you get to know an area, you soon get a feel for which are honest, which are not and which can be played to your advantage.

Sorry that may be unnessesarily judgmental of me to say that they look like EAs, but the cars and the clothing give that impression, and I'm just getting on my high horse about it!! If they are not, then they clearly have "connections", and it's definitely a case of "who you know"

At the end of the day, it's both the buyer and the vendor that are effectively being "swindled" here.

For us to be in there from "day dot" wanting information, and being told that we can't view it, then being told that it's "at least £240k", then finding out that it suddenly sold before they even would let us view it, then finding out it actually sold for £110k, which happens to be the amount that was outstanding on the mortgage when it was repossessed.... we weren't even allowed to put an offer in! And we definitely would have paid more than the selling price. It's not me just being paranoid - there was def. some wrong-doings going on there....

And it seems extremely hard to "play one to my advantage" without flashing some brown envelopes their way. It just shouldn't be like that.
It can't be legal to do this sort of thing surely.

Sorry to rant, but I'm sure those of you in the same situation trying to buy a house understand my gripe. Yet the vendors are probably blissfully unaware as they are just taking the EA word for gospel. Many of them are too scared to deal with buyers directly if they have already signed up with an EA, throu fear of all the penalties etc that may be enforce if they sell privately (read the small print).....

Deep breaths......

chickmug

googler wrote: »

It's quite a short list, isn't it?

Especially when you remember how many, on this forum, who seemed to have had serious gripes with their EA.

chickmug

marleyd wrote: »

And it seems extremely hard to "play one to my advantage" without flashing some brown envelopes their way. It just shouldn't be like that.
It can't be legal to do this sort of thing surely.

What absolute rubbish.

I am not saying NO EA has ever done it but you make it sound like commonplace which it is not.

Do you have any proof?

Have you ever reported your suspicions anywhere?

dottiepeas

I'm sure not all EA's are bent, but we also experienced a time when we thought the EA was possibly being dishonest. We offered on a house- full asking price and the EA came back to us to say the vendor is selling to a friend of a friend and no higher offers will be accepted, as vendor wanted to to sell to "this person". In most cases, where buyers want the best price for their house- why would they decline any higher offers if something underhand was not at play?

Of course, there is no proof of anything sinister going on, but then there wouldn't be would there?...unless you offered to give them some "extra commisson" and recorded the whole thing? But I don't think most people can really be bothered to attempt trickery like that?...you just take it as it is- move on and view another. To be honest, sometimes you just know/can feel there is something not quite right about things! Always tricky when there is a middleman involved!

marleyd

chickmug wrote: »

What absolute rubbish.

I am not saying NO EA has ever done it but you make it sound like commonplace which it is not.

Do you have any proof?

Have you ever reported your suspicions anywhere?

No it's just happens to be commonplace for all the properties which we've had an interest in recently. There are millions of houses on the market and the vast majority of them will sell legitimately. I'm not saying all EAs are bent, unluckily just the specific ones we've had dealings with lately have been.

I wouldn't know who to report my suspicions to, to be honest, and what proof do I need, or rather what proof could I get? I didn't record any conversations I had in the shop with the EA, or on the phone, so personally I don't think anything could have been done about it.

mahdlo

most of the above posts sound like sour grapes where people have lost out to a more proceedable buyer.

dottiepeas

mahdlo wrote: »

most of the above posts sound like sour grapes where people have lost out to a more proceedable buyer.

Hmm, I don't think that's the case at all. You're not really looking at the whole picture are you? Being a "proceedable buyer" is only one factor. I'm sure sellers in general are not just looking at how proceedable you are before they accept- what about the price?? When you sell something, you want the best price possible right?...more often than not, the sellers just want the most money. (from my experience anyway!)
Obviously, you must have been very lucky and not experienced anything bad when you were buying?...(unless you're an EA of course!:rotfl:)

marleyd

mahdlo wrote: »

most of the above posts sound like sour grapes where people have lost out to a more proceedable buyer.

Sorry I would have to disagree with that, as I'm in a very proceedable buying position, and it's most definitely not the case with me.

I have also suffered exactly the same experiences as "confused31", where clearly it seems that the EA on the phone has been just told to make excuses (and not been very good at it either!) about properties being strangely "unavailable" for one reason or another.
You get the clear impression that the property has been "reserved" by someone, and the marketing side of it is just a formality, if you get my drift.....

mahdlo

but not one person has tested their theory about backhanders by offering one????

let's face it - most estate agents (and vendors for that matter) just want a quick, uncomplicated sale at or above a certain "bottom line" price, don't they? many would even accept a touch less than they'd hope for if it meant avoiding getting involved in a chain.

also, people (vendors) are generally quite honorable in that when they accept an offer that's it. stop viewings, no more offers.

btw, i'm not an EA but have worked with them over many years and I'm yet to meet a single estate agent who lived up to the stereotype. i find them surprisingly adherent to playing it by the book. but maybe i've just been extremely fortunate.