advice on games that estate agents play please for ftb

leemee

All_Agents_Lie wrote: »

I have been successfully buying, selling and renting properties (as a landlord) for past 25 years. I have purchased over 20 properties in that time, currently own 3 houses and was mortgage free at the age of 24.

I have signed up to this forum because I have strong feelings about this thread. In my experience ALL AGENTS LIE, or at the very least do not tell the truth or lack integrity.

All agents work with self interest as their primary motivator...it's obvious, money is involved and they operate in a competitive market. That means that the agents interest rises above the vendors, the very person who pays them and the very person they advise.
Estate Agents have no formal qualifications, no formal training. They may subscribe to a 'professional' body and display a logo, but that is not a regulated body and is only a body designed to look after the best interests of its members...the agent and certainly not the vendor or purchaser.
You go into any Estate Agents, and whilst I stereotype, have a good look. I bet you will see the 'Boy in white socks'. An adolescent in a cheap suit who is bilingual, ie he can talk 'English and fluent bo**ocks' He will be on a very basic wage and will be required to sell on commission.
All the above are good reasons why agents look out for number one.

My point is, people use Estate Agents because we are suppose to. For some reason people have become conditioned that we must use Estate Agents.
If you know or merely suspect any person is less than honest or not acting appropriately or fairly...why deal with them? Buying a house will be one, if not your biggest financial commitment.

Knowledge is power and agents put themselves in a strong advantageous position, they know the vendors position, indeed the vendor will be required to sign the AGENTS contract. As soon as a potential buyer looms, the agent starts to record your details and asks questions. (Plus he ensures his commission or share of the commission should you go on to buy a property)

My advice when buying property, do what I do. AVOID the agent and get a better and cheaper deal.
-Research the internet & newspapers for your property search...all things you would do normally.
-Use the internet mapping to locate properties you would like to view.
-Never give your details to an Estate Agent, nothing stops you looking their window or sending a friend in.
-Knock at the door of the potential property, introduce yourself and request a suitable time to view the property. Exchange contact details and state 'I have not been introduced via any Estate Agent and I do not wish to use one'.
-State the benefits of not using an agent;
1) Reduced costs of dividing the agent’s commission + VAT with each other.
2) The sale will undoubtedly be smoother and quicker with less people involved.
3) Neither party will be told LIES or half truths, as you will deal direct with each other and have single point of contacts.
4) You will both appoint your own conveyancers and not those 'recommended' by the agent. (Self interest)

The real experts in the house purchase will be your conveyancer / solicitor, a good one will cost no more that 550.00 pounds....(compare that to the agents fees) and your professional qualified property surveyor.

Save money, save hassle and avoid Estate Agents......I do

I cannot agree with this more. When we purchased our house as naive first time buyers we stupidly told the estate agents that we had to be out of our rented property by a certain date due to its sale.

Because the conveynacer the vendors used was the one owned by the estate agent, they held up the sale until the last minute as the house was to be repossessed if it wasn't sold and the estate agents did not believe they would get their fee from the vendor - the conveyancer had told them details of the vendors finances.

We had been strung along for two months being told contracts would exchange in a few days. We were constantly phoning the agents and eventually they explained about the fee, said there was missing paperwork from the vendor and that there was no incentive for them to chase it due to no fee, and that if we agreed to pay the fee they would 'make it happen'. We should have told them to go to hell, but we were naive and desperately needed to move or we would be homeless, so we agreed to pay half. The contracts were exchanged the next day.

Once we had moved in the vendor came back to collect mail, and told us that the paperwork had been sorted two months earlier than we were told, and that they had paid the fee.

I firmly believe that if the conveyancer and estate agent hadn't been associated this couldn't have happened, and that it should be law that conveyancers and estate agents cannot be associated and that data protection should apply between the two.

I will never be using an estate agent again.

The 'icing' on the cake was the house was a money pit and the neighbours from hell. Should have pulled out when we had a chance.

suhow

Always go with your gut feeling. If the vendor wants a sale then they will consider your offer if you still want to place one. The EA must give the vendor any offers that are placed with them so even though he is trying to push you don't be rushed into making a decision. If the vendor wants to accept the other offer then he can do so but if you still want to make an offer then do so but be sure it is the price you are prepared to pay. EA's are desperate to sell as that is the only way they get paid. Don't be too hard on them though as it is their job to sell the houses for their clients. We only work for other people because we get paid for it!!

claremc

All estate agents lie - love the name and the points :T

I also had real issues with estate agents -as a buyer and a seller. But they certainly don't care about buyers.

I bought my house from a private seller a couple of years ago and I'm now selling it. I've put it on comparethehouses.com and have had a few enquiries and it is so much better dealing with people directly. You can work out who is serious and be straight with people. I hate how estate agents just complicate everything!!

It would be great if more people try selling privately. Otherwise the status quo and estate agent nonsense will just continue.

roobyroo07

Estate Agents do care about buyers - no buyers, no pay!

I have worked in an Estate Agents for 3 years (2 years sales, now in admin) and can honestly say, I have NEVER lied to a vendor or purchaser about anything! We do work for the vendor (they are the ones we get our income from) and our job is to achieve the best possible price for their property, but if you do not treat purchasers with respect you will not secure a sale and no-one wins!

There are rogues in every profession, but please dont tar all agents with the same brush!

mklee

That's not necessarily true. I was selling a flat and know my area very well. The EA stated he thought my asking price was too high but I received an offer just short of the asking price within a few days.

If the EA feels that he/she has to work hard to shift the property, then he/she will try to convince the vendor to sell at a lower price.

At the end of the day they want their commission, especially if they are the sole agent. They want to shift your property, otherwise you may go multi or leave them and go to another EA.

betmunch wrote: »

EA's do whatever they can to get a higher price for the property. If it costs a BUYER a few thousand quid extra then they have done a good job and should be congratulated, not complained about.

A lot of people on here seem to think that EA's are bad because they want to push a price up. This is not the case, they work for the Vendor, they will always do what they think is best for the Vendor of the property.

Has any here ever seen a post from a Vendor unhappy that their EA lieed to a buyer and got a higher offer out of them because of it?

betmunch

mklee wrote: »

That's not necessarily true. I was selling a flat and know my area very well. The EA stated he thought my asking price was too high but I received an offer just short of the asking price within a few days.

If the EA feels that he/she has to work hard to shift the property, then he/she will try to convince the vendor to sell at a lower price.

At the end of the day they want their commission, especially if they are the sole agent. They want to shift your property, otherwise you may go multi or leave them and go to another EA.

Accepted, its not necessarily true. But it is how they SHOULD work.

I know of one large national chain who, in our area, purposfully overvalue properties to get them on the market, then spend more time hammering the Vendor for price reductions than they do trying to find buyers for the house. The technique is coming down from their area manager whos opinion is: If we have it, even at a silly price, no-one else has it so they cant sell it instead of us!

Some EA's will try and convince you to put your house on the market lower than what you could get in the hope that they wont have to do much work to sell it as everyone will be interested!

This is why people need to get more than 1 valuation, and make sure they EA brings evidence of recent sales to show what they should achieve.

nzseries1

Running_On_Empty wrote: »

No need for any unsubstantiated speculation, it does not help the OP.

Incorrect. This kind of thing is exactly what the OP asked for in his original post. Did you not read it?

mc2460

I wish I had read this post at the start of the year.

We have fallen for all ploys.

First House in January this year we saw a for sale sign on a house we in a road we liked.

viewed the house and on ea advice re previously rejected offers and acceptable reductions we made an offer which was accepted.

agreed to ea financial advisor

process was delayed by numerous mistakes given 14 days to exchange or vendor was pulling out rang and advised contract was in post for signing but was told vendor was refusing to budge or to answer calls.

As we had missed the deadline we viewed and made an offer on another property.

yes we had the phone call to arrange a viewing while we were at the property, the 5.20pm call not accepting our offer. 2 days later we got an early call now accepting our offer subject to 6 week completion. Followed by calls from their mortgage advisors etc. The day the surveyor was due to visit we received a phone call saying they had had a higher offer and encouraging us to up ours I refused

needless to say the first house is on the market with another agent same selling price and the other is still on the market with the original agent and is 'available but has many offers so would need to offer full asking price' !

:mad:

betmunch

I dont see how you have fallen for ALL the tricks if the houses are still on the market.

Surely you would have to be buying one at a higher price than you intended to have been mugged by them?

All_Agents_Lie

roobyroo07 wrote: »

Estate Agents do care about buyers - no buyers, no pay!

I have worked in an Estate Agents for 3 years (2 years sales, now in admin) and can honestly say, I have NEVER lied to a vendor or purchaser about anything! We do work for the vendor (they are the ones we get our income from) and our job is to achieve the best possible price for their property, but if you do not treat purchasers with respect you will not secure a sale and no-one wins!

There are rogues in every profession, but please dont tar all agents with the same brush!

I quote........'no buyers, no pay!' If that's not self-interest, what is??

You appear to be extremely mis-guided or (indoctrinated).
First and foremost agents work for themselves.
An Estate Agent getting the best possible price for a property does not equate to best possible value to the vendor.
Respect does not equal house sale.


I quote 'There are rogues in every profession'........well I'm not sure about that, however I do know Estate Agents have a poor reputation with some justification. I have witnessed poor practice over many decades which is testament enough as to why this 'profession' needs regulation.

No, the 'service' offered by Estate Agents is highly questionable as is the tag profession or professional. Such a tag implies honesty, integrity, being competent.

The fact that roobyroo07 makes such observations is revealing in itself. I can only assume he/she have their eyes shut, believe their own spin or are simply naive and inexperienced. One thing's for sure, his/her views are certainly in the minority. Take my advice, stop swimming against the tide and get a proper job where you will be respected!!!

An Estate Agent and NEVER lied........that's like giving the Noble peace prize to Colonel Gaddafi, sorry, simply lacks credibility.