Estate Agent appears to be downplaying our property.

Triker

Hey all, just wondered the best way to go about this issue. I have put my house up for sale and instructed an Estate Agent to handle the sale.

A prospective buyer went to view the property before any details were released and put in an offer under the guide price.


However our estate agent then proceeded to tell me that this may be the only offer, it's a very quiet time of year, if we don't take this 'generous' offer then we might regret it.

Now our property is in a rural setting where property is rarely available for sale. I have a huge south facing garden (about 170 metres), a large shed, patio, parking, a plot of land for a garage or additional parking, not overlooked, views, huge potential and rear garden access, only 2 houses on our road have this, access to the back garden is through the house for every other house on the road.

Admittedly the property needs refurbishment and updating but our estate agent said that this potential buyer would have to pay £15 to £20000 to bring the property up to scratch and wanted reassurances from our estate agent that he would realise a decent return in a few years!!!

I said to our EA that nobody can predict the market but I feel that it's a bit strange as the EA is supposed to be acting on our behalf surely.

Also the details are very flat sounding, there is no mention of what I have written above re our house and other descriptions are much more uplifting and interesting on the companies website, e.g. a property 'with a larger than average garden' in bold on the description.

So bearing in mind that I have the details here with me that I need to sign and return, what would be the best, most non confrontational way to push my EA for a better description.

As I said earlier the details have not been released yet.

Also I'm aware that another property will be also coming on to the market in a few weeks and there is a £75000 difference in their asking price and my guide price, theirs is a house, mine is a bungalow.

Mine is the lower price.

Cheers all.

abaxas

Please remember that your property is not worth what you beleive it is....

It is worth what someone is willing to pay for it.

That aside, EAs only ever work to their advantage. They want a sale, so will screw anyone over to get it at the highest price they can.

Guy_Montag

Might prefer a fast sale to a good price, but you're right you're property is only worth what someone will pay for it.

Throbbe

Triker wrote:

So bearing in mind that I have the details here with me that I need to sign and return, what would be the best, most non confrontational way to push my EA for a better description.

I wouldn't worry too much! You are (will be) paying them quite a substantial amount of money, so you have every right to expect good service. Give them a call and ask them to have another go, and maybe make a few suggestions.

AMILLIONDOLLARS

How much are you asking for? how much has been offered? You can do a search on a website called www.upmystreet.co.uk. register and input your postcode, it should list how much property actually sold for in your area. I did this in my street and notice that a house that sold for £215K September was resold in January the following year for £308K a nice little earner for someone. My advice do your research before you sign on the dotted line, there are property websites that can be used for comparison. www.rightmove.co.uk, or www.primelocation.com for example.

Good luck

AMd

ArchieB_2

Estate agents want to move properties QUICKLY and getting an extra £5000 on the asking price only adds a couple of hundred quid to the fee they earn, where as a property lingering about for a few months costs exponentially more in terms of marketing costs and man hours. From my experience you need to be clear with them, tell them you are paying them to sell your house for what they valued it at (I take it you are using their valuation) and if you are not happy with the way they are marketing your property tell them so.

Tyders

abaxas wrote:

That aside, EAs only ever work to their advantage. They want a sale, so will screw anyone over to get it at the highest price they can.

Personally I think you are full of ''you know what''. Screw anyone over - i think not and as a person in the industry I resent that statement. YOU will actually find that if you workd in this job it tends to be greedy vendors who want more than their houses are worth.
I personally always boldly state to people to be realistic only to see the vendor ignore me and put it on with another agent as they will go along with the higher price.
Obviously there are EA's who dont have morals as in every industry but i cant understand this mentality that EA's are out to 'screw' everyone - reputation in this business is the most important thing.

To the OP, if you dont like the way things are worded by all means advise the EA and they will update the details. I will agree though that it is coming to a quiet time of the year and I have 3 vendors who wish they took offers a few weeks back as its not looking good at the moment for them.

mrsS_2

this my be an obvious one- but did you get 3 valuations and find out what the various values were?

if you have an individual property then the valuations from different agents can vary widely.

Your agent may have overvalued your property to get the business and is now regretting it slightly-trying to use the excuse of a ready buyer to get a quick, low cost sale and is not being very honest perhaps?

sorry- dont want to sound offensive in any way- but some estate agents are very enthusiastic about price when they are looking for your business but then start suggesting 10% price reductions.........

noyk

If you plan to buy somewhere else and it's going to be a chain sale then why not try and pass the discount on to them? Unless you like putting money into the hands of bankers and EA's that is? Or possibly your one of the few people at the very top of the chain and just want as much cash as possible, if thats you then, ask yourself if the amount you made isn't already enough?

On the other hand the EA could be attempting to sell to a developer who may give them a back hander (as shown on panorama or some bbc show) or maybe it's something like a relative of theirs. Can you give us details on the amounts involved?

I say the last bit due to the fact that it's not even gone on the market yet your potential buyer's are supposedely few and far between. I would suspect the dodgy EA is more likely.

Debt_Free_Chick

Triker wrote:

Now our property is in a rural setting where property is rarely available for sale.

I don't know about your area, but I live in a rural village where property rarely comes on the market. Unfortunately, buyers are also as rare as hens' teeth - as ours is the type of place one "retires to". So we are dependent on a very "exclusive" market of buyers. We are not exactly convenient for commuting to London, even though some of us do and find it "not so bad".

A beautiful rural setting may not be enough to attract a wide range/number of potential buyers.

Triker wrote:

Also I'm aware that another property will be also coming on to the market in a few weeks and there is a £75000 difference in their asking price and my guide price, theirs is a house, mine is a bungalow.

Regrettably, bungalows are also - generally - attractive to a smaller number of buyers. No matter how beautiful your house is, many buyers will simply not even view, as they "want a house, not a bungalow".

Perhaps another local agent for a second opinion?

HTH

abaxas

Tyders wrote:

Personally I think you are full of ''you know what''. Screw anyone over - i think not and as a person in the industry I resent that statement. YOU will actually find that if you workd in this job it tends to be greedy vendors who want more than their houses are worth.
I personally always boldly state to people to be realistic only to see the vendor ignore me and put it on with another agent as they will go along with the higher price.
Obviously there are EA's who dont have morals as in every industry but i cant understand this mentality that EA's are out to 'screw' everyone - reputation in this business is the most important thing.

To the OP, if you dont like the way things are worded by all means advise the EA and they will update the details. I will agree though that it is coming to a quiet time of the year and I have 3 vendors who wish they took offers a few weeks back as its not looking good at the moment for them.

I apologise if I offended the valiant and honest profession of estate agents.

However EAs always work in their favour. Like any business does, if anyone implies anything else they are liars.

A car salesman doesnt want to get you a good deal, he wants his comission...

A financial adviser doesnt want to sell you the right product, just the product that fits his critera best..

An estate agent....