Just been told off by Estate Agent

hazyjo

Are you a FTB? I'm presuming you haven't sold before...

We get lots of threads on here moaning about EAs not giving feedback, and I always say our EA said 'three strikes and they're out' as in they'll chase someone no more than three times for feedback. It's the viewers who often don't give feedback, yet the EAs always get the blame. People seem to think they should be beating viewers with a stick or sticking pins under their fingernails in order to get some information from them.

As a seller, it is truly AWFUL having to sit in, clean and tidy the house (we had stuff in the car boot, things shoved in cupboards, cats stuff (litter, etc) hidden or outside in garden - had our little routine for when we had a viewer and it was hell on earth.

EVERYONE who's selling wants feedback (not 'expects', but would certainly 'like'). You spend all that time getting the house ready, allow someone to view your home, and you want to know if you're found yourself a buyer. That waiting for the phone to ring is horrible.

I'm sure the sellers have busy lives too. We both work full time and have busy lives outside of work. I was having to cancel things to accommodate viewers - thankfully all ours turned up, but plenty don't, or cancel last minute. We were having to have viewers on a weekend when we wanted to do other things, or we had them in the evening in the week. I don't get home 'til 7pm so was having to either leave work early (a pain, they're not very flexible) or we'd have to rush round like loons so we could get a viewer in for 7.15pm or later. Invariably that meant we weren't eating 'til late. Didn't want cooking smells in the house and didn't want to be hogging the kitchen if they wanted to view it properly. It was all hugely inconvenient, but that's what you have to go through when you're selling.

And, after all that, a lot never came back with any feedback.

The EA shouldn't really have to chase, although some do. Some just wait to see if they get any feedback and never chase. If they have an email address, just send them an email with short feedback - or just a yay or nay so the vendors can stop thinking they might be getting an offer.

No, it's not the law, it's not even in any contracts, but it is courteous and it does make you more appealing as a buyer to the EA. Moving house takes up a vast amount of your time so if you haven't got time to send a one line email, how on earth will you find the time to deal with EAs, solicitors and whoever else for possibly the next three months? There will be an awful lot of form-filling, phone calls to make, emails to send... our file at the the solicitors was full to bursting. Must have been at least 4" thick, and it's taken us 5 long months to get to exchange.

I'm sure the EA didn't mean to give you an earbashing, but he was probably getting it in the neck from the sellers and something snapped.

I'm not having a go or anything, all said in the nicest of ways I can , but maybe just think how you'd feel in the sellers' shoes. Until you've done it - and been let down, or had no feedback, or can't sell and want feedback about maybe what you're missing or what could be improved - you won't know how awful it can feel as a seller.

Jx

laughingcow81

And don't forget that feedback can help both vendors and buyers - vendors will hopefully take any feedback on board and it may help them sell (e.g. too cluttered, may inspire a clean out!) and buyers - once giving feedback they can realise what they like / dislike about the houses they have been seeing.

It really does only a minute and what hazyjo says above about time is right - if you can't find time to feed back now, how will you find time to fill in forms, answer queries, chase anything up when you do find a house you love?

Schwade

Find another Estate Agent.

Feedback?? What the heck is that? It is pretty simple.

If you like it, you would ask EA for second viewings.

If you don't it, you wouldn't be interested.

Feedback in writing long essays?? Haha

kford224

This thread is really helpful because as FTB's, we looked around 6 or 7 houses but never gave feedback unless they called and asked for it. It wasn't because we didn't want to, we just didn't realise that it was the done thing. I always thought that if you liked it then you would contact them and if not, then you wouldn't?! I can see why sellers get a bit disheartened when they have viewings and no offers and then no idea why

gratefulforhelp_2

waribai wrote: »

Have been looking at a few properties with an estate agent for the past few months. Recently I have been busy at work and could never reply to the EA's call asking for feedback on the viewings. Always mean to but after finishing work it slipped my mind.
Anyway, I phoned up about viewing another property and was told off by the EA who accused me of being discourteous because I never gave feedback after the viewings.
I explained my long hours etc during the week and that it's not always easy to talk on the phone during the day. Also, if they emailed me I could reply at my leisure.
Anyway the estate agent said they would give us one more chance
but if it happens again, they wo't be showing us anymore properties!

Have I behaved inappropriately? Should I apologise?

Thanks for any advice

How very rude of the estate agent. As a buyer I often gave feedback, but the agents rarely seemed interested in it.

As a seller it was frustrating not to receive feedback, but even more frustrating when the thing the viewers objected to was clearly there in the property leaflet, so one wondered why they bothered to view.

But feedback is a useful bonus, I don't think there is any requirement to give it, and if you're not in when the agent calls, one wonders why they don't call you another time?

eta ironically, it was when I called an agent to give feedback on a house (too many antlers from too many hunts displayed and not dusted, and too many meat hooks with corpses on and too many unlocked-away-guns, and too expensive, but that's another story!) that I found out the vendor was taking low offers on my current house. Never would have known otherwise!

waribai

Schwade wrote: »

Find another Estate Agent.

Feedback?? What the heck is that? It is pretty simple.

If you like it, you would ask EA for second viewings.

If you don't it, you wouldn't be interested.

Feedback in writing long essays?? Haha

My sentiments entirely. Yes, I understand where everyone is coming from but the truth of the matter is that the world of house sales is brutal. On the flip side, during the good times, many sellers were quite happy to gazump fairly late on which many buyers found slightly discourteous.
Also, I'm renting now but when I bought my first property in 2004 and I was doing the rounds, I never remember an estate agent getting back to me for 'feedback' or even returning calls if they had found a buyer with a higher offer.
All depends which side of the fence you are sitting on.

danielley

If I viewed a house, I would always expect the agent to call me the following day and ask for feedback.

When I have taken viewings in the past I have always expected to received feedback the following day as well.

I think the EA was a bit out of line for blasting you , he should have made you aware of the obligation after you first set up any viewings, but hopefully you can take it on the chin and realise that he just wants a happy vendor.

westv

kford224 wrote: »

This thread is really helpful because as FTB's, we looked around 6 or 7 houses but never gave feedback unless they called and asked for it. It wasn't because we didn't want to, we just didn't realise that it was the done thing. I always thought that if you liked it then you would contact them and if not, then you wouldn't?! I can see why sellers get a bit disheartened when they have viewings and no offers and then no idea why

Well I've been a seller in the past and I think, if you don't want a place, you should tell the EA asap so the vendor isn't left hanging on.

Eton_Rifle

Even if you can't put yourself in others' shoes or have some sort of social phobia or inadequacy (the "busy" excuse is clearly rubbish) your strategy isn't exactly giving you an advantage here is it?

If you can only think of yourself then think of this : it's best to have the estate agents on your side (no matter what you think of them privately) otherwise they're going to label you a time-waster who is either not serious or one of those weekend house viewing tourists.

They're not even going to know what you want and think of you when new instructions come in because you're not bothering to tell them - so you're not going to the first person they call if the perfect house comes in. You're just sweeping in, poking round someone's house then disappearing giving nothing back.

It's a good thing to build a good relationship with estate agents because there are times when it can definitely help to have them on your side. After all, they are people too and we all have our favourites.
Look round your place of work - aren't there people you'd bend over backwards to help and others you would be hard pushed to report if they got stuck in the lift even though you all work there and it's your job to get on with them?
Which person do you want to be?

poppysarah

There's maybe one thing they need feedback for - to work out what sort of property you will like.