Bairstow Eves Estate agent

Loopgames

We sold our flat with them in early january this year.

The flat had been on the market with another agent originally and hardly had any viewings. We placed it with BE at a higher rate of commission and we had lots of viewings and 3 offers.

We were generally happy with their offers though one thing I would say is perhaps we were pressured to use their own conveyancer's (sp?!).

Although they were very good I wouldn't change what we did but you may want your own at a cheaper rate than their's.

The team we had were lovely and they kept us up to date. I would use them again if I wanted someone reliable although it does again depend on the area. The staff at the Barkingside office were lovely:)

derogatoryboy

I bought my house through BE and once I'd had my offer accepted they were of no use whatsoever. I had to chase up everything myself and really felt like they'd done nothing to earn a fee.

If I come to sell this place they definitely won't be the agents!

Yorkie1

When I last looked they weren't members of the NAEA / Code of Practice. I don't know if that's changed since then, but I always wondered at what practices they had which they didn't want to be scrutinised too closely.

I do recall going in once to enquire for property details of a friend's house - kind of mystery shopper. They refused to give me them unless I had proof of mortgage or had had a successful appointment with their mortgage adviser. My friend went ballistic at them; it was totally contrary to his expectations of them. It may have been a local branch issue, but I always thought it indicated where their priorities lay...

tyler80

They annoy me because they like to use the phrase "like a tardice" (sic) in their property descriptions. The phrase itself is bad enough but to include a spelling mistake as well...

On the positive side, at least they include floorplans which is an improvement on other agents in this area

They're not the worst agents I've dealt with though

zara*elise

Ask them if they get commission when they sign up a seller AND when a sale completes and see how they respond. Usually there's a bit of sweating, coughing and question-dodging. Wouldn't use them at all.

Saffy111

I used them to try and purchase two properties as a FTB. On both occasions I was charged over £1000 for a survey on each property which I naively paid. And on both occasions my survey was given to the vendor a week before I saw it. And on both occasions the properties were riddled with damp and other problems. And on both occasions the property was then taken off the market by the vendor whilst they fixed the problems identified in the surveys I paid for.

I found out 6 months later that the vendor was 'friends' with the estate agent I was dealing with, and that this was fairly common practice at that particular branch. I made several complaints but nothing was done or taken seriously. I learnt some huge lessons, and whilst you can't tar an entire company because of the actions of one of two people, my personal expereince was very upsetting and expensive. I wouldn't go near them ever again!