OFT takes on Estate Agents. :)

HAMISH_MCTAVISH

Amongst the things EA's will no longer be allowed to do.....

- pressurising a seller to market the property at less than its true value

- persistent and/or aggressive telephone calls” aimed at pushing people into acting quickly

- advertise new build properties for sale at a certain price when the only ones available to buy are at a higher price.

- use a broad "guide price" range such as £150,000 to £200,000 when they suspect the seller has no intention of accepting anything at the lower end of that range

-use misleading descriptions

- use out-of-date photographs that no longer offer a true reflection of a property

- "significantly alter" images to omit uncomplimentary features

etc.....

Good move I reckon.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/constructionandproperty/8774299/How-not-to-sell-a-house.html

DervProf

EA's don't do things like this, do they ?

Agreed, good move (as long as it is strictly enforced).

shortchanged_2

Well if EA's had any decency in the first place there should be no need to do this. Shady bunch of ba****ds.

I also like the fact that they will now "not be allowed to use misleading descriptions."

So they were allowed to do this before the OFT stepped in, were they?

Mallotum_X

- pressurising a seller to market the property at less than its true value


What about not lying about the value to get the instruction then getting them to drop the price later. If they stopped lying in the first place there would be less need for pressure to drop to the true value. After all regardless of rising or falling market a house is only worth what someone else can/will pay.

Wheezy_2

Also, the following phrases should be outlawed and replaced by;

Old : This property benefits from sloping ceilings
New: You can only stand up straight in less than half of the room

Old: This property would suit a DIY enthusiast
New: This property needs to be demolished

Old: This property benefits from victorian windows
New: It's drafty

nearlynew

HAMISH_MCTAVISH wrote: »

Amongst the things EA's will no longer be allowed to do.....

- pressurising a seller to market the property at less than its true value


Good move I reckon.

McTittish takes straw-clutching to a new level.


what a silly boy.

B_Blank

DervProf wrote: »

EA's don't do things like this, do they ?

Agreed, good move (as long as it is strictly enforced).

WHich it wont be. They already dont follow loads of rules like having to pass on offers etc.

lemonjelly

HAMISH_MCTAVISH wrote: »

Amongst the things EA's will no longer be allowed to do.....

- pressurising a seller to market the property at less than its true value who decides this market value? Independently set? Or the EA's own valuer?
- persistent and/or aggressive telephone calls” aimed at pushing people into acting quickly Already disallowed - s40 Admin of Justice Act amongst others. Plus poor customer service.

- advertise new build properties for sale at a certain price when the only ones available to buy are at a higher price. Already disallowed - misleading advertising. Falls within the ASA.

- use a broad "guide price" range such as £150,000 to £200,000 when they suspect the seller has no intention of accepting anything at the lower end of that range Shoddy customer service

-use misleading descriptions Already disallowed - misleading advertising. Falls within the ASA. Already not allowed under Sale of Goods Act, & Sale & Supply of Goods & Services Act

- use out-of-date photographs that no longer offer a true reflection of a property Already disallowed - misleading advertising. Falls within the ASA. Already not allowed under Sale of Goods Act, & Sale & Supply of Goods & Services Act

- "significantly alter" images to omit uncomplimentary features Already disallowed - misleading advertising. Falls within the ASA. Already not allowed under Sale of Goods Act, & Sale & Supply of Goods & Services Act

etc.....

Good move I reckon.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/constructionandproperty/8774299/How-not-to-sell-a-house.html

Non-story this. The thread title should read that the OFT are going to start doing what they have always been supposed to do. See comments in red.

lostinrates

I remember being told by an estate agent friend that the OFT were going to enforce thigs like ceiling heights....so you couldn't walk into a room built etirely and unusably in to the eaves and read it described as a ''bedroom'' for example. This must have been over five years ago, and yet while we were looking we saw several of these ''non rooms'' plus bedrooms not big enough to get beds in and open the door. I guess this is goig to make a similar impact?

worldtraveller

Two small boys were overheard talking at the zoo one day:
My name is Billy. What's yours? asked the first boy.
Tommy, replied the second.
My Daddy's an accountant. What does your Daddy do? asked Billy.
Tommy replied, My Daddy's an estate agent.
Honest? asked Billy.
No, just the regular kind, replied Tommy.

Graham_Devon

HAMISH_MCTAVISH wrote: »

Amongst the things EA's will no longer be allowed to do.....

- pressurising a seller to market the property at less than its true value

Does this actually happen?

We all know EA's can suggest reducing the asking price. But I've never heard of estate agents suggesting the vendor should market the property under what it's worth. The asking price is always higher than it's worth in the first place.

The rest is good stuff. However, if the OFT is involved, it simply means absolutely nothing will happen, and if it does, the horse is usually long gone after it bolted.

Just today people were suggesting in the office that the company coming down hard on the energy companies have said this no less than 3 times so far...but done absolutely nothing.